Chapter 222: Chapter 138: Pulling Off a Big One
Hearing that Qi Sheng intended to be a hands-off boss,
Yuan Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, unsure if she should thank him for his trust.
"Boss, I’m completely swamped right now. For the new store’s renovation, you’ll have to send someone to oversee it, or at least assign me a few more capable assistants."
As a loyal employee provided by the system,
Yuan Li naturally wasn’t worried that someone sent by the boss would try to take her position.
On the contrary, she was eager for Qi Sheng to assign her more top talent.
This would free her up to focus on the matter of opening new branches.
"I’ll send ten people over to you in a bit. You can treat them as a talent reserve."
"Once the new store is ready, you can have them take over the management there."
Qi Sheng nodded with a smile. Naturally, he wouldn’t work Yuan Li to the bone.
He planned to use his office building as collateral to take out a loan.
He would pour the money into Spicy King’s stores, seizing the opportunity for rapid expansion.
With Shengxuan Financial Center’s market value, borrowing seven or eight hundred million yuan wouldn’t be a problem at all.
As for the interest, it was negligible compared to Spicy King’s profitability.
With only one store, Qi Sheng wouldn’t care much, no matter how high its revenue was.
But if there were hundreds of stores, he would take it very seriously.
The expansion process for other hot pot brands was time-consuming and arduous.
Just cultivating talent alone took a considerable amount of effort.
Qi Sheng had a talent pool provided by the system.
He had an endless supply of loyal and competent employees.
"Alright, I’ll get them settled in properly."
Yuan Li understood Qi Sheng’s intentions and couldn’t help but feel excited.
When she left Haidilao, many people were waiting to see her fail.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t want to prove them wrong.
But she never expected the chance to prove them wrong would come so quickly.
...
「China Construction Bank, Vice Governor’s Office.」
After they were seated, Zhou Yu brewed some tea for Qi Sheng and began to probe the reason for his visit.
"President Qi, is there anything I can help you with this time?"
"You’re very perceptive, Governor Zhou. I’d like to use Shengxuan Financial Center as collateral for a loan. I was wondering if your bank would be interested in handling this?"
Qi Sheng took a sip from his teacup. ’This tea must cost over ten thousand a pound,’ he thought.
’Bank governors really are treated well.’
"Of course, we’re willing! Shengxuan Financial Center is a famous Grade A office building in our city.
Its occupancy rate and rental income are both among the top for Grade A office buildings.
We at China Construction Bank can absolutely give you an offer that our competitors can’t match!"
Zhou Yu’s smile grew even more enthusiastic as he explained the details of a loan collateralized by an office building to Qi Sheng.
"For an asset to be used as collateral, its title must be clear, and it must be highly liquid."
"Shengxuan Financial Center, under your name, fits this principle perfectly."
"Typically, for properties like office buildings and commercial storefronts, you can get a loan for at most around fifty percent of the appraised value."
"The loan term is also relatively short, usually around three to five years."
"I can offer you seventy percent of the appraised value, extend the loan term to five to ten years, and make it an interest-only loan initially."
"If you feel that amount isn’t enough, I have ways to get it above seventy percent, but the processing fees would be higher."
After hearing Zhou Yu’s explanation, Qi Sheng had a general understanding of how loans collateralized by office buildings worked.
Given the prime quality of his building, getting a loan for seventy percent of its value wouldn’t be a problem.
But to get a ratio over seventy percent, Zhou Yu would definitely have to pull some strings and grease some palms.
"My need for capital isn’t that great. Seventy percent is more than enough."
Qi Sheng didn’t want to get into bed with Zhou Yu just for a bit more money.
"I understand. In that case, how does this sound?"
Zhou Yu was a little disappointed inside; he had thought he could make a hefty sum from this deal.
But he didn’t dare show it in the slightest and continued his enthusiastic pitch.
"I’ll help you with the application. At a seventy percent collateral ratio, based on Shengxuan Financial Center’s market value, you should be able to get a loan of around 840 million yuan."
"As for the interest rate, a three-year interest-only loan is 4.25%, a five-year one is 5.25%, and a ten-year one is 6.25%."
Qi Sheng was a bit stunned to hear he could get a loan for 840 million.
That was pure cash, far more tangible than a stationary office building.
There wasn’t much to say about the interest rates.
The longer the loan term, the higher the rate.
"Three years will be fine."
Qi Sheng thought for a moment and decided against the ten-year loan.
’He couldn’t even imagine how much money he would have in just three years.’
’By then, banks would probably be lining up, begging him to take out a loan.’
"No problem. In that case, I’ll try to negotiate on your behalf and get the three-year rate down to 4% or lower."
Zhou Yu also wanted to do Qi Sheng a favor,
and that shaved-off 0.25% interest amounted to 2.1 million yuan per year.
"Governor Zhou, let’s get together when we have time."
Qi Sheng was naturally happy to accept Zhou Yu’s favor, saying the words Zhou Yu most wanted to hear.
"Haha, no problem! I’ve been wanting to see how I measure up to you in a drinking contest, President Qi. No time like the present, what do you say to today?"
Zhou Yu had wanted to build a connection with Qi Sheng for a long time.
His last visit to Qi Sheng at Shengxuan Financial Center only served to make them vaguely acquainted.
It wasn’t until Qi Sheng came to him for business that they truly started to get familiar.
"I couldn’t let you cover the expense, Governor Zhou. I’ll make the arrangements."
A sudden realization struck Qi Sheng. ’I need a sufficiently prestigious restaurant to entertain distinguished guests. Once this loan is approved, I’ll have to open an upscale Sichuan restaurant, no matter what.’
"In that case, I won’t be polite, President Qi. Let’s continue with our tea. I’ll just give the credit department a call."
As he spoke, Zhou Yu casually used his landline to call the manager of the credit department.
He instructed them to prepare an appraisal report for Shengxuan Financial Center as quickly as possible, making sure the valuation was as favorable as realistically possible.
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