Page 101 of One Indian Girl
‘Expensive operation,’ I said.
‘Yes. So when business takes a nosedive it gets really tough,’ Neel said.
Neel told me that Typhoon Haiyan, one of the deadliest tropical cyclones, had hit the Philippines last year. It had left thousands dead. The country had still not recovered from it. High-end tourists still avoided the Philippines, making El Casa suffer. I took notes as Neel continued to talk.
‘Owner is Marcos Sereno. Fifty years old, first generation, liquor baron. Tough businessman, respected in the community. El Casa is a passion project for him. So he is touchy about the world finding out it failed.’
‘You have the financials?’ I said.
Neel slid a five-inch-thick set of documents towards me.
‘This contains everything. The existing lending banks want to get out. Marcos wants to cooperate, as long as his reputation stays intact.’
‘Understood,’ I said. ‘I will go through all this.’
‘Good. And let’s go to Palawan next week and meet Marcos.’
23
‘Orange juice or champagne?’ a Cathay Pacific flight attendant said. She offered Neel drinks on a tray.
‘Orange juice, please. Too early for champagne,’ Neel said.
I took the same. We sat next to each other in the business-class cabin of the morning flight to Manila. I was on my first real business trip, travelling to a different country. I looked out of the window as the plane took off, making Hong Kong’s skyscrapers look like Lego toys down below.
‘So what did you think of El Casa?’ Neel said.
‘Oh, wait,’ I said and opened my laptop bag. I took out the printout of my financial model.
‘Keep this aside for now. Tell me your gut feeling on the business,’ Neel said.
‘My gut feeling?’ I said, surprised. I was just an associate. Why would a partner care about my gut feeling? Wasn’t it my job to just make the financial model and rattle out the numbers?
‘Yeah, I’d like to know. Do you even like the business?’
I took a few seconds to collect my thoughts before I spoke again. ‘In some ways El Casa is a rare asset, so quite valuable. In other ways it is a pain, as there are limited buyers for this thing. Also, I can’t imagine Philippines law being the most investor-friendly,’ I said.
‘Good. I like how you think, in several directions at the same time,’ Neel said.
‘Thanks,’ I said, embarrassed by his praise. I fumbled through my sheets.
‘So what do we do here?’ Neel said.
‘We get a buyer,’ I said.
‘Meaning?’
‘We talk to big hotel chains. This business needs a high-end global brand. Otherwise people are not going to come,’ I said.
‘Hmmm...’ Neel said.
‘I am thinking Aman Resorts, Four Seasons. Something in that category,’ I said.
Neel looked at me. I saw pride in his eyes.
‘You are smart,’ he said.
‘Not really,’ I said, like a stupid fool.
