I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 490



Only Noblemtl

490. The Time of Promise (5)

After finishing the meeting with President Trump, I went to California.

It was to meet with Diamond and David, and to inform them of the meeting in the fintech bank president’s office.

“Would you be okay with $300 billion tied up in U.S. Treasuries? Even at the highest estimate, U.S. bond yields are only about 5%.”

“We are not investing $300 billion right now. We have enough time to gradually receive the amount that China is throwing at us. On the other hand, we have obtained the authority to aggressively increase profits for the financial tower, so it is definitely not a losing business.”

The financial tower held enormous assets.

In particular, the assets of Taewoo Securities, Fintech Bank, and Citibank alone were enough to raise $300 billion.

“In fact, fintech banks can absorb all the bonds on their own, but the low yields will lead to an outflow of customers.”

“Fintech banks cannot shoulder the burden alone. All financial companies in the financial tower can share the risk and make a profit by generating large profits from the remaining amount.”

All you had to do was match the average rate of return.

Even if you only earn 5% on US bonds.

If the remaining investments generated returns of more than 200%, the average return could be raised significantly.

“Short selling targeting American and Chinese companies is already generating high profits.”

“Now that there is no need to be cautious, short selling can be done in a more brutal way than before.”

“But boss! Is China okay? If we’re not going to treat China as our enemy forever, shouldn’t we talk about it?”

It was also a sensitive issue for lobbyist David.

He was lobbying not only in the United States and Europe, but also in China.

So if relations with China become distant, one huge lobbying market in which he could operate will disappear.

“Of course, we need to negotiate with China as well. We plan to hold talks with high-ranking Chinese officials soon.”

“Have you made an appointment in advance?”

“If the Financial Tower buys Chinese bonds that China is selling, wouldn’t they contact you first?”

“I know you’re really angry, but do you think we can communicate well?”

“We are at war with a huge enemy called the United States, and we don’t want to create a new enemy. If we refuse to talk to them at all, it would be an irreversible mistake.”

China has yet to fully recognize the power of the Taewoo Group and its financial towers.

If they treat us as enemies without even talking, we will have no choice but to join hands with the United States.

From our perspective, it wasn’t the situation we wanted either.

Because it was a structure that made it impossible to see profits from either the US or China.

But if that’s what happened in China, then I had no choice but to make that choice.

“But I have one more question. Why didn’t you use the Qing Dynasty bonds? If you had offered President Trump the Qing Dynasty bond item, wouldn’t you have gotten more out of it?”

“If I show all the cards I have at once, it will be difficult to get a fair price. It is not yet time to use the Qing bonds. And I have not decided whether to put the Qing bonds in the hands of the United States or in the hands of China.”

Qing bonds were a useful card for both sides.

The United States was able to pressure China through Qing bonds.

Conversely, China was able to erase the variable known as Qing Dynasty bonds.

“I never thought that the Qing bond card could be used in China. Now that I think about it, it’s a very possible scenario. They could buy up all the Qing bonds at a low price and burn them.”

“There is one more country where you can use the Qing Dynasty Bond Card.”

“Which country would be able to use that card against China? The United States would be able to do it.”

The moment the Qing Dynasty bond card was used, it was no different from declaring war against China as an enemy.

However, there was only one place where I could use the Qing Dynasty bond card without much burden.

“Taiwan could use it. It would be a card they can use to claim that they are the true successors to the Qing Dynasty.”

“It might be possible in Taiwan, but Taiwan also relies heavily on trade with China. In this situation, would it be possible to use the Qing Dynasty bond card?”

“When war breaks out, things change every day. So we just have to wait and see which side we can sell to to get the highest price.”

In this trade war, the key was leadership.

We had to take the lead with our American bonds, Qing bonds, and enormous financial resources.

It wasn’t because I was afraid of getting my back broken in a fight between whales.

We’ve grown to the size of a shark, if not a whale.

Since they wanted to monopolize the byproducts of whales fighting each other, taking the initiative was important.

We have to make them fight each other on the battlefield we want so that we can monopolize everything.

“Let’s stop here for today. I have other plans, so I have to get up and go.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be somewhere not too far away. I have some business to attend to at Tesla.”

Before I left for my trip to the US, I received a call from Musk.

From electric cars to satellite projects.

Musk seemed to have a lot to say, and since I was already in California, I decided to go see him.

***

Musk has become one of America’s top celebrities.

But since I’ve always had strong self-esteem, I didn’t seem that different.

He was still engrossed in work most of the day and was on site just before meeting me.

“I apologize for coming out looking so messy. I was there because there was an urgent matter that needed to be taken care of.”

“No. If it’s urgent, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“I’ve solved the problem. If it’s okay with Mr. Kim, I’d like to talk to you today.”

“Of course I am fine. First of all, congratulations. I heard that you successfully recovered the fairing. And congratulations on the successful launch of Block 5.”

