Chapter 1154 The Development of Universal Studios
After leaving the Future Science City, Xu Liang stopped by the Shougang construction site.
Compared to the last time he came, this place has become a big construction site.
Hundreds of excavators and excavators are at work. Construction workers wearing dark blue work clothes and hard hats make the chaotic construction site look orderly.
"Mr. Xu, Shougang has completed the first phase of relocation. Our machines have entered the factory and the first phase of project construction will be completed by the end of next year at the latest."
"Where's the second issue?"
"It depends on the relocation progress of Shougang. If it is quick, construction can start in the middle of next year, and we can complete the second phase of the project by the end of 2010.
The third and fourth phases are estimated to take 15 years to be officially completed. "Song Feng said.
The entire "Beijing Universal Studios" project covers an area of 8.63 square kilometers. The project includes three parts: Universal Studios, Shougang Heritage Park, and Yongding River International Tourism Resort.
There are two phases of Universal Studios, one phase each of Shougang Heritage Park and Yongding River International Tourism Resort, for a total of four phases.
The total project investment is 75 billion Chinese dollars.
Shougang will invest in the site, accounting for 30% of the entire project; Global Tourism Group will invest in capital, technology and management, accounting for 70%.
Therefore, after excluding land transfer fees, the actual global investment is about 50 billion Chinese dollars.
"The construction period of the project is very long, and communication and coordination in all aspects require a lot of time and energy, especially in terms of project quality. I would rather spend more money than have any problems," Xu Liang explained.
"Don't worry, I will stick to the quality control and there will never be any problems."
"I am assured of your character, Lao Song, but there are so many smart people down there, and there are all kinds of people. Be careful that they fool you."
"Mr. Xu, don't worry. I'll be keeping an eye on the procurement. I'll also come over often to take a look at the project. Coupled with Hongyan's supervision, with a two-pronged approach, there will basically be no major problems." Song Feng said.
Xu Liang nodded, because Taihua has many real estate projects.
Therefore, Hongyan, as his family office, in order to give full play to its supervisory function, in addition to financial review, it also involves project supervision.
“It’s been half a year since Universal Studios opened, how is its performance?”
There was a touch of excitement in Song Feng's expression, "Mr. Xu, very good, no, I should say outstanding.
From its opening on January 1 this year to now, within half a year, Magic City Universal Studios has welcomed a total of 6.2 million tourists and generated a total revenue of 8.96 billion Chinese dollars.
Theme park tickets, theme gift shops, theme catering services, and park theme hotels account for 43%, 14%, 25%, and 19% of the total revenue respectively.
If this income can be maintained in the second half of the year.
Universal Studios Shanghai will become the first theme park in the world to achieve balanced revenue or even maintain a small profit in the first year of its opening. ”
Nearly 90% of all theme parks in the world operate at a loss.
Even half of Disney's five existing theme parks are losing money.
Universal Studios Osaka's Universal Studios is only doing poorly so far.
In contrast, Universal Studios Magic City has achieved balanced revenue and even maintained a small profit since its opening. This is indeed exciting news.
Xu Liang was happy and relieved.
He has added a large amount of local Chinese content to Universal Studios, such as "Kung Fu Panda", "Black Cat Sheriff", "Calabash Baby", "Havoc in Heaven" and other classic animation IPs from Magic City Art Studio.
At one time, it accounted for more than one-third of the Magic City Universal Studios.
Xu Liang was unsure whether this change was really popular.
Now it seems that it is still successful.
Xu Liang: “Now that the model of Universal Studios in Magic City is ready, it will be easier for us to discuss expanding Universal Studios in other cities.”
"You are still far-sighted. When I contacted the Yangcheng and Chengcheng governments recently, they were obviously much more attentive."
"How is Singapore doing? Is there any progress?"
"There has been some progress. They agreed to our land expansion request, but they did not agree to our plan to use the entire Santa Rosa Island to build Universal Studios."
After the acquisition by Xu Liang, Universal Studios turned its main focus to China, so the construction of Universal Studios Singapore was delayed compared to history.
And he doesn’t want Universal Studios Singapore to be as rigid as it was historically.
It is only 20 hectares, not even a fraction of Hong Kong Disneyland.
Therefore, he planned to capture the entire Santa Rosa as soon as he opened his mouth.
As for the existing properties on Santa Rosa Island, all of them will be absorbed.
Turn these owners into shareholders of Universal Studios Singapore.
Although he had a good idea and was very ambitious, the difficulty of this matter was too high.
Sentosa Island is an island south of Singapore.
