Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 195

195. 55th. Preparing for the Post-Apocalyptic Era – China Edition (2)

A few minutes later.

Park Tae-jin, the director of Standard Capital, and I stood to greet Ma Yun (Jack Ma) and Ma Huateng (Pony Ma) as they entered the suite.

Both men had a slight flush on their faces, likely from drinking, which was exactly what I had hoped for. Didn’t I offer them drinks to create a relaxed atmosphere for our conversation?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ma Yun and Mr. Ma Huateng. It seems you both share the same family name, Ma, haha.”

These two would become the spirited horses driving the Chinese IT industry forward on my behalf. I shook their hands and made a lighthearted joke to ease the atmosphere before sitting on the sofa. To completely conceal my identity, I yielded the prime single-seat sofa to the head office director and sat next to Park Tae-jin on the long sofa.

“The reason we’ve invited you here is at the request of our company’s key member, Johnny Lee,” the Standard Capital head office director, who was sitting in the prime seat in my stead, said, gesturing towards me. Ma Yun and Ma Huateng nodded. I smiled and said, facing the two men,

“Since Mr. Ma Yun is older than Mr. Ma Huateng, let’s give him the first opportunity to present his business plan. Mr. Ma Huateng, would you mind waiting in another room for a bit?”

Ma Huateng readily nodded.

“Ma *hyung* [older brother or respected male figure] is seven years older than me, so that’s only right, haha.”

Having apparently become friendly over the meal, Ma Yun placed his hand on Ma Huateng’s hand, which was resting on his knee, and smiled.

“Thank you. Then, let me distribute the documents I’ve prepared.”

‘I encouraged them to become acquainted and offered them at least three glasses of wine, so I suppose my intentions worked out reasonably well? Heh heh.’

I smiled and watched Ma Huateng nod before heading into another room far from the reception room. Meanwhile, Ma Yun took three files out of his bag, handed them to us, and began his presentation.

“Our Alibaba will focus on business-to-business e-commerce. Looking at the current distribution market structure in China, peddlers are penetrating even the rural areas, buying goods at low prices and selling them, which often leads to returns when inventory is left over.”

As Ma Yun succinctly laid out Alibaba’s core strategy and its rationale, Park Tae-jin’s eyes narrowed.

‘That makes sense. Launching Hi-Mart in China would be a recipe for disaster.’

Knowing the problem Ma Yun mentioned, I had no intention of launching Hi-Mart in China. Instead, I planned to sit back, munch on popcorn, and watch the Roel Group and Shinsegae Group dig their own graves.

Ma Yun went on to present a blueprint for minimizing returns through very strict return policies and managing a blacklist to create a structure where only high-quality clients survive, before taking his seat.

The three of us exchanged glances and nodded, and the director sitting in the prime seat opened his mouth.

“Very well. Now, let’s hear about Mr. Ma Huateng’s Tencent. Mr. Ma Yun, please go to the waiting room.”

Ma Yun headed to the room Ma Huateng had entered, and soon after, Ma Huateng returned to the reception room, distributed the documents he had taken out of his bag, and began his presentation while standing.

“Our Tencent’s OICQ (Open I Seek You), unlike other messenger services, stores the friend list on its own server, allowing users to access their friend list anytime, anywhere. We will use this to attract users and create a platform that can expand into economic activities that can be done with computers and the internet.”

As far as I knew, Tencent was only focused on expanding the market share of OICQ, which would later be renamed ‘QQ,’ and had not yet created a revenue model. I nodded, looking at Ma Huateng’s nervous expression.

“Not bad. Mr. Ma Huateng, please return to the room you were just in for a moment.”

“…Understood.”

Perhaps sensing unease in my response, Ma Huateng answered with a slightly nervous expression and returned to the room. Only after hearing the door close did I open my mouth.

“What do you think?”

“Alibaba has a clear business model, whereas Tencent’s revenue structure is not clear. Other than preempting the market, it’s not very promising…”

The Standard Capital director trailed off, showing a skeptical reaction, but Park Tae-jin opened his mouth with a not-unfavorable expression.

“Even if Tencent’s business model is unclear, securing information from a large number of users is a very attractive factor.”

“Executive Director Park is right. Looking at Yahoo’s case, we can generate revenue by displaying advertising banners in the chat window at a level that doesn’t interfere with chatting.”

Chat window advertising banners were also a revenue model used by KakaoTalk later on. Hearing my words, the director’s eyes lit up.

“You’re thinking of turning the users’ chat windows into billboards.”

“Exactly. Companies that sell food, beverages, clothing, accessories, and miscellaneous goods will be very interested, heh heh.”

Even if China’s computer penetration rate was low, Tencent was a platform that could set up 1.3 billion billboards for retailers looking to the future. Perhaps sensing a jackpot, I said to the head office director, who was grinning from ear to ear,

“Then let’s call the two of them in and start negotiations.”

We called Ma Yun and Ma Huateng back in and said to them,

“After discussion, we have decided to invest in both of you. Johnny will tell you the specifics.”

