The film and television city starts from the courtyard

Chapter 2229: Buying Deer with a Large Sum of Money to Defeat Chu

Zhao Shucheng's words were of great help to the CEOs present. If the companies could get rid of the heavy debts, they might have great development.

However, Zhao Shucheng knew that it was not that easy to accomplish the task. After all, there were many issues involved, and it was not something that could be decided by just a few people at a meeting.

Fu Chun, however, had high expectations for this. If Huachang could really do as Zhao Shucheng said, it would be able to get rid of its debts and even regain vitality with great competitiveness.

He felt that whether issuing convertible bonds or directly converting debt into equity could help Huachang quickly get out of its predicament, so after the meeting, he discussed Huachang's own solution with Sun Feifei.

A few days later, Hai City held an economic seminar and Zhao Shucheng was invited to attend.

Zhang Dapeng called all the top leaders together, wanting to hear the elites' vision and insights, and asked Ma Xiaotian to speak first.

Ma Xiaotian had learned through Li Wen that Fu Chun had previously convened a meeting of some CEOs to discuss a solution, so he came well prepared this time, intending to encircle Fu Chun and prevent Huachang from finding a way out of its current predicament.

"Hello everyone, we can start counting now. The most dangerous thing in economic development is the behavior that is close to murder and suicide. One is the monopoly of power intervention, and the other is the rogue malicious competition. These are actually two aspects of the same problem. The monopoly of power intervention is the inevitable product of the extreme left economy, and the rogue malicious operation is the spread of anarchism. On the one hand, they punish each other, and on the other hand, they undermine the foundation of the economy, the law and the rules of the game."

"The bad consequences caused by the intervention of power are being taken seriously by people, so I won't analyze them here. However, rogue and malicious operations are carried out under the banner of reform, claiming to be the first to try new things, and are imitated or even recommended by people. Let me give you an example. Huachang in our city has reached an agreement with other companies to separate all the company's debts from the company and set up another shell company. The remaining land, real estate, debts, equipment, etc. have been transformed into excellent assets."

"In fact, industry insiders are well aware that they have long been insolvent. If their plan is implemented, their creditors will get nothing because this shell company will be worthless once it files for bankruptcy. More importantly, based on their business model, the remaining so-called good assets will also become non-performing assets. This is a typical rogue-style malicious competition."

Ma Xiaotian looked at the other people present and said, "Rogue malicious competition is based on evading debts, maintaining the interests of individuals or small groups, and plundering the wealth of the public. At the same time, it gives a prostitute-like smile to the power that is waiting to be sold. This will make corruption worse, and the market economy will become a desert, which will not bring good development to Hai City. If our city wants to achieve good economic development, we must be vigilant enough and prevent this from happening."

Some people appreciated this and even applauded Ma Xiaotian, but some others were very dissatisfied and felt that Ma Xiaotian was cutting off their retreat.

"Stop filming. Ma Xiaotian's speech is a hooligan. From my point of view, his speech is a hooligan-like speech. Asset restructuring has been proven to be a feasible path. Why are you criticizing our Haishi enterprises for proposing new ideas and new measures to get out of the current predicament?"

"Yes, our companies need to make a living, and Mr. Ma's remarks are an attack and slander against our companies. This summary of opinions is not convincing, and I cannot agree with this view."

Fu Chun talked about his thoughts on the meeting a few days ago and said: "Dr. Ma's speech seems very interesting, but it overlooks one issue, that is, our national conditions and laws. I personally think that any form of attempt is acceptable, as long as it is legal and in line with the policy!"

"We are discussing asset restructuring, the purpose of which is to revitalize capital and strive for efficiency. Dr. Ma made a mistake in his speech. First, what basis do you have to assert that we are acting in the interests of individuals or a small group? Everyone present knows that we have made great contributions to Hai City's economy, and now we are working hard to help the company get out of the trough."