Located 500 meters south of the main island of Singapore, it is 4 kilometers long from east to west, 1.6 kilometers wide from north to south, and covers an area of 3.47 square kilometers. It is the third largest island outside Singapore.
During the colonial period, it was a British naval base. It was formerly known as Juehou Island and was renamed in 1972.
It has been developed into a fully equipped marine paradise.
The British fortress Siloso Fort on the western end of the island was built in 1880.
Ancient cannons from the 15th century are preserved here, including complex underground building walls, gun mounts, cannons, and mortars.
The Maritime Museum displays information on the history of Singapore Port and the development of navigation.
Sentosa is regarded as the shining pearl of Singapore's tourism and entertainment industry. It is a leisure destination integrating theme parks, tropical resorts, natural parks and cultural centers.
It is precisely this superior location that attracted Universal Studios to settle here.
"Mr. Xu, Singapore said that they can get us up to 70 hectares of land. If we want more, we can only negotiate with the owners of Serapong Golf Course and Amara Christmas Resort." .”
"Have you talked to them?"
"Not yet."
“Let’s make contact first and see the other person’s attitude.
In short, there is no rush for Universal Pictures Singapore. "Xu Liangdao.
The subprime debt crisis and the global tourism industry have plummeted. When these resort hotels are in poor business, it is the right time to buy them.
"Then here in China..."
Xu Liang thought briefly, "What news is Disney doing in China?"
"They contacted the Magic City very early, but we were able to take the lead before they prepared to contact the capital. But we were preempted by us again in the capital, and their expansion in China has stagnated. We have never heard of anyone. Urban Contact.”
At present, the cities with the best economy in China are Beijing and Shanghai.
As for the south, with Xiangjiang Disneyland, it is naturally impossible to develop Pengcheng or Yangcheng.
Xu Liang's first move undoubtedly hindered Disney's expansion in the capital and Shanghai.
Moreover, it is impossible for the two local governments to accept two huge theme parks at once. In the 1990s, the concentrated construction of theme parks caused huge waste in less than ten years.
There is no reason for the higher-ups not to be more cautious.
If Xu Liang hadn't been rich in capital, a member of China's own people, and had connections with the Jiang family, he wouldn't have been able to build two Universal Studios in Magic City and Beijing in succession.
Moreover, the reason why Beijing Universal Studios was able to be built was because it benefited from Shougang’s relocation.
If the superiors didn't want such a large Shougang Park to be reduced to industrial ruins, he wouldn't have won this project so easily.
“Don’t relax your focus on Disney, this is the only competitor that can pose a threat to us.
Don’t stop contacting Singapore, Yangcheng and Chengdu.
There could even be some substantive negotiations.
For example, site selection, land transfer, three connections and one leveling, transportation line construction, etc. ”
Such a very large investment cannot be completed without a year or two of preliminary research.
After Song Feng nodded, "Mr. Xu, can Universal issue another convertible bond?" "The construction funds of Universal Studios in Beijing are not enough?"
Although the construction funds of "Beijing Universal Studios" are as high as 50 billion Chinese dollars after deducting the land transfer fee, the entire construction period is as long as 7 years.
The first phase will take two and a half years, with a construction capital of 12 billion Chinese dollars.
The Global Travel Group is only prepared to take about 10% of this money, and the rest will be settled through debt issuance.
At present, it has cooperated with Hanhua to issue the first US$500 million, ten-year, interest rate of 7.5%, "Beijing Universal Studios" corporate bonds globally.
In the context of China's rapid economic development, sales are pretty good.
In particular, the good news that the Magic City Universal Studios achieved a balanced revenue after its opening added a boost to the bond issuance.
With this money, ‘Beijing Universal Studios’ will not be short of funds within a year.
“It’s not Universal Studios Beijing, it’s several of our other projects.
‘Huangguoshu Tourism Resort Phase III’, Phuket International Tourism Village in Thailand, Longhu Mountain Scenic Area Phase II, and Huizhou West Lake Phase II.
The total investment in the four projects is 1.7 billion Chinese dollars, mainly including the development of scenic spots and the construction of resort hotels. ”
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Xu Liang nodded.
"'Huangguoshu' has reached the third phase of development?"
Song Feng responded.
In 1992, Huangguoshu Scenic Area declared a "World Natural Heritage" to UNESCO.
However, due to the overpopulation of residents in Banbian Street, the numerous restaurants and hotels, and the excessive human traces, which destroyed the natural and harmonious beauty of the original green mountains and green waters, the application for UNESCO World Heritage failed.
Your province is naturally unwilling to do so.
