Chapter 344 Discussion of the Indian Market

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Originally, Guo Shouyun planned to stay in Exeter for a few more days, take a look at his friends, and accompany Lao Beiwen by the way. But Rebecca Marc's progress in France has been faster than he expected. And coincidentally, Buddy Morris's negotiations with Warner have also accelerated.

Clearly, his frequent contact with companies in the same industry made Warner and Vivendi feel a certain threat. Or maybe their own financial situation has deteriorated to the point where they have to make a choice. Regardless of the situation, or both, it is a happy thing for Guo Shouyun.

After saying goodbye to Old Bewen, Al Bewen, and Rowling's family, Guo Shouyun once again stepped on the plane back to Paris. It is not far from England to France, which is across the sea, and it is an hour's flight away.

"Boss, this is the terms of our agreement with Vivendi, but the exact purchase amount has not yet been decided. In the car leaving the airport, Rebecca Mark took out a document and handed it to Guo Shouyun.

After taking it and reading it carefully, he nodded with satisfaction.

Vivendi Games, Universal Pictures, Universal Studios, and Canal+, I basically got everything I wanted the most. ”

"But the $11.2 billion price of Universal Pictures and Universal Studios is a bit too high!"

Strictly speaking, as Universal Pictures, which has the world's second largest film library after MGM, as well as a series of classic movie rights such as "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park", plus 4 Universal Studios around the world, the combined value should be more than $11.2 billion.

But unfortunately, in addition to the two Universal Studios in the United States, the newly completed Universal Studios Osaka and the Universal Studios Mediterranean in Spain, Universal Studios has only 15% and 43% of the shares in them, which weakens the real value of Universal Studios' assets.

"Gao can talk, Vivendi can let go of his mouth is a victory for us in itself!" Guo Shouyun said, "By the way, what time is the afternoon negotiation schedule?"

"At 15 o'clock! The location is still Vivendi's headquarters. ”

Guo Shouyun looked at the time.

"There are still five and a half hours before the negotiations, so we will have lunch later, then talk about the details of the next negotiations, and arrive at Vivendi's headquarters at 3 p.m. sharp. I can't wait to meet Jean-René Fortu. ”

Rebecca nodded, "By the way, boss, the villa you want has already been selected for you." ”

"Oh. Where?"

"Sixteenth arrondissement, it's close to where you last attended the banquet. ”

"Go and see!" Guo Shouyun said with interest.

Although he had seen it on the photos that Rebecca had sent him before, the photos were never as real and fun as seeing them with her own eyes.

Rebecca gave the address to Matthew, who was driving, and half an hour later, the convoy stopped in front of a villa hidden in the shadows of the trees.

Because Guo Shouyun deliberately emphasized that it is not too luxurious to be a manor-type villa. Therefore, the new Paris house that Rebecca chose for him does not cover a large area, and the front and rear gardens and the main building add up to 3,000 square meters. Typical French architectural style, it looks beautiful on the outside. Tennis courts and swimming pools also cater to daily relaxation needs. In addition, the eight rooms in the main body of the villa are also enough for Guo Shouyun, who is only temporarily living.

Standing on the observation deck on the top of the building, looking at the Seine River like a jade belt in the distance, as well as the bustling Parisian markets on both sides, Guo Shouyun nodded with satisfaction.

"It's a good place, how much does it cost?"

"The total price is 7.5 million euros, the down payment is 2 million, the interest rate is 4.5%, 20 years!"

Although he was not short of money to pay the full amount, in terms of capital efficiency, the rate of appreciation of money in his hands was well over 4.5%. So, installments are the best option for him.

"That's it. I'll have someone call you in a moment!"

Accustomed to Guo Shouyun's clear way of doing things between public and private, Rebecca didn't say much.

"Sit!"

After waving to Rebecca, the two sat down on the lounge chairs on the balcony.

"Although the contract with Vivendi has not yet been finalized, the basic situation has now been decided. So, I'd like to talk to you about the Indian side. After all, of all the people I know around me, you are the only one who is most familiar with this country, and I want to hear your opinion. ”

Rebecca Mark is intelligent, experienced and observant. From Guo Shouyun's words, she heard a different kind of charm.

"The boss wants to expand his investment in India?"

"Well, a big market with nearly 3 million square kilometers and a population of 1 billion people, no company in the world wants to miss out. Guo Shouyun nodded.