Passing the baton from the director, I said, looking at the two men’s brightening faces,

“We will invest $50 million in each of you. If needed, we will provide additional investment up to $100 million and delegate voting rights as well. However!”

Looking at Ma Yun and Ma Huateng, whose mouths were agape, I emphasized the end of my sentence and continued,

“In any case, we request the right to make additional investments to maintain our Standard’s 35 percent stake in Alibaba and 45 percent stake in Tencent.”

“Why is it 45 percent for me, Johnny?”

Looking at the puzzled Ma Huateng, I calmly said,

“Let’s record this first.”

I brought a camcorder, pressed the record button, and said again,

“The reason I’m asking you, Ma Huateng, for 45 percent of Tencent’s stock is in exchange for proposing a revenue model that Tencent urgently needs.”

“A revenue model?”

“That’s right. I’ll tell you if you agree to receive the investment.”

Ma Huateng, who would become a giant in the Chinese IT industry, would intuitively realize that this was a proposal to grow the company faster and bigger, without being stingy about equity. As I expected, Ma Huateng nodded.

“Understood. I’ll take the investment, so please tell me.”

“Very well. Let’s turn OICQ’s chat windows into billboards.”

“Billboards?”

“Yes. You can put advertising banners in places that don’t interfere with chatting.”

“Ah… !”

Ma Huateng, who had unconsciously exclaimed, quickly closed his mouth. I smiled at Ma Huateng.

“Can I assume you’re satisfied? For your information, what I just said has been recorded, so you can’t take it back, haha.”

Ma Huateng, his face reddened, nodded with an awkward smile.

“Of course, Johnny. Let’s make and sign a simple contract, haha.”

Having concluded the deal with Ma Huateng favorably, I asked Ma Yun,

“Mr. Ma Yun, what about you?”

“I’ll go with the terms I was initially offered, haha.”

Looking at Ma Yun, who awkwardly smiled and accepted the terms, I smiled.

‘Both of them are caught!’

The reason I proposed a revenue model to the current Ma Huateng is simple.

It was to secure 45 percent of Tencent’s shares, which would become the number one company in the Chinese corporate market capitalization, and to make Ma Yun think that he was more profitable, so that he would readily accept 35 percent of Alibaba’s shares.

The psychological warfare I waged simultaneously on the two Mas, who would race through the future Chinese IT industry, worked perfectly. I had to struggle to keep my fists from clenching.

***

Several months after returning from the business trip.

I heard very good news from Geum Seok-ho, who visited the Standard Capital office.

“The permit… it’s already been approved?”

Unlike me, who was surprised, Geum Seok-ho, who took the teacup away from his mouth with an indifferent expression, nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Yes. It was worth adding some spice to Lishu Fu [Li Shufu], that friend of yours and mine. As soon as he received the investment, he reported it extensively in the Chinese media. Even with local automotive experts at the forefront, heh heh.”

Looking at the newspaper Geum Seok-ho handed me, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Even China, where the Party comes first, can’t help it. With a $1 billion investment and a joint venture agreement, they’ve properly leveraged the underdog effect, heh heh.”

“That’s probably it. The current China is like Korea 20 or 30 years ago, where everyone dreams of success. Above all, that friend Lishu Fu is someone who can really get the job done. He was different from the parachute presidents [those appointed without merit] of other state-owned automobile companies.”

Geum Seok-ho had a good eye for people.

Who is Lishu Fu? Wasn’t he the one who jumped into the automobile business with the idea of ‘If you put two motorcycles side by side, isn’t that a car?’ and, after all sorts of efforts, including making limousines out of fiberglass, even if they were knockoffs, created China’s best private automobile company?

That Lishu Fu attracted a huge sum of $1 billion and became a symbol of success for 1.3 billion Chinese people through a partnership with Haedong Motors, one of the two major automobile companies in Korea. Thanks to our investment.

“If we don’t grant an automobile business license to such a Lishu Fu, even the Chinese people who have been brainwashed since school will not be able to avoid being shaken. If they realize that there are limits to their success, they will become dissatisfied with the system.”

Geum Seok-ho nodded at my answer after taking a sip of tea.

“That’s also true, but the current China is desperate to attract foreign investment. If we reject them in this situation, wouldn’t that send a negative signal to other foreign investors?”

‘The current China is the China that barely exceeded $1 trillion in GDP only in 1998, last year. It’s a long way from becoming a bully wielding a GDP of $14 trillion and causing all sorts of havoc, heh heh.’

I smiled and answered Geum Seok-ho, momentarily recalling the future.

“That’s right. Above all, our Haedong Motors’ technology is far behind the leading groups. Now, we need to increase our pie in China and narrow the gap with the leading competitors.”

It might be unpleasant to accept, but Geum Seok-ho nodded at my opinion.

“That’s right. Even if China steals technology, Haedong Motors’ technology is only just beginning to become self-sufficient. If you’re afraid of maggots, you can’t make soy sauce, so you have to close up shop [idiom meaning if you’re afraid of something unpleasant, you can’t succeed].”

“Chairman, you’re right. Rather than having our technology stolen without entering China, it’s much more profitable to enter the Chinese market and earn even a penny more to raise our level.”

