Chapter 235: Close to 800 Million in Assets
After leaving the Jiuding Media Company, Xia Yu first went to the anime company and the publishing company.
The recent developments at the anime company have become clear: stabilize the sales of *Zhiyin Comic*, and strive to increase them. Additionally, organize the ManKe Home toy factory to produce comic-related merchandise. Finally, establish a management department for the ManKe Home peripheral flagship stores and select locations to build these stores.
These are the three main tasks for the anime company in the near future, and they are not expected to change in the short term.
Thus, during Xia Yu's upcoming absence from Xiangjiang, he focused on stability, not assigning any new tasks to Ma Tengdong, merely reminding him to execute the existing plans.
After spending some time at the anime company, Xia Yu visited the Jiuding Publishing Company and met with Guy Wen Peter, who had been diligently focusing on the company's development.
"Boss, you've arrived!"
Seeing Xia Yu, Guy Wen Peter quickly set aside his work and came to Xia Yu with respect.
"Hmm, how is the company progressing?" Xia Yu nodded and asked with concern.
"Boss, I was just about to update you. Please, come with me."
Guy Wen Peter said as he led Xia Yu to his office and showed him the plans and current status of the company.
Xia Yu sat on a chair and began to review the documents, appearing quite pleased.
Indeed, Xia Yu had reason to be pleased! It had been 26 days since the release of *The Qin Empire*, and the sales had already surpassed one million copies per volume.
The cumulative sales for the third, fourth, and fifth volumes were 1.345 million copies, 1.315 million copies, and 1.84 million copies, respectively.
Due to the remarkable popularity of *The Qin Empire*, it attracted many new readers, which boosted the sales of the first and second volumes, bringing their total sales to around 2.15 million copies.
The limited edition collector's version, with 200 sets remaining, was sold out completely, totaling 10,000 sets.
Thus, the total cumulative sales of *The Qin Empire* had reached 8.85 million copies, generating 28.25 million in revenue for Jiuding Publishing Company and Xia Yu, with more revenue expected in the future.
After discussing the success of *The Qin Empire*, Xia Yu reviewed the publishing company's work situation.
After 26 days of sales, the daily sales of *The Qin Empire* had stabilized, flowing steadily.
However, Jiuding Publishing Company couldn't afford to rest on its laurels. Guy Wen Peter, being very ambitious, aimed to establish the company's reputation in the martial arts novel sector. After discussions with the company's senior management, ten excellent martial arts novels had entered the publishing process.
In the coming days, martial arts novel enthusiasts would have a feast, with one book after another being released to the market, aiming to rekindle the craze for martial arts novels fueled by *The Qin Empire*!
It was anticipated that over the next month, Jiuding Publishing Company would become the envy of all publishing companies.
"The plans are well done. Just proceed according to them," Xia Yu said, satisfied.
"Got it!"
"By the way, I'll be leaving Xiangjiang for a while. It could be as short as twenty days or as long as a couple of months. While I'm away, you need to manage the company well. I'll call you once I arrive at my destination. If there's anything urgent, you can contact me anytime."
Xia Yu said calmly.
Guy Wen Peter was taken aback but nodded solemnly, "Understood. Rest assured, Boss. I won't let you down!"
"Hmm, I trust in your ability!" Xia Yu said with a smile.
Hearing Xia Yu's words, Guy Wen Peter showed a humble smile.
After staying at Jiuding Publishing Company for a while, Xia Yu set off again, heading to Jiuding Securities Company, which was the most important and complex matter, so it was left for last.
As he was about to leave Xiangjiang, he needed to carefully review the assets of Jiuding Securities Company, which was crucial for a new idea that had recently emerged and was growing rapidly in his mind.
Since it was a working day, all the employees at the securities company were busy when Xia Yu arrived. He only summoned Wang Qi, Ai Lewen, and Jin Jiajun to his office.
Xia Yu did not call the senior executives from other departments, as having their direct supervisor Wang Qi present was sufficient for understanding the situation without disrupting the company's operations.