"Second, what makes you conclude that we are exploiting assets and plundering the interests of the public? On the contrary, we are solving the survival problems of corporate employees and creating wealth for the motherland. Of course, we don't ask Mr. Ma to have the same awareness as us, but he can't hold us back, right?"

When Zhao Shucheng heard this, he immediately laughed, causing everyone else to look at him strangely.

Zhao Shucheng could only say: "Well, I agree with Mr. Fu's opinion. Now everyone is talking about market economy. We must figure out what market economy is."

"Literally, this is an economy where the market determines resource allocation. Of course, the concept of this market economy was first proposed by the West, probably starting from the First Industrial Revolution, when the 'people-eating movement' emerged. But in the history of our Great Xia, this is not the first time it has appeared. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, our ancestor Guan Zhong proposed his own economic concept and even used economic strategies to eliminate many neighboring countries."

"For example, the State of Chu was sanctioned by buying deer with a large sum of money. People found that raising deer was more profitable than farming, so they gave up farming and raised and sold deer. Eventually, the farmland was abandoned. After the border was blocked by Qi, there was no place to buy rice, and the vitality was greatly damaged, so they finally surrendered. Similarly, the State of Hengshan was destroyed by buying iron with a large sum of money."

“A market economy does not mean a free market economy, nor does it mean an economic system with almost no intervention. Although a market economy advocates free competition, it cannot exclude the necessary macroeconomic regulation and legal constraints of the imperial court.”

The others looked at Zhao Shucheng impatiently. They came here to solve problems, not to be taught by Zhao Shucheng.

Zhao Shucheng naturally noticed the emotions of these people and said with a smile: "Mr. Ma just said that Huachang and other companies are preparing to evade debts for their own small group. I don't agree with this statement. After all, he just heard it from others. Huachang and other companies are not really trying to divest bad assets to reduce their debts. They want to restructure their assets, but this is in line with relevant policies and is also to optimize the company's asset structure, debt structure, and property structure, to achieve resource optimization, and to revitalize the company."

"I think we should not look at people with tinted glasses, but look at the starting point of these companies and the specific measures they have taken. Asset restructuring is our own domestic feature, and there are also corporate restructuring in foreign countries. It's just that our asset restructuring includes more content than corporate restructuring, including corporate restructuring and reorganization in the market." "Huachang is preparing to adopt debt restructuring in corporate restructuring, not simply divesting non-performing assets. Instead, it is preparing to adopt multiple methods, including transferring assets to creditors, issuing debt claims, debt-to-equity swaps, etc. This is in line with the market economy at home and abroad, and there is no direction that can be criticized."

When Ma Xiaotian heard Zhao Shucheng exonerating Fu Chun, he quickly said, "Isn't what Mr. Lei said biased? Mr. Fu is not doing this for asset restructuring. I just said that they want to transfer the debt to a new company. This is unfair to other companies and will disrupt the economic order of Hai City."

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "Boss Ma, you'd better get more information in the future. At least after you know the whole truth, you can raise targeted questions. Boss Fu and his team do want to divest the non-performing assets, but not for the benefit of a few people."

Zhang Dapeng saw that they were about to quarrel, so he quickly stopped them and said, "Let Mr. Yang Hua, the vice president of Jiali Group, express his opinion."

Mr. Yang said, "I just listened to the speeches of Mr. Fu and Mr. Lei. They are all friends and seniors who have done business with Mr. Hu. There are some things that may not be the turn of a junior like me to say."

"But I must say that a market without fairness and credit mechanism will be a bloody battlefield. As far as I know, the combined debts and non-performing assets of your groups have reached 1 billion. In this case, asset restructuring will inevitably bring huge pressure to banks and cause losses to the country. We have also carried out asset restructuring, but that was a combination of strong forces. We started with the internal management system, took advantage of the company's own advantages, and combined our strength with large companies to form an aircraft carrier..."

