Chapter 860: Chapter 838: I Haven’t Been the Boss for a Long Time The plane landed smoothly in Xiangjiang, and Lu Liang drove straight from the airport to the Hilton Hotel in Central. General Tianxing is valued at 30 billion US dollars, with plans to issue 300 million shares, offering 20% of shares for the IPO. Tianxing Finance is underwriting 2.5 billion US dollars, enjoying the right to issue 125 million shares, with a base issuance price of 20 dollars per share. Fınd the newest release on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥 The 125 million shares are divided by Lu Liang into three parts, with roadshows in Xiangjiang and Korea each offering 31.25 million shares, and Neon exclusively taking 62.5 million shares. Xiangjiang Station originally had only a 25% share, which was reduced by Lu Liang’s middleman profits, allocating 100 million US dollars to Tianxing Automobile, leaving only 525 million US dollars in subscription shares. As a result, as soon as Lu Liang entered the banquet hall, He Jiafan from Standard Chartered Bank came up to say hello and complained, “Mr. Lu, look, there are so many institutions here, including those from the mainland. 26.25 million shares aren’t enough for us to split.” A valuation of 30 billion US dollars, if analyzed by professional data such as revenue and assets, is actually quite inflated, but in the financial market, emotion is far more important than data. General Tianxing, despite General being in front and Tianxing behind, is after all the first listed company under Lu Liang’s name. So much so that there are jokes in the market that just the word ‘Tianxing’ alone gives General Tianxing a premium of 10 billion US dollars. “Mr. He, be content.” Lu Liang looked at the hundreds of people in the venue, including venture capitalists, institutions, and some family fund managers. Given the current market sentiment, even if the base issuance price is raised by three to five dollars, it would still be acceptable. He smiled and said, “Our President Chao originally wanted to raise the issuance price, but I stopped him. After all, we are all friends, and the purpose of listing the company is to share joy, but that only applies to Xiangjiang. In the future, for Korea and Neon, the issuance price will not be 20 dollars anymore.” He Jiafan was at a loss for words. A valuation of 30 billion US dollars and an issuance price of 20 dollars means that every dollar increase in the issuance price represents a 1.5 billion US dollar increase in the company’s valuation. Three to five dollars, Lu Liang really dares to say. If issued at 25 dollars per share, the valuation would directly target 40 billion US dollars. Lu Liang glanced at He Jiafan, seemingly seeing his thoughts, and teasingly smiled, “Does Mr. He think that General Tianxing’s listing wouldn’t reach 40 billion US dollars?” He Jiafan shook his head and sighed lightly, “If it couldn’t, Standard Chartered wouldn’t be here, and he wouldn’t be here either.” He looked towards a corner of the reception room, where several Chinese were smiling and surrounding an old redneck in a suit. Qi Yaonian, the global executive director of HSBC, is also an old friend of Lu Liang. Although there was some small friction between the two sides before, Tianxing Finance did not exclude them and still issued an IPO invitation. “Mr. He, excuse me. Please feel free. I’m going over to say hello.” Lu Liang smiled with narrowed eyes and walked straight towards where Qi Yaonian was located. Every move Lu Liang made affected the hearts of hundreds present. Seeing him head towards Qi Yaonian’s location, everyone couldn’t help but secretly observe. However, the scene of Mars crashing into Earth they hoped for did not occur. Both men smiled, like old friends not seen for a long time, shaking hands and embracing, talking happily. “Mr. Qi, I heard you’re going back to the United Kingdom?” Lu Liang asked with a smile, casually picking up two cups of fruit tea from a waiter’s tray in the venue, handing one to Qi Yaonian. “Yes, the paperwork has been submitted to the headquarters, and I can retire in June next year.” Qi Yaonian nodded with a smile. Though his retirement was a result of the strategic point in Xiangjiang being lost, directly due to Lu Liang, he doesn’t blame Lu Liang. He’s been navigating the business world for so many years. It’s normal for winners and losers to switch places, and he’s getting older, with Xiangjiang soon turning into Lu Family Port. At this time, proactively applying for retirement at least has a dignified conclusion. If he waited another two years, it might not be retirement but a disgraceful flee. Lu Liang smiled and said, “Mr. Qi, you’re joking. HSBC plays a crucial role in Xiangjiang’s economic development, and you’re a big brother in the industry.” Qi Yaonian glanced at Lu Liang and suddenly spoke in Cantonese, quoting a classic line from a Hong Kong movie: “Sir, I haven’t been a boss for a long time.” At this moment, it was like a perfect recreation of a movie scene, except he was a bit smarter than Song Zihao, so he had a dignified end. After all, HSBC at that time and Tianxing back then. Theoretically, it was a fifty-fifty split, but due to the intervention of a mysterious force, they ended up losing badly. “A big brother is always a big brother, many companies in Xiangjiang still look up to HSBC as the leader.” Lu Liang said with narrowed eyes, cutting to the essence of the matter. When you think about it carefully, it does resemble a lot, but the movie is shot from the perspective of criminals, so the