I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 418



Only Noblemtl

418.

Harvest Time (3)

Chinese stocks continued to decline until mid-January.

Even though Taewoo Group bought shares to repay short selling, the stock price continued to fall.

“There is more distrust in the Chinese stock market than I thought.

“We expected that if we bought stocks, the downtrend would stop, but that didn’t happen.”

“Most of the financial companies in the financial tower have followed us into liquidation.

But we were able to make a lot of money because all the financial institutions on Wall Street, Europe, and Asia moved against us.”

We weren’t the only financial institutions.

Rather, if you look at it globally, our share was not that large.

Of course, if you look at the amount alone, it was by no means a small amount, but it was not enough to cause the market atmosphere to change drastically depending on our movements.

“You are such wonderful people.

“Thanks to that, the process of liquidating the profits could proceed quite easily.”

“There were some financial institutions that expressed very little dissatisfaction.

“I wonder if we can make more profit.”

“The choice is theirs.

Why do you say that to us?”

“I conveyed it that way too.

If you want to continue short selling, do it yourselves.”

The Chinese stock market decline was finally over.

If they don’t get out now, they will either suffer huge losses or have their money tied up in the Chinese stock market for years.

As with all investments,

More important than investing was realizing the profits.

If you become too greedy, you may lose the opportunity to realize profits.

“Mr. Chairman, this is breaking news!”

The planning director rushed into the chairman’s office.

He pressed a button on his remote control and turned on the breaking news.

[Hyunjin Shipping Creditors’ Voluntary Agreement, Hyunjin Group in Crisis]

This was breaking news related to Hyunjin Shipping.

Hyunjin Group, which brought Hyunjin Shipping back with great difficulty.

However, the company was unable to overcome its deficit and eventually gave up on Hyunjin Shipping.

“You’ve held out for a long time.

“It’s the Hyunjin Group, so we’ve been able to hold out like this.”

“I think so too.

I guess they must have held out until now because they think of Hyunjin Shipping as a child of the Hyunjin Group.

If it were another group, they would have already taken steps to sell Hyunjin Shipping or filed for court receivership.”

At one time, Hyunjin Shipping had sales of 10 trillion won.

But now it has become an insolvent company with debts approaching 5 trillion won.

“Now that we have entered into a voluntary agreement with the creditors, it will probably take several more months before we go into court receivership.”

“If we fail to repay 1.3 trillion won in debt by the end of this year, we will be placed under court receivership.

So, it is said that the creditors are demanding a self-rescue plan worth at least 800 billion won from Chairman Cho of the Hyundai Group.”

Naturally, Hyunjin Shipping’s creditors were banks.

From their point of view, they would naturally want to minimize the damage.

It was only by receiving support from the government along with the support of the Hyunjin Group that the damage could be minimized.

“How much money can Hyunjin Shipping prepare?”

“We have obtained information that it is worth up to 500 billion won.”

“The gap is as much as 300 billion won.”

“Although voluntary negotiations may continue for several months, the chances of finding a compromise appear very slim.”

How can we make up for the difference of 300 billion won?

So, if the differences cannot be narrowed, eventually the only option left will be court receivership.

“If Hyunjin Shipping is in this much of a management crisis, then the shipping companies of the current group must be in the same situation.”

“In the case of Sangseon Shipping, it is said that they will soon begin voluntary agreements with creditors.

However, unlike Hyunjin Shipping, Hyunjae Shipping is said to be actively accepting the creditors’ demands.”

“What are your demands?”

“Negotiating charter rates with overseas ship owners, selling shares, and joining international shipping alliances.

In particular, the current group showed its sincerity to the creditors by selling current securities and injecting 1.2 trillion won into current shipping.”

Each and every one of the requirements was very difficult.

However, this does not mean that the conditions were impossible, and they were completely possible if the management put in the effort.

“Hyunjin Shipping is probably receiving the same request from its creditors.”

“I understand that we have received almost identical requests.

However, in the case of Hyunjin Shipping, it seems that they can sufficiently overcome the current crisis through self-rescue measures alone.”