"I don't know if the example I just gave can illustrate my point, but I think your practice is economic fraud. Although there are reasonable explanations in the legal loopholes, it completely violates the principles of fairness and justice in the business community. Once this method succeeds, the economic order of Hai City will be in chaos, and the consequences will be disastrous."

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "I have something else to say. What Mr. Yang said just now is based on the premise that the debts are owed to banks or other people. But if this newly established company uses its own funds to repay the debts of various companies, thereby concentrating the debts under the company's name, then debt-to-equity swaps or divestiture of non-performing assets can no longer be considered fraud, right?"

When the others heard this, they were stunned and looked at Zhao Shucheng, Fu Chun and others in confusion, wondering where they got so much money from.

Fu Chun smiled and said, "Yes, this newly established company is an investment company. It will use cash to purchase our debts, and then restructure the company's assets and swap debts for equity, so that the company will have no financial pressure and will not bring pressure to the bank. Isn't this method feasible? We are a group of companies that have united to improve our competitiveness, get out of trouble, and move forward in big strides."

Ma Xiaotian frowned and said, "But can you get such a large amount of investment?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "Of course, I am still very confident about the investment environment in Hai City. These companies are not really hopeless, they are just struggling because of temporary difficulties. But as long as the debt problems of the companies are solved, they can go into battle lightly and will soon have good development, and even bring considerable returns to investors."

Ma Xiaotian looked at Zhao Shucheng suspiciously and asked, "So this money is from the Xiaolei family, but I remember that you seem to be a collective enterprise, so you shouldn't be able to take out such a large sum of money casually, right?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled and nodded, saying: "It is indeed impossible for Xiao Lei's family to come up with so much money, but I have a way to get this investment money myself, but the specific source is not convenient to disclose here."

Although Zhao Shucheng supported the asset restructuring of Fu Chun and others at the meeting, it is not so easy to actually implement it.

Especially Zhao Shucheng currently only sees that Huachang has great potential in the future, otherwise Ma Xiaotian would not keep his eyes on Huachang. However, although the other companies are considered large companies in Hai City, Zhao Shucheng does not know the specific situation, so he can only slowly investigate and discuss specific cooperation matters.

Of course, after Zhao Shucheng investigated those companies, he found that they were still very competitive. After all, they were all once glorious companies. A rotten boat still has three pounds of nails, and a lean camel is bigger than a horse.

These enterprises were abandoned by the times simply because their previous management methods and systems could not keep up with the times, or even because they lacked innovation. As long as targeted reforms are carried out and new ways out are found for the enterprises, they will soon radiate new vitality, and it is not impossible for them to become leading enterprises in the city or even the country again.

These may be difficult for those CEOs who have worked in state-owned enterprises for their entire lives, but for Zhao Shucheng, solving these problems can be said to be a very simple matter.

Of course, Zhao Shucheng couldn't just spend money without participating in management, especially not caring about the flow of funds. After he established a new company and deposited a sum of money into the company's account, the first thing he did was to recruit a group of professional accountants and cashiers to prepare for the management of the debt-for-equity company in the future.

After Ma Xiaotian returned home, he smashed a vase and even swept everything on the coffee table to the ground.

Li Wen was very surprised when she saw this and asked, "Xiaotian, what's wrong with you?"

"It's all because of Lei Dongbao. I had already asked Zhang Dapeng and the others to reject Fu Chun's proposal, but this damn guy actually said that he would buy out Huachang's debts and swap debt for equity. If they really succeed, how can we merge Huachang and even achieve our own goals? Even if we really merge Huachang and even list it, it will only be a wedding dress for others."

Ma Xiaotian was actually very clear that if Zhao Shucheng really reached a debt-for-equity swap with Huachang, then what he could get by merging Huachang would only be the state-owned shares in Huachang, and Zhao Shucheng could even snatch Huachang's equity away. Even in the initial merger plan, after the debt-for-equity swap, Huachang went from being insolvent to a company with a market value of more than one billion, and it would cost a huge price to acquire it.