I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 488



Only Noblemtl

488. The Time of Promise (3)

Son Jeong-woo, Chairman of Shopbank.

He remained one of the world’s leading investors.

Of course, before returning, he had worked with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and managed over $100 billion.

In this life, the financial tower joined hands with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

Even so, the amount of money managed by Chairman Son Jeong-woo was by no means small, and his influence was not very different.

In particular, Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s influence in Korea was enormous.

The reason why Korea actively invested in IT during the IMF crisis was because Chairman Son Jeong-woo persuaded the president at the time.

That is why Taewoo Group also treated Chairman Son Jeong-woo with the utmost respect.

Taewoo Group was responsible for many things, including the hotel, security, vehicles, etc.

Captain Kang’s restaurant also temporarily closed for today to prepare for Chairman Son Jeong-woo.

“Chairman Kim! It’s been a long time. How have you been?”

“Thanks to Chairman Son, I have been doing very well. Thank you so much for coming all the way to Korea.”

I bowed and greeted Chairman Son Jeong-woo.

You could say that the Taewoo Group Chairman bows his head too easily.

I was willing to bow my head several times if only I could get a stake in NVIDIA.

“Every time I meet Chairman Kim, it feels like I’m being treated to a sumptuous feast. Can I start by eating first?”

“This dish was specially prepared for Chairman Son using the best ingredients from all over the country.”

“How can we start talking about food like this?”

We started by filling our hungry stomachs.

Chairman Son Jeong-woo was a person with quick judgment, so he also consumed food very quickly.

In less than 30 minutes, we finished our meal and washed it down with warm tea.

“I feel reassured, so now I feel like my head is working.”

“I just hope you enjoyed the food.”

“I really liked the food. I feel sorry for being treated like this when I came here to ask for favors.”

Have you come to ask a favor?

Just from these words alone I could get a lot of information.

If Chairman Son Jung-woo had considered Nvidia’s stake important, there would have been no reason to use the word ‘request’.

“If you ask me, are you referring to the Nvidia share collateral agreement? I can extend the loan term as much as you want just by asking.”

“We are not asking for an extension of the loan term, we are asking for the performance of the contract. We are asking for Nvidia shares in exchange for a $3.5 billion loan.”

It was as expected.

For some reason, Chairman Son Jeong-woo did not value his Nvidia shares.

They had sold their Nvidia shares at a low price before the reversion, and they were planning to do the same this time.

“It’s true that NVIDIA’s stock price has fallen a lot.”

“So, shamelessly, I want to hand over Nvidia now. If the stock price falls further, won’t it be too much of a burden for Chairman Kim and me?”

“How can I ignore Chairman Son’s request? I will prepare to conclude the Nvidia share negotiations within this week.”

“When you come out like this, it makes me feel like I’m a really bad person.”

There was absolutely no need to worry about that.

Nvidia’s stake is worth only $3.5 billion now, but it could be worth more than $25 billion in five years.

Rather, I was just grateful.

That’s why I decided to give you a small gift.

“Wouldn’t Taewoo Group gain a lot of benefits by acquiring Nvidia’s shares? It’s definitely not a loss for Taewoo Group. But what’s going on with Togetherwork?”

“I plan to go public soon. It may be a bit early, as the company still has a lot of potential for growth, but I can’t just hold on to it forever, right?”

Togetherwork was a bomb I created and threw.

It was also a bomb that had little time left to explode.

“Wouldn’t it be better to liquidate Togetherwork through this IPO? It is considered to have high growth potential, but it seems like too much money is tied up in Togetherwork.”

“I think it’s a pity to sell this company now.”

Togetherwork was growing rapidly.

Experts value Togetherwork at more than $40 billion.

Togetherwork was making a soft landing not only in the United States but also in Europe, Asia, and even Korea.

Togetherwork, called the innovation of the shared office industry.

But the moment the variable called Corona occurred, it was inevitable that it would change from an icon of innovation to an icon of decline.

“Even if you sell your shares now, you can realize a profit of nearly double your investment.”

“I see this as a company that can see not just double but 20 times the profits.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to sell some of your shares to diversify your risk?”

“The greater the risk, the greater the return.”

It was Chairman Son Jeong-woo who refused the gift.

You can’t force someone to give you a gift they don’t want.

In this life too, Togetherwork seemed to be a chain that would hold Chairman Son back.

“If that is Chairman Son’s judgment, I will not say anything further.”

“No. I am always ready to listen to Chairman Kim’s opinion. I don’t know if it’s someone else, but if it’s Chairman Kim’s opinion, I have to listen to it even if it’s something I don’t like.”

It was Chairman Son who trusted me.

But I didn’t trust him enough to change his judgment based on a single word I said, and there was nothing more I could do.

“Well then, can I ask you a favor?”

“Chairman Kim accepted my request, so of course I should accept it too. What kind of request do you have?”

“Can you arrange a meeting with NVIDIA’s major shareholders?”

Chairman Son Jeong-woo has been Nvidia’s fourth largest shareholder for a long time.