Musk wasn’t only working on electric cars.

Rather, it was investing more in the space industry.

In particular, much effort was put into recovering the first stage rocket, and visible results are finally starting to appear.

“Although we were successful in recovering the fairing, it is not as successful as we would like. In fact, we only recovered the fairing that fell to the ground, so it is only half a success.”

“Where else can you find a company that can achieve such results? And the day will come when it will be a complete success.”

“The relaunch of Block 5 is scheduled for August, and that includes the recovery of the first stage rocket.”

Musk was in a unique position in the space industry.

And I was also Musk’s largest investor, holding a huge stake.

His success was like my success, and I wanted his success more than anyone else.

“The space industry is going well, so what are you worried about?”

“A company has emerged that threatens the electric vehicles led by Taewoo Group and Tesla. It is not yet at a level that is worrisome, but it is still concerning.”

“It’s only natural, since existing automobile companies are also investing heavily in the development of electric vehicles.”

Previously, only Taewoo Group and Tesla had invested heavily in electric vehicles.

But now, almost every automaker is developing or has already started selling electric vehicles.

But I wasn’t worried at all.

Rather, the more car companies become interested in electric vehicles, the more it benefits me.

Since Taewoo Group owned everything from electric vehicle batteries to related patents, it was a structure in which money could come in even if it did nothing.

“There is something Mr. Kim misunderstands. I am not talking about electric cars, but hydrogen car companies. Have you heard of Nikola?”

“Nikola? Oh! You mean the company that manufactures large trucks that run on hydrogen?”

He spoke, forcibly recalling memories.

The fact that only faint memories remained also meant that it was a company that was not very successful.

And I could also remember why that company failed.

“This time, I even uploaded a video of the truck in operation. In fact, I never expected that with the current level of technology, it would be possible to operate a large truck.”

“It is certainly an outstanding technical skill.”

“I thought we had the technology to lead the times, but then a technology that was superior to ours came from somewhere else. So how could I not be worried?”

Musk had reason to be concerned.

It was clear that the technology to run a large truck that runs on hydrogen, surpassing passenger cars and pickup trucks, was far superior to ours.

“If we could implement the technology we saw in the video, of course we would be worried. But is it possible to implement the technology? It is impossible for a small or medium-sized company, not a large company, to suddenly create a technology that we could not have expected.”

“The video has already been released. Shouldn’t we consider it as the implementation of the technology?”

“The days of believing video information at face value are over. Isn’t this a world where you can’t believe what you see with your own eyes?”

Nikola’s hydrogen truck was a fiction.

They just created a manipulated video to get a lot of investment.

“I know that large Korean companies are also investing heavily in Nikola. In particular, I heard that some large companies have acquired a portion of the shares.”

“Taewoo Group did not invest. If it had been a company with potential, Taewoo Group would have invested first.”

“Mr. Kim, are you sure that the videos Nicola released are all fake?”

“Since you are worried, let’s conduct a truth battle at the Taewoo Group level. We will prove that Nicola’s technology is all a lie within a few months.”

Musk was a man of many things to do.

Electric vehicles, autonomous driving, space industry, etc.

He was a person who lacked even ten bodies, and I couldn’t waste my energy on the wrong things.

If I work hard to grow the company, won’t the value of my shares increase?

“I feel a little bit more relieved now that Mr. Kim said that.”

“How far along is the Starlink program? If we want to have self-driving cars all over the United States, we need the Starlink system.”

Autonomous driving required internet connectivity.

In Korea, there is no place where the Internet is not working, so there is no problem.

In the case of the United States, outside of major cities, it could be said that there are more places where the Internet does not work.

So a satellite Internet system was needed.

If Starlink were up and running, self-driving cars could travel across the United States without a problem.

“We are continuing to launch satellites. The Starlink project will be able to reach a certain orbit within one to two years at the latest.”

“Then you don’t have to worry. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“There are several new business ideas. In particular, we need to further expand the scale of the Neuralink project, which aims to keep human intelligence from falling behind artificial intelligence.”

Musk was the perfect example of a weirdo.

That’s why we were able to come up with ingenious ideas like rocket recovery.

They even came up with outlandish ideas like Neuralink, which would implant chips into the human brain to enhance intelligence.

Neuralink was actually a technology with little feasibility.

But I also committed a significant investment to Neuralink.

Regardless of success, it was merely an investment to keep Musk on board.

“We will double the investment in Neuralink. If you have an idea that needs investment, just let us know. We will support you so that you can conduct research without any shortcomings.”

“As expected of Mr. Kim! Even if everyone else laughs at me, Mr. Kim believes in me!”

I didn’t trust every project he worked on.

One out of ten will succeed. Even if just one succeeds, it is a profitable investment.

And Tesla has already made huge profits through the space industry.

So, I didn’t regret investing money in small projects at all.