Over the years, we have been deliberately rectifying the messy situation in the scenic spot.
But this requires significant capital investment.
It is obviously unrealistic to rely solely on the government to solve the problem.
Deron came closer in this situation.
The two parties also immediately finalized a cooperation plan.
Huangguoshu Scenic Area invested tourism resources and Delong invested 500 million Chinese dollars, and both parties jointly established the ‘Huangguoshu Scenic Tourism Area Development Company’.
Delong holds 49% of the shares and is responsible for the development and management of the scenic spot; Guizhou holds 51% and is responsible for supervision.
In 2003, Guizhou Province launched the detailed planning of six major Huangguoshu scenic spots.
The project is divided into three phases.
The first phase mainly develops Huangguoshu Waterfall Scenic Area and Tianxing Bridge Scenic Area.
In the second phase, Doupotang Scenic Area and Dishuitan Scenic Area will be developed.
In the third phase, Shitou Zhai Scenic Area and Shenlong Cave Scenic Area will be developed.
It should be said that your province thought very well, but they picked a bad persimmon.
At the beginning, Delong still acted in accordance with the contract, but soon his finances fell into crisis. Before a Huangguoshu Waterfall scenic spot was completed, funds were cut off.
There was a lot of quarreling between the two sides over this matter.
It was not until Delongbi Xu's acquisition that sufficient funds were available that the entire development project could continue.
However, Xu Liang obviously disdains Delong's frugal development plan.
With a wave of his hand, the investment in the entire development plan tripled.
The extra money will mainly be used to build two star-rated resort hotels with a total of more than 1,000 rooms and a cable car that runs through the entire scenic area.
and the construction of a state-of-the-art nursing home with various recreational facilities.
As more money is invested, the equity interests of both parties will naturally change.
However, your province did not want to lose control of the scenic spot, so both parties finally compromised.
The shareholding remains unchanged, but the two hotels and sanatorium are all owned by Global Travel Group.
"How much debt do you plan to issue?" Xu Liang asked.
"One billion dollars."
Song Feng said carefully.
Xu Liang shook his head.
Seeing this, Song Feng's heart thumped and he sank to the bottom.
"One billion U.S. dollars is too petty, so just issue 5 billion U.S. dollars."
‘Teng’, Song Feng felt a surge of heat, and the scalding air rushed straight to the top door.
The ups and downs of emotions made him a little excited.
"Mr. Xu, really...really?"
"Do I need to lie to you?"
"Mr. Xu, that's not what I meant. But there are too many!"
Too many indeed.
In order to build the "Universal City Magic City", Universal only issued US$2 billion in corporate bonds. Adding in the US$1 billion from the "Universal City Capital Studios", it was only US$3 billion.
Of course, in order to develop major scenic spots, Global Tourism Group also borrowed approximately 8 billion Hua Xia Yuan from Standard Chartered Bank and Guangfa.
But all these debts add up to just over $4 billion.
Another $5 billion?
It doesn't cost that much money at all.
Could it be said?
Song Feng's heart moved, "Mr. Xu, are you preparing for the three Universal Studios in Singapore, Yangcheng and Chengdu?"
"Your mind works really fast.
However, both is and is not. ”
Seeing Song Feng's hesitant expression, Xu Liang didn't explain much.
"You will distribute these 5 billion US dollars in the name of building the 'Beijing Universal Studios'. After you get the money, you will leave 1 billion US dollars to meet the group's development needs, and the rest will be transferred to the group's financial account."< br>
Song Feng's eyes revealed a look of surprise.
The financial account of Global Travel Group was officially established in December last year and was placed in Xiangjiang and managed by Hongyan.
In February this year, there was an additional US$3 billion in this account, mainly for CDS bonds of various loans such as U.S. real estate subprime debt, car loans, and campus loans.
Song Feng didn't know much about this kind of bond.
At the beginning, the monthly insurance premium was more than 3 million US dollars, which was really painful.
Fortunately, within three months, we actually made a profit?
100 million US dollars, 200 million US dollars, and now the profit of the financial account has reached nearly 800 million US dollars!
He was simply overjoyed.
If the big boss hadn't allowed him to withdraw funds from his financial account, he wouldn't have had to issue any corporate bonds.
Now not only do I not withdraw the money I earn, but I also continue to invest in it.
Obviously, the big boss has another big move.
For a moment, I couldn't help but feel excited.
Needless to say, the financial investment capabilities of the big bosses are among the top few in the world.
If you add these 5 billion US dollars, how much money can you make back when everything is settled?
For a moment, Song Feng's heart became hot.
(End of chapter)