That’s why it’s clear that he’s built relationships with not only Nvidia’s executives but also other major shareholders.

“It’s not hard to find a place, but isn’t the purpose important?”

“We are considering acquiring more shares to enhance the relationship between Taewoo Group and Nvidia.”

“If it were another company, I would have discouraged you, but if it were Taewoo Group, there would be a lot you could do with Nvidia’s shares. It would also be easier to secure a stake in a major shareholder than to buy stocks in the market. I will arrange a position for you.”

Just by moving the financial tower, you could secure a lot of shares.

However, he planned to use Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s help to secure even 1% more shares.

That’s how important Nvidia’s stake was.

In particular, for Taewoo Group’s key industries such as AI and autonomous driving, it was necessary to acquire Nvidia.

***

Four days later.

A vice president came back after finalizing a contract with Shopbank.

Instead of receiving $3.5 billion back, a 3% stake in Nvidia was transferred to Taewoo Group.

“We have completed securing the stake. If you add up the stake that Taewoo Securities previously held and the stocks that we have gradually acquired, it exceeds 8%. And if you add in the stake held by the fintech bank, it will be close to 10%.”

“Chairman Son Jeong-woo has decided to arrange a meeting with major shareholders soon. Vice Chairman Han should try to acquire the major shareholders’ shares.”

“Why don’t you just hand over your stake? With Nvidia’s stock price continuing to fall, it is expected that there will be a significant number of major shareholders who want to exit safely.”

In a bear market, we had to secure as much volume as possible.

But unlike other companies, Nvidia’s shares were divided into dozens of chunks, making it difficult to increase shares significantly all at once.

“Are talks going well with Wall Street?”

“We have already met and talked with the big funds. It seems like we can easily acquire the 7% stakes each held by Vanguard and Fidelity.”

“If that happens, we will be able to own about 25% of the shares.”

“With Fintech Bank and Taewoo Securities continuing to acquire shares, we can secure a stake of more than 30% within this year. And if negotiations with major shareholders go well, 40% is possible.”

40% was not even a figure that suited my personality.

I wanted to have at least a 50% stake in my hands.

Only then can the Taewoo Group smoothly carry out its desired business, including AI, autonomous driving, and even the metaverse.

“You can keep buying shares until you can acquire 50% of the shares. You can do it well enough that the market doesn’t freak out, right?”

“Don’t worry. And we will acquire the shares held by the organization whenever the opportunity arises.”

Preparations for the semiconductor hegemony war are more or less complete.

Now that we have the luxury of looking elsewhere, we have decided to start by taking care of the cards that could become variables in the US-China hegemony war.

“What’s happening with the Qing bonds?”

“I have succeeded in secretly securing a large quantity of Qing bonds held in the United States, Britain, and Europe. I have either the ownership or the authority to hold more than 60% of the issued bonds.”

“If Qing bonds were actually valued, what would be the maximum they could be worth?”

“Theoretically, it is possible to raise up to 200 trillion won. However, I think the possibility of that happening is less than 1%. In fact, it is not 1%, but rather 0%.”

Qing Dynasty bonds that have only the value of antiques.

Of course, I did not think that Qing bonds would be effective.

I was only planning on using it to create variables, and I thought it would be well worth it even if it only did that much.

“In war, very small variables can determine victory or defeat.”

“I thought so too, so I did my best to buy Qing bonds. And according to the communication I received through David, there is a very high possibility that the United States will engage in protectionism.”

“The White House has also raised the issue of China’s alleged currency manipulation, so it looks like a trade dispute will start soon.”

The US-China trade dispute is drawing near.

As soon as next month, there was a high possibility that the United States would pull out the retaliatory tariff card, which is the beginning of a trade dispute.

“Already at the financial tower level, they have started short selling Chinese and American companies that are fatal to retaliatory tariffs.”

“Depending on how you use this opportunity, the position of the Financial Tower could change. If everything goes as planned, the Financial Tower could become one of the key axes of the trade dispute. So, push ahead without worrying about what others think.”

So far, we have maintained the line and increased the yield.

But this time, it was difficult to see high profits that way.

So now, it was necessary to expand the influence of the financial tower and Taewoo Group to a level that no one could overlook.

“Let’s move aggressively.”

“Both the US and China may pressure the Financial Tower and Taewoo Group. Still, focus only on the rate of return.”

“I can assure you that no force is more thoroughly prepared than we are. We will capture all the funds evaporating from the trade war!”

He was a vice president who was brimming with confidence.

That’s understandable, as we’ve been preparing for a US-China trade war for years.

We had prepared various scenarios to see the maximum return.

There is no need to hide your power anymore.

Taewoo Group and Financial Tower had to pour all their power into this trade war.

Because it was the last major incident I remember.

Of course, there are still major events remaining, such as the Corona era and the Russia-Ukraine war.

It was necessary to expand its influence through the US-China trade dispute, but it was also able to properly take advantage of other opportunities.

The last chance given to Taewoo Group.

It could be seen as having endured for 20 years for today.

So, I absolutely had to seize this opportunity.