police who trouble Song Zihao appear to be the bad guys. If viewed from an ordinary person’s perspective, shouldn’t a gangster just released be closely monitored? Shouldn’t precautions be in place against him returning to his old ways? Old Hong Kong movies are good, but if you delve deeper, you’ll find that many values are incorrect, giving the audience an impression that everyone has justice and benevolence in the underworld, whereas law enforcement departments are filled with people just holding positions. It’s like the recent trend of the Republic era concubine style, where everyone longs to travel back to that time to become a concubine, unaware that being a maid and sold into prostitution is the norm for ordinary people. “After all, so many years of influence.” Qi Yaonian sighed. He tried to view things from Lu Liang’s perspective, realizing that HSBC wasn’t important to Tianxing, but without it, Tianxing and Xiangjiang would be greatly affected. He’s just managing day-to-day operations as the CEO responsible for revenue, with many things beyond his control, such as special funding not based on profitability. Lu Liang smiled, suddenly spotting a familiar face and didn’t bother continuing the topic, patting Qi Yaonian’s shoulder and said, “Mr. Qi, I wish you a fruitful return today.” After parting ways with Qi Yaonian, he walked over to a neglected corner with one woman and two men. Lu Liang looked at the bearded man from Europe and America and laughed, “James, why did you suddenly come to Xiangjiang?” James Gunn, the general manager of DC Studio, accompanied by Fan Bingqing and Yang Qisheng. James appeared odd, with a resentful tone: “Lu, our Joker premiered globally yesterday, didn’t you know?” Since Lu Liang invested in DC Studio, it has been a year and a half. He had suspected before that Lu Liang might not have truly cared about this matter. But then again, considering it’s a 220 million US dollar investment, even for Lu Liang, it’s not a trivial amount. He should be quietly observing. Well, now he knew that Lu Liang really hadn’t put the 220 million US dollar investment in his mind. After all, Joker is the key work determining whether DC can go public and turn around. And he didn’t even care about when it was released. Lu Liang laughed apologetically: “Sorry, sorry, I’ve been really busy lately, though I did actually know that Joker premieres at Christmas.” Yang Qisheng chimed in, “Mr. Gunn, Mr. Lu has indeed been paying attention, or Joker wouldn’t have passed the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television’s review to be released in the mainland.” Upon hearing this, the anxiety on Gunn’s face was replaced by excitement, as he shook Lu Liang’s hand enthusiastically: “On behalf of DC, I thank you. The Eastern Continent is truly a magical market.” Placing the opportunity for DC’s turnaround on a film considered to be an art film imposed a significant pressure on him. However, yesterday’s mainland box office gave a pleasant surprise, grossing 185 million yuan on a weekday. All thanks to Good Dream Production which was responsible for the mainland’s promotion, directly branding it as another masterpiece invested and supervised by Lu Liang. Although Lu Liang merely reviewed the script, claiming supervision was clearly exaggerated, but the promotion effect was tremendous, and the film quality was indeed solid, with Douban starting at a rating of 9.7. Mainland cinemas increased screenings overnight, already handling the 50 million US dollar production cost solely with revenue from the Eastern Continent Market. With a single-day global box office of 72 million US dollars, recouping the cost is no longer a concern, now it’s about profits. Thus, knowing today’s roadshow at General Tianxing’s Xiangjiang Station was underway, Lu Liang would surely be present, so he brought Fan Bingqing directly. “Mr. Lu, thank you for giving me this chance for rebirth.” Fan Bingqing looked at Lu Liang, eyes filled with gratitude, almost turning into tears. She was never banned by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television; when she initially signed dual contracts and evaded taxes, many celebrities did so, and as long as they paid the fines and fees on time, they wouldn’t be pursued and could continue to shine in the industry. It was only because she was made an example that others dared not take the risk of hiring her. After all, a film project involves tens of millions or billions of investment, if because of her, the program can’t be launched, the director and producer would surely be punished by investors. Those once sycophantic industry friends had all cut ties over the past two years, not even daring to mention her name in programs. Yet, all these changes happened yesterday. Ever since Joker officially entered mainland theaters, her scenes appeared prominently on the big screen. The applause and flowers she had lost returned, with more than half the entertainment industry helping promote for free. The studio also began receiving offers for the mainland market, including but not limited to film productions, and brand endorsements. Fan Bingqing knew all this was granted by Lu Liang, and she was determined to fulfill whatever he asked, even if it meant practicing opening beer bottles to achieve it soon. Lu Liang smiled calmly, looking at Fan Bingqing without any desire: “Miss Fan, you’re too kind. Just remember not to break the law anymore.” Life’s value lies in experience. Once experienced, dreams fulfilled. After all, an eighteen-year-old girl is more beautiful and enchanting.