"Jin Jiajun, you start!"
Without hesitation, Xia Yu instructed Jin Jiajun to report on the situation of the Huijin No. 1 Fund, which he managed.
The three men felt the significance of the boss's focus from his unusual approach.
Jin Jiajun did not dare be lax and began his report.
"Boss, Huijin No. 1 Fund…"
As Jin Jiajun reported methodically and Xia Yu reviewed the investment documents, Xia Yu occasionally nodded in approval.
After Jin Jiajun's report, it was Ai Lewen's turn, followed by Wang Qi.
Once all three had reported, Xia Yu nodded to them and began to ponder, his gaze becoming distant and profound.
Wang Qi and the others exchanged glances, sitting quietly and waiting for Xia Yu's instructions.
…
Starting with the Huijin No. 1 Fund managed by Jin Jiajun, which had an initial capital of 200 million HKD. Of this, 170 million HKD was used for long-term investments as per Xia Yu's instructions, and the remaining 30 million HKD was Jin Jiajun's discretionary investment amount, which could be used for short, medium, or long-term investments.
For the fixed long-term investments, 50 million HKD was spent on HSBC stocks, holding a 0.41% stake. 29 million HKD was spent on Hang Seng Bank stocks, holding a 0.68% stake. And 91 million HKD was used to buy stock in Cheung Kong Holdings, holding a 5.52% stake.
In total, 170 million HKD was invested according to the designated amount.
Xia Yu's investment decisions were, as expected, very astute. The stocks of these three strong and thriving companies had risen in value, increasing the Huijin No. 1 Fund's holdings to 186 million HKD, with a floating profit of 16 million HKD and an investment return rate of 9.4%.
The short-term investment of 30 million HKD yielded even higher returns.
Due to Jiuding Securities Company's strong reputation in the Xiangjiang stock market, its influence was significant, and its formidable strength was well-known, resulting in minimal direct competition. Additionally, the establishment of a highly regarded securities research institute and coordination with *Jiuding Daily* helped to influence stock prices through public opinion.
As a result, short-term investments were highly successful.
The 30 million HKD discretionary investment had grown to 43 million HKD, with a profit of 13 million HKD and an investment return rate of 43.3%.
Overall, the initial 200 million HKD of Huijin No. 1 Fund's capital had increased to 229 million HKD, with a profit of 29 million HKD, and a total investment return rate of 14.5%.
This investment return rate surpassed the annual investment return rates of over 90% of securities companies.
However, it was only June, and the investments had been made for just over three months, so it was expected that the return rate of Huijin No. 1 Fund would continue to rise, and doubling by the end of the year would not be a problem!
Regarding Huizhong No. 1 Fund, with an initial capital of 100 million HKD, 80 million HKD was allocated for fixed investments as specified by Xia Yu, and the remaining 20 million HKD was Ai Lewen's discretionary investment amount.
The 80 million HKD for fixed investments had been fully utilized, spending 30 million HKD to acquire 0.25% of HSBC's stock, 25 million HKD to acquire 1.43% of Sun Hung Kai Properties' stock, and 25 million HKD to acquire 1.54% of New World Development's stock.
So far, there was a floating profit of 9 million HKD, with an investment return rate of 11.25%.
The short-term investment of 20 million HKD had increased to 29 million HKD, with a profit of 9 million HKD and an investment return rate of 45%.
Combining both investments, the initial 100 million HKD had grown to 118 million HKD, with a total investment return rate of 18%, which was higher than that of Huijin No. 1 Fund managed by Jin Jiajun!
Of course, this did not mean that Ai Lewen's ability was significantly superior to Jin Jiajun's.
The difference was partly due to the higher frequency of short-term investments, which, although riskier, offered higher returns. Another reason was the difference in capital.
Ai Lewen managed half the capital that Jin Jiajun did, so the investment difficulty was lower. Jin Jiajun's 200 million HKD had to be spent over a longer period, making the denominator larger and thus reducing the return rate.