“I guess they believe that if they put up 500 billion won as a rescue measure, the government will make up for the shortfall or the creditors will make additional investments.”

“It seems like they are aiming for the hemp buddha.”

Hyunjin Shipping was the center of Korea’s shipping industry.

It was the Hyunjin Group that believed that the government would not allow Hyunjin Shipping to fail.

“You don’t know that the formula of big money in Korea was broken after the IMF.”

“Compared to the current merchant ships, Hyunjin Shipping has smaller assets.”

“There is another problem that is even more serious.

“The point is that the current government doesn’t like the Hyunjin Group very much.”

Chairman Cho of Hyunjin Group is currently serving as the chairman of the Olympic Bid Committee.

Naturally, there were bound to be many clashes with the foundation for hosting the Olympics, knowingly or unknowingly.

I don’t know if it’s true, but even before the return, there were rumors that Hyunjin Shipping went bankrupt because of that.

“I have also heard related information.

“Since the beginning of this administration, there has been a rumor that the relationship between Chairman Cho and the Blue House has not been very good.”

“It’s true that flyers aren’t trustworthy.

But what is clear is that the moment Hyunjin Shipping enters court receivership, there is a high possibility that it will go through bankruptcy proceedings.”

“If bankruptcy occurs, assets will be sold.

At that time, it seems better to acquire only the valuable assets.”

Vice Chairman Han’s opinion wasn’t bad either.

It was also a reasonable idea if we were simply to have a shipping company to transport Taewoo Group’s cargo.

“I am envious of Hyunjin Shipping’s entire infrastructure.

I plan to bring it all, not just a few of the best.

And if possible, I would like to make the current shipping line a subsidiary of Taewoo Group.”

“Are you saying that you will acquire both Hyunjin Shipping and Hyunjin Merchant Marine?”

The Korean shipping industry was structured to be shared between two companies: Hyunjin Shipping and Hyunjae Shipping.

If those two companies can be made part of the Taewoo Group, the Taewoo Group will be able to monopolize the Korean shipping industry.

“Is this plan too ambitious?”

“Actually, it’s not that much of a plan.

In the case of Sangseon Shipping, it is expected that it can be acquired for around 5 trillion won, and in the case of Hyunjin Shipping, it is expected that it can be acquired for an even smaller amount.

No matter how much you hear, you can acquire both companies for 10 trillion won.”

For one vice president, 10 trillion won was no longer a large sum of money.

Compared to the profits earned from short selling in China, 10 trillion won was actually a small amount.

“I don’t feel burdened by the acquisition price either.

“I just don’t want to give money to strict people.”

“I think so too.

We don’t want to give away our hard-earned money as if it were charity.

I would like to acquire it at the lowest possible price.

If possible, it would be even better to receive government support as well.”

Even if you are rich, would you want to buy something by spending a lot of money?

At least I wasn’t, and I absolutely wanted to monopolize the Korean shipping industry at the lowest possible price.

“Are you thinking of a big deal?

However, this government is opposed to the Big Deal policy.”

“Since that is the tone of the Blue House, the Chairman of the Financial Services Commission also made a similar statement.”

“Last year, there was talk of a big deal between the three major Korean companies, but the government strongly denied it.

And the government also officially denied the story of a merger between Hyunjin Shipping and Hyunjae Shipping.”

During the IMF era, big deals were very common.

Because it was a government-led big deal, it was possible to tear apart affiliates of large corporations and paste them into affiliates of other large corporations.

But corporate-led big deals had too many things to consider.

In particular, since we could not receive government support, we had to use excessive funds.

“The government’s keynote ultimately changes according to the will of the people.”

“Do you think a big deal is possible depending on the general election results?”

“If the People’s Economy Party wins an overwhelming victory by making the Big Deal their election pledge, wouldn’t the government accept it?”

“I’m curious about what the Chairman thinks constitutes a landslide victory.”

“Securing at least a majority of seats is required to call it a landslide victory.”

One vice president let out a small sigh.

