Chapter 276: Deep Planning

“Don’t you understand this? I’m thinking about retiring!” Wei Dongling was actually very tired, much more so than Xiao Ran. Aside from doing a lot of work in the early days of the company, Xiao Ran gradually handed over more responsibilities to Wei Dongling, focusing only on providing strategies and plans. Especially before the seven flagship companies were reorganized, Wei Dongling was extremely exhausted.
“You still want to retire? Stay put and keep working. Now that all seven flagship companies are operating according to our plans, they can function independently—we no longer need to get involved directly! That way, your workload will be much lighter!” Xiao Ran chuckled. Without Wei Dongling in charge before the reorganization, the administrative aspects of Phantom would surely have fallen into chaos.
Wei Dongling glanced at this lazy guy and couldn’t help but sigh, “It’s easy for you to say. Do you know how many documents I have to approve and how many decisions I have to make every day? Look at my hair—it’s already turned white…”
After searching carefully, he found not a single gray hair, so he covered it up with a chuckle. Xiao Ran shrugged indifferently. As long as order was maintained in the company, he didn’t care if Phantom went bankrupt—he already held 18% of Microsoft’s shares, making him the second-largest shareholder, enough to enjoy a comfortable life for life.
Wei Dongling wasn’t simple either. Don’t think he had no assets without Phantom—his annual salary and dividends from Phantom alone totaled hundreds of millions. Over the years, he invested this money and earned over a billion more. He also held 5% of Dell’s shares, making him a wealthy man by any standard.
However, Wei Dongling never expected to become a billionaire worth 20 billion in less than a decade. Xiao Ran also never imagined he could amass such wealth through his knowledge.
It’s no exaggeration to say he couldn’t even keep track of how much money he had. It was the magazine “Power” under Shuxiang that calculated it for him. The total market value of the seven flagship companies exceeded 150 billion dollars. After careful calculation, they came up with a figure that shocked even Xiao Ran.
Even without considering Phantom’s absolute control over the other six flagship companies, the value of Blockbuster, Universal, and Tianlai alone was already 20 billion dollars. If you added in the companies controlled by Phantom outside those six, along with Dell and other stocks, the total market value soared to over 50 billion dollars—making it a true flagship company.
However, due to debts of over 35 billion dollars, Xiao Ran’s net worth was far less than it seemed. But if you included the stocks in Microsoft and other companies he owned, along with real estate, his wealth was quite substantial. This year, he suddenly rose to sixth place among the world’s richest people, rightfully becoming Asia’s and the Chinese world’s richest man.
But this wasn’t what Xiao Ran cared about. As long as Phantom’s debts didn’t exceed 30% of its total assets and it maintained a substantial cash reserve, it would be safe. Even if Phantom went bankrupt, its high debts wouldn’t force him to borrow money to pay them off.

The so-called assets are nothing but game numbers, all part of a game where money generates more money, and the traps in this game are not easy to escape. Don’t believe it? If Xiao Ran dares to sell the shares of Phantom he controls, it will surely cause the stock prices of Phantom’s subsidiaries to plummet. He has already surpassed Li Chao Ren’s prestige and become a legendary figure trusted and respected by Hong Kong people.

If he can’t escape these traps, then Xiao Ran’s money will never be within reach. Apart from his personal investments, he can only earn money from Phantom’s annual dividends and the salary from his position as chairman of the boards of the seven flagship companies. However, since Phantom makes substantial profits every year, the dividends he receives amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

After taking a short break, Wei Dongling picked a grape and put it in his mouth, then picked up a document to read: “Murdoch and the six major companies, plus Soros. But I don’t quite understand—how are you sure he’ll attack Hong Kong’s financial system?”

“He definitely will come back!” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh. “As I thought before, due to decades of rapid development, Hong Kong inevitably faces some crises. It’s almost impossible to avoid them entirely, so it’s better to trigger them before the handover and shift the public’s anger onto the British!”

“That’s right, you’re always so cunning!” Wei Dongling understood Xiao Ran’s intentions after just a brief thought, sighing in admiration, as if Xiao Ran had done something utterly evil. “The mainland market is our most important support. This way, we can avoid public dissatisfaction with the Chinese government caused by these lingering problems.”

Xiao Ran chuckled. His plans went far beyond that. This move could serve as political capital in negotiations with the Chinese government to secure greater benefits. Surely the government wouldn’t want to end up bearing the blame from the British, so this approach was definitely feasible.

“As long as there’s profit to be made, speculators will always rush in, won’t they?” Xiao Ran said lightly. Soros was a thorn in his side. There were very few people in the world capable of triggering an Asian financial crisis, and Soros was one of the most remarkable among them.

Hong Kong movies have their base in Hong Kong, their roots on the mainland, and their market in Asia. So if a financial crisis occurs, it will surely affect the development of Hong Kong movies. But Xiao Ran was still considering luring Soros to attack—if he could strike at the financial systems of other Asian countries, it would definitely benefit Phantom Group’s expansion.