It is well known that doubling a small amount of money is relatively easy, but significantly increasing a large sum within the same timeframe is much more challenging.
An investment return rate of 100% is less impressive compared to a 50% return on a larger capital. Achieving a high overall investment return rate with large funds is what truly demonstrates skill.
Thus, Xia Yu believed
that the abilities of Jin Jiajun and Ai Lewen were comparable, with Ai Lewen perhaps having a slight edge. However, compared to Wang Qi, their abilities were not as strong.
Wang Qi managed the largest amount of funds.
28.5 million HKD was used to leverage ten times, resulting in 285 million HKD in total. This amount was entirely invested in Wharf Holdings' stock.
Previously, 222 million HKD was used to buy 16.5 million shares, holding a 16.84% stake. Subsequently, 63 million HKD was used to acquire 4.47 million shares, holding a 4.56% stake.
Thus, Jiuding Securities Company's anonymous accounts now held a combined 21.4% stake.
In addition to this secret investment, Xia Yu also had 125 million HKD in liquid assets.
Such a large sum of money could not remain idle. Even though Xia Yu had periodically transferred some funds to the other two companies, there remained 142 million HKD.
This was possible because the most profitable investments were prioritized, allowing the remaining funds to be allocated to Huijin No. 1 and Huizhong No. 1 Funds afterward.
Even though Ai Lewen and Jin Jiajun had no objections, understanding the importance of their own funds compared to external funds, they knew well where priorities lie.
Aside from these, Jiuding Securities Company had other sources of income from securities underwriting, advisory mergers, and securities research, which generated substantial revenue.
In total, these miscellaneous businesses contributed 12 million HKD in revenue.
After understanding the situation, Xia Yu began calculating.
Excluding intangible assets like human resources, Jiuding Securities Company's tangible assets amounted to 786 million HKD, very close to 800 million HKD. This strength was enough to position Jiuding Securities Company among the top securities companies in Xiangjiang.
Of course, the actual assets belonging to Xia Yu were just a little over 200 million HKD.
At this level, the mindset must shift from focusing on the amount of money one has to the amount of money one can control!
In this seemingly beautiful yet brutally competitive world, one's social status is not determined by personal resources but by the amount of social resources one can control.
This is why lower-tier individuals focus on wealth rankings and gossip about who is rich, while higher-tier individuals look at business rankings, understanding the essence of society better.
Like HSBC's chairman, Shen Bi, who, despite having negligible shares in HSBC, can still make significant waves with his influence!
Thus, the 786 million HKD in Jiuding Securities Company's assets are available for Xia Yu's use. That's all that matters!
The company's assets are one thing, but market value or valuation is another. Market value and valuation are related to profits, while total assets primarily reflect status and influence.
Compared to other industries, the financial industry is special!
Here are two examples:
1. Goldman Sachs, with total assets of 13.8 trillion USD, is both large in scale and status, but its market value is only about 80-90 billion USD, less than one-tenth of its total assets!
2. Wells Fargo, with total assets of 13 trillion USD, has a market value of around 250 billion USD, with a market-to-asset ratio barely reaching 1:6.
Therefore, without considering Xia Yu's own capital in Jiuding Securities Company, the valuation of Jiuding Securities Company would need to account for profits and other factors for a reasonable assessment.
Currently, the public is unaware of the internal situation of Jiuding Securities Company. Only when the profits of the two funds are publicly disclosed at the end of the year will outsiders have a more intuitive evaluation of Jiuding Securities Company.
At present, Jiuding Securities Company is perceived as mysterious, which Xia Yu intends to maintain, as it is most beneficial for him!
After thoroughly understanding the company's finances, Xia Yu's idea grew even more intense.
It's possible!
If this plan succeeds, he will truly leap into a higher level, no longer bound as he is now!
With a successful plan, his strength will soar, and his name as Xia the Tycoon will be firmly established!
Xia Yu's eyes flashed with a glint of determination as he prepared to lay out his plans.