In the last life, because the Internet was full of all kinds of negative news about India, Guo Shouyun had a bad impression of this country located in the subcontinent, and he never thought of having anything to do with India. But this life was different, and from a business point of view, he realized the importance of India.

Although it is far inferior to Huaxia, it is also one of the world's top ten markets, and it has some potential.

"I'm not too optimistic about the Indian market!" Rebecca Mark shook her head after a moment's thought.

"Oh, why?"

"India's government and parliamentary systems are rigid, corrupt and inefficient. There is a lack of legal system in the country, a strong religious atmosphere, and a relatively fair and reasonable business environment. In addition, India's domestic infrastructure is backward and energy is scarce. Under the caste system, there are strict classes, religion and race are opposed to each other, the population with education above the middle level is small, and there is a lack of sufficient qualified human resources for business development. Moreover, Indians generally lack respect for time, and absenteeism and laziness are commonplace. Therefore, whether it is politics, environment, religion, law, human resources, etc., India is not a good choice for business development. ”

"It seems that you have gained a lot from a Dabol project!" Guo Shouyun nodded and smiled.

"I was also attracted by India's large population and seemingly huge market. As a result, when the project started, I realized that it was dozens of times more difficult than I had imagined. Rebecca nodded.

"Didn't think about giving up?"

"Thought. But the CEO of Enron International is an opportunity that I finally got after giving up a lot. With an investment of up to US$3 billion, the Dabor project is Enron's star project. If I give up, then all my efforts at Enron will be in vain. Jeffrey Jilin and Lou Pee will not let go of this opportunity to kick me out of Enron's management. So, even if the Dabor project is difficult, I have to carry it on. ”

"And the more difficult it is, the better it is for me. Because I am the only one who knows the project best, Enron must be responsible for the success of the Dabor project. Only in the end I still misestimated the complexity of Indian politics. In the 95 Indian general election, the Congress Party lost to the 'Indian Nationalist Alliance', and Enron and Maharashtra's Dabor project became the best target of the other side because of its huge investment and high cost. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded knowingly.

"It's because you don't have the funds in place. Otherwise, there are so many projects that India has cooperated with foreign consortiums, so why has Dabor become a target of the Congress opposition?"

"Enron was expanding around the world at the time, and money was scarce. Rich Kinder, the company's president, was shrewd, more experienced and more skilled than Jeffrey Jilin, who later became Enron's president. He saw the risks in the Indian market, because Enron did not know about India at the time, and lacked the necessary contacts and information channels, so he temporarily slowed down the investment in the Dabor project. ”

"Originally, it was out of prudence and wanted to wait and see before making a decision. But I didn't expect the situation in India to change so quickly, coupled with the impetus of competitors, Dabor suddenly became the target of criticism in the entire Indian society. There is outrage throughout India, and no party dares to touch this minefield. Therefore, the Dabor giant power plant project, which could have become Enron's second profit support point after the British Teesside project, became Enron's largest loss-making project. ”

Thinking of the predicament at that time, Rebecca Mark's tone was also a little melancholy.

After pondering for a moment, Guo Shouyun continued: "In the third world, the legal system in the third world is not as perfect as in the developed countries. If you want to invest here, the biggest risk is not money, but politics. Enron's investment in Dabor, which was wholly owned from the beginning, doomed its future to not be ideal. ”

"We also thought about working with a local Indian company, but Ken Lai, the chairman of the company, refused. Indian officials from Maharashtra who sent to the U.S. to attract investment gave so many assurances that most of them forgot about the risks. ”

"Indians are really slippery!"

Guo Shouyun nodded in agreement.

"In addition to politics, we also lack research on the Indian market. The cost of generating electricity from natural gas is so high that the price of electricity completely exceeds the market price of electricity in India. If the Maharashtra Electricity Board were to buy Dabor's electricity, it would have to pay $30 billion for the entire project to pay for itself. This became the biggest point of attack for the opposition, as well as for the Indians. It is also the best proof that Maharashtra officialdom is corrupt, Enron has impure motives, and exploits India. … It's ironic that we ourselves handed over the 'guns' to the Indians and then let them kill Enron!"

"Actually, the most fundamental reason for all these problems is within Enron. If it weren't for Ken Lai's alienation from Enron's management and strategic planning, Jeffrey Jilin's one-sided pursuit of scale rather than real profitability, and the premature departure of Rich Kinder, who had the ability to control the company, Enron would not have fallen into bankruptcy. ”

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