Of course, the prerequisite was that Xiao Ran had to hold Hong Kong firmly. Since the mainland’s financial system wasn’t yet connected to the global market, the impact wouldn’t be significant. Anyway, a financial crisis was inevitable sooner or later, so why not control it and seize a better opportunity for expansion? Never forget—chaos often brings enormous profits. As long as one can seize the opportunity, there’s sure to be a profit to be made.

Wei Dongling flipped through the documents and found the thick stack belonging to Soros. After glancing through it, he frowned: “This guy is no ordinary person—he’s extremely dangerous. He can deploy around fifty to sixty billion dollars in funds, and when international speculators and traders follow suit, it’s estimated they can mobilize around two hundred billion dollars. The company definitely doesn’t have that much money to counter them!”
Money was precisely what Xiao Ran was worried about. Based on investigations, if Soros launched an attack, the worst-case scenario could involve three hundred billion dollars being deployed at once.
However, Xiao Ran consulted Fang Xiaoqiang, a top expert in this field, who believed such a scenario was unlikely. Clearly, Xiao Ran’s goal was to protect Hong Kong, though it was also possible that other Asian countries would suffer as well. This was unlikely too, as Hong Kong’s finance was linked to the international market; if there were problems in Asian finance, Hong Kong would surely be affected.
Therefore, Xiao Ran had no choice but to settle for a compromise, focusing on defending Asian finance. By stretching Soros’s front line, other speculators might not dare to attack. Moreover, Tianxia Fund, under the leadership of Fang Xiaoqiang and other top Asian traders, was already well-known globally. If Tianxia Fund joined the fight against Soros, it would surely deter many speculators.
In this case, the worst-case amount would likely be only two hundred billion dollars. To defend against that, Xiao Ran would need to control at least two hundred fifty billion dollars. Although the Hong Kong government had substantial dollar reserves, Xiao Ran didn’t think the British Hong Kong government would offer help. Perhaps they could obtain some dollars from the mainland government.
This amount was a terrifying figure for Phantom at the moment. Although Phantom’s market value had already exceeded half of that amount, neither Xiao Ran nor Wei Dongling would consider using it as collateral to borrow money. So, they had to find another way.
Given these considerations, Xiao Ran had anticipated such a situation. He wasn’t unprepared; instead, he smiled mysteriously and said, “Trust me, after this year, we should be able to raise such a sum. The electronic technology and internet stocks we control will surely soar in value!”
Wei Dongling widened his eyes, staring at Xiao Ran in confusion. He didn’t understand why Xiao Ran was so confident. But Xiao Ran had his own plans. Before the handover, the soaring stock prices of Dell, Microsoft, and Cisco would bring them at least eighty billion dollars in profits.
Moreover, Phantom Holdings owned many more companies in electronics, technology, and the internet sector. Over the next two years, these stocks would rise sharply, but it would be necessary to sell a significant portion of their shares before the internet bubble burst.
Xiao Ran didn’t plan to fight this battle alone. He intended to raise funds from Hong Kong’s wealthy individuals like Li Ka-shing. He thought Phantom could contribute eight to ten billion dollars, with the rest coming from other wealthy individuals and the Chinese government.

After pondering for a while, Xiao Ran came up with a general idea, or rather, a plan: “A Dong, the reports show that if an Asian financial crisis occurs, as long as Phantom can take preventive measures in advance, the company’s losses will be minimal. I’m hesitating about how to ensure that the financial markets of other Asian countries won’t affect Hong Kong.”

Wei Dongling shrugged and said, “For such a question, you’d better ask A Qiang—he’s the professional. But I think it shouldn’t be a big problem. As you predicted, Hong Kong will definitely need time to stabilize itself and improve its financial and economic systems. A financial crisis is the best way to test itself.”

Xiao Ran nodded. He thought it made sense. As for which plan to adopt, it wasn’t too late to decide later. As for that guy Fang Xiaoqiang, he was always sent around by Xiao Ran, constantly traveling around the world. Xiao Ran had even considered using losses to help Fang Xiaoqiang and those experts who relied on him gain experience during the financial crisis. Fortunately, Fang Xiaoqiang was very capable, earning hundreds of billions of dollars for Phantom while incurring less than half a billion in losses.

Next, Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling needed to discuss Murdoch. Wei Dongling opened Murdoch’s file with frustration. Although he had memorized it over the past few days, he still opened it and complained, “This guy isn’t easy to deal with. His personality is somewhat similar to yours. Moreover, Murdoch has controlled the majority of News Corp.’s shares from start to finish—just like you. It’s like a mouse pulling a turtle; there’s no way to strike!”

Murdoch rarely sought financing because he preferred a dictatorial approach, which was really similar to Xiao Ran’s style. However, News Corp. needed funds to expand. Relying solely on profits was insufficient for expansion, so since he was unwilling to give up control by financing, borrowing was the only option.