It was a sigh that came out because it was nearly impossible for the National Economic Party, which has a short history, to secure more than half of the seats.

“According to the results of the New Year’s opinion poll, the People’s Economy Party has a chance of becoming the largest party, but its approval rating is not enough to secure a majority of seats.”

“If we achieve a landslide victory in the Nakdong River belt, it is certainly possible.”

The Nakdong River Belt was a term used in political circles.

The Nakdong River Belt was a place where the opposition party had a number of constituencies that could be considered in the Gyeongsang Province region, which is the ruling party’s stronghold.

“Assemblyman Choi Jae-seok’s constituency was Gijang-gun, which is in the Nakdong River belt.”

“Support for Rep. Choi Jae-seok is still strong in his constituency.”

“But it’s not possible in some places.

“It is not enough support to occupy the entire Nakdong River belt.”

Representative Choi Jae-seok’s current constituency is Nowon-gu, Seoul.

However, since he started his political career in Gijang, he maintained high support.

Thanks to that, the People’s Economy Party was able to win a few seats in the Busan region.

“If we make a pledge to increase support from the Nakdong River Belt to the Busan Port area, it is not impossible to win a majority of seats.”

“Is it your plan to increase the Honam approval rating through the Jeonbuk region and increase the Yeongnam approval rating through the Busan region?”

If the approval ratings in Honam and Yeongnam rise.

Naturally, the approval rating in the metropolitan area also rose.

In particular, more than half of the people living in Seoul were from Yeongnam and Honam.

As support in the hometown grew stronger, the support rate among people who moved to Seoul also rose.

“If Taewoo Group acquires Hyunjin Shipping and Hyunjae Shipping, wouldn’t it naturally have to develop Busan Port even more than it is now?”

“Construction of Busan’s new port is already underway.

It will be completed in 2020, and the fully automated wharf construction will be completed in 2024.”

“We are increasing the size of Busan New Port from its current size.

And more importantly, what if we could double the surrounding infrastructure from what it is now?

“Wouldn’t the public sentiment move?”

In the case of Busan New Port, it was located in a place that could attract public opinion all the way to Changwon.

If Taewoo Group had stepped forward and made a huge investment in the surrounding infrastructure, it could have received enthusiastic support from local residents.

“Won’t you be criticized for making excessive investments at a time when the shipping industry is in crisis?”

“If the development was done with tax money, it would be a problem, but if the development is done with Taewoo Group’s money, what could be the problem?”

“Busan New Port is being used as a hub port, but wouldn’t it be a waste to expand its scale further here?”

No matter how large the port is.

Many ships had to come to the port, and a lot of cargo had to come and go for it to function properly.

Korea’s water traffic volume was one of the highest in the world.

However, the ranking has been dropping every year, and there are even predictions that if the current trend continues, it will drop to 7th place.

Because the water volume is decreasing like this.

Investing so heavily in the new port might have seemed like a waste.

“The Taewoo Group can fill the shortage of water volume.

And as overseas factories enter Korea, the volume of goods transported will naturally increase.”

“Assuming that Taewoo Group continues to grow at its current rate, what the Chairman said is correct.”

“Why, aren’t you confident?

Do you think Taewoo Group will stagnate now?

“Absolutely not me!”

Taewoo Group was a volcano on the verge of eruption.

If electric vehicle sales increase even more than now, and semiconductor sales also skyrocket, the day will soon come when the current ports will not be enough.

“I think everything from shipping to ports is absolutely necessary to support the growth of Taewoo Group.

“It is necessary as a tool to safely supply Taewoo Group’s products to the global market rather than for profit generation.”

“I will work with the Planning Office to create relevant policies and pledges and deliver them to the People’s Economy Party!”

It wasn’t just for the sake of the National Economic Party.

No matter how much I hope for the success of the National Economic Party, I did not hope for it to the extent of investing in shipping companies and ports.

The election of the People’s Economy Party is just a side note.

In order for Taewoo Group’s growth engine to continue, a shipping company and a large port were essential.