It is impossible to exclude the Chinese market without knowing when the Chinese Communist Party will collapse. Wouldn’t we be left behind in the competition if we didn’t jump into a market where competitors are raking in money?

Geum Seok-ho said to me, who answered with a bitter smile,

“Still, with a $1 billion investment, we secured 45 percent of Geely Automobile’s shares and even joint voting rights, and Geely Automobile’s stock is scheduled to be listed in Hong Kong, so we can fully prepare for the worst-case scenario. If necessary, we can sell everything and come out without any problems. Just like your plan.”

“Even if I made the plan, the settlement of the negotiations was thanks to you, Chairman. Whether it’s Geely Automobile or the joint venture, we’ve secured our stake through the Hong Kong branch, so we’ve created an exit strategy, so I feel relieved, haha.”

Thanks to Geum Seok-ho’s skills and experience, Standard Capital and Haedong Motors had prepared an exit strategy to prepare for changes in Geely Automobile or China. Looking at me, who was satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations, Geum Seok-ho carefully asked,

“By the way, I heard that all the money you invested was borrowed from JP Morgan. I heard that you’ve borrowed quite a lot of money now, is it okay?”

In the meantime, Standard Capital had borrowed more than $30 billion through stock-backed loans. The interest paid per month alone was a staggering amount that easily exceeded $200 million, but I waved my hand.

“It’s still a long way off, Chairman. I’m going to pull in as much as I can until I can borrow it, heh heh.”

To bring down the mighty JP Morgan, we need to extract more cash. Looking at Geum Seok-ho’s dumbfounded expression, I smiled.

***

After finishing his story with Lee Seong-min about the Chinese automobile business, Geum Seok-ho headed to Lee Dae-soo’s mansion in Samcheong-dong, not the Haedong Motors headquarters near Standard Capital’s Korean branch.

Geum Seok-ho, who got out of the car parked in the parking lot, went straight up to the study and met Lee Dae-soo.

“Welcome, Chairman Geum. I heard that your entry into China went well.”

“It was all thanks to Director Lee. Even if the largest investor pushes hard, if I can’t make it happen, I have to retire, haha.”

Looking at Geum Seok-ho, who was laughing heartily, Lee Dae-soo smiled contentedly.

“He’s my grandson, but he’s a really great kid. Even if I step down from the front lines, I don’t think I have to worry about the group, heh heh.”

Together with Lee Dae-soo, who was laughing heartily, Geum Seok-ho took a sip of tea.

“But… Standard Capital, that is, Director Lee, is said to be borrowing money indiscriminately in the United States. I heard that he’s already borrowed $30 billion…”

Since it was a situation that was not logically understandable, Geum Seok-ho met Lee Dae-soo in person and asked him. Unlike Geum Seok-ho, who was cautious, Lee Dae-soo chuckled and waved his hand.

“Don’t worry, my friend. He’s my eldest grandson, but he’s several times more talented than me at managing money. There’s no way he’ll fail, so if you have time to worry about my eldest grandson, take care of the American business as well as the Chinese business.”

Geum Seok-ho’s expression relaxed after hearing Lee Dae-soo’s answer.

Lee Dae-soo is a man who looks down on Myeong-dong, the Haedong Group, and Korea in this study as if he were looking at the palm of his hand. Because he trusts his judgment, Geum Seok-ho was able to rest assured.

In that way, Lee Dae-soo reassured Geum Seok-ho and sent him back, then leisurely emptied his tea alone.

“As that guy said, the stock prices of American IT technology stocks are rising at a crazy speed, so it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be very fun, heh heh.”

Lee Dae-soo is listening to everything his trusted grandson has done in the United States and checking the American stock market. His face was filled with excitement rather than tension.

***

In addition to the establishment of a Chinese joint venture between Haedong Motors and Geely Automobile, many other things happened.

One of them was the launch of Shinseong Group’s ‘i-Shinseong.’

Jang Yong-jae, along with Jang Min-jae and Jang Su-yeon, took advantage of the IT craze to establish ‘i-Shinseong,’ and expanded their business in a sprawling manner by drawing massive support from Jang Ho-geon and Lee Su-han.

Unlike him, I persuaded the group’s top management and acquired 100 percent of Daehan Logistics, which was put up for sale after Donghwa Group went bankrupt, under the name of Haedong Corporation.

Daehan Logistics was the largest land logistics company in Korea and a good company to link with Haedong Corporation’s e-commerce platform, ‘Aqua Store.’ The acquisition of the rights to the Libyan Great Waterway construction project along with the acquisition of Daehan Logistics was a bonus.

In addition to the acquisition of Daehan Logistics, while the Haedong Group continued to cruise smoothly, the IT stocks that Standard had pledged to JP Morgan continued to soar. Naturally, every time the stock price of the pledged stock rose, money was drawn from JP Morgan, and the plan was proceeding smoothly.

In the meantime, time flew by and November was approaching. It was time to erase the footprints of the bulbous-nosed Morgan family from Wall Street.