News Corp.’s subsidiaries weren’t entirely without financing. For example, Phantom’s Shuxiang Media and Global’s Meilvying had indirectly taken control of a small portion of shares in several News Corp. subsidiaries. But clearly, subsidiaries couldn’t pose a significant threat to the headquarters, and Murdoch maintained absolute control over them—making things really difficult.

Under such circumstances, unless News Corp. faced serious problems, it was unlikely to go bankrupt, let alone have its control seized by Xiao Ran. Instead of hoping News Corp. would have problems, it was better to take action from the outside.

“In my opinion, the key lies in targeting News Corp.’s finances!” Xiao Ran quickly came up with an answer. This was something he had thought about for a long time, and now he wanted to align his thoughts with Wei Dongling’s in order to plan strategically: “Murdoch urgently needs to integrate the TV networks in North America, and he’s making aggressive acquisitions everywhere. Currently, News Corp.’s total market value is 20 billion dollars, while its subsidiaries’ debts amount to 6 billion dollars, and the parent company has 3 billion dollars in debt!”

Wei Dongling shook his head, disapproving of Xiao Ran’s idea: “Murdoch is an expert. He knows very well that once a company’s debts exceed 50% of its value, it becomes dangerous. So, he definitely won’t make such a mistake!”

Xiao Ran chuckled and sat up to pour himself a glass of water. He stepped forward a few paces to the railing, turned, and stared at Wei Dongling, saying, “You’re right, but sometimes it doesn’t take 50% to be fatal. Also, don’t overlook Murdoch’s typical Western businessman style—conservative yet adventurous. As long as the benefits he sees outweigh the risks, he’ll definitely choose to take the gamble. I know he will, because I would do the same.”
“Right now, News Corp.’s base in Australia is solid, but it lost in Europe to Shuxiang. In North America, he needs to merge its TV networks and other media under Fox and needs funds for development, just like Universal did. In Asia, apart from controlling two publications, News Corp. has no other markets.”
Xiao Ran’s smile gradually turned eerie, as if countless schemes were at play. “In Europe, News Corp.’s position is gradually stabilizing, so he doesn’t need to worry too much about it. What he needs to solidify now is the North American market, and Fox is the key to that. If Fox is brought down, given his current level of debt, serious problems will surely arise.”
Wei Dongling certainly understood these principles, but Murdoch must also be aware of his own difficulties, so Xiao Ran’s plan might not work. Seeing Wei Dongling’s expression, Xiao Ran knew what he was thinking and chuckled, “I never thought I could use this opportunity to knock Murdoch down. I just don’t want him to use this chance to turn Fox into a comprehensive entertainment media company.”
“With all the media outlets now merged into Fox, it means the debt is concentrated there—about five billion dollars. Murdoch is well aware of this, which is why he’s seeking emergency financing!” Xiao Ran said confidently by the railing. “Now that Universal is stable, it’s time to dissolve the alliance. Let Fang Xiaoqiang go to the U.S. in person to manipulate the stock market and ensure Fox’s stock price drops by more than 20% from 12 billion. By then, Murdoch will definitely need funds, and Wall Street is unlikely to lend him money, so his only option is to borrow from banks.”
Hearing this, Wei Dongling had guessed most of it. Xiao Ran’s move was likely to make Murdoch’s News Corp. even more indebted, pushing it to the 50% threshold. After some thought, Xiao Ran frowned slightly. “However, I don’t think Murdoch is completely helpless, so we need another plan.”
“Okay, I understand what you mean!” Wei Dongling said with a wry smile after listening to Xiao Ran’s alternative plan, then exclaimed, “You’re truly a natural schemer! But with such a long time frame, won’t there be problems?”
“I don’t think so. And I have backup plans to address any issues. Don’t worry!” Xiao Ran always liked such praise. “In any case, this task depends on you handling it personally. Don’t give that old guy any chance.”
What comes next? Xiao Ran finally calmed down. All that remained were the Six Great Warriors. Maybe not exactly. MGM, that sickly company, was unlikely to recover. With just a slight push from Xiao Ran, MGM could be merged with Universal at any time.

Removing Fox leaves only four. Columbia has now carried out reforms; two companies that spent $3 billion over several years were not only fired but also sued by Columbia. Honestly, Xiao Ran never thought he could force these six Hollywood companies to this point. Joke aside, as long as these established companies operate without problems, there are countless others willing to step in to take over! It’s no exaggeration to say that even if these six companies declared bankruptcy, countless American billionaires would immediately be eager to buy them. Clearly, making these six companies go bankrupt isn’t Xiao Ran’s goal—it would only waste his effort needlessly. As Xiao Ran said, speculation is never the solution; proper management is the key. With good management, there’s nothing to fear. It’s like producing high-quality movies; the more high-quality works you produce, the more markets you can’t resist. So, Xiao Ran is well aware that whether Hong Kong films can dominate the global market depends on their own management. If they manage well and produce excellent content, defeating Hollywood won’t be a problem.