The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 199

199. Tokyo Agreement (3)

Monday.

Before the meeting with the Japanese construction companies, Jung Hyun-woo met with John Peer.

“Please attend tomorrow, John.”

John Peer nodded at Jung Hyun-woo’s request.

“Since it’s a matter of deciding on an investment partner, I will attend.”

He thought that the landscape of Japanese investment could change depending on this decision.

‘The eagerness for the business will probably be present in every company. But what’s more important than eagerness is vision.’

John Peer was planning to cast his vote for the place that showed a better vision.

“Charlie, is there a reason why we must choose only one company?”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head at his question.

“A reason why we must choose only one company?”

“Can’t we proceed with multiple investments?”

It was also a method to sign contracts with several companies and invest billions of dollars in each.

“Of course, we can proceed with multiple investments.”

“Then…….”

Jung Hyun-woo cut him off and said.

“But this time, we won’t proceed with multiple investments.”

John Peer couldn’t help but ask the reason.

“Charlie, is there a reason why we have to choose only one company?”

“Yes, there is.”

“May I ask what that reason is?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and answered.

“It’s a matter of conditions.”

“A matter of conditions? What do you mean by that?”

“John, if we work with multiple companies, the Japanese construction companies will only offer conditions that are just good enough not to be rejected.”

John Peer exclaimed briefly after hearing Jung Hyun-woo’s answer.

“Ah! That could be the case. If we choose three or two out of the five companies, they only need to offer above-average conditions to win the deal.”

Jung Hyun-woo decided to choose only one company to extract the best deal.

“Only one company out of five will be chosen. If they accept the situation like this, each company will have no choice but to offer us the best conditions.”

John Peer thought he was right.

“I was short-sighted.”

He couldn’t help but look at Jung Hyun-woo again.

‘I knew he was smart, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.’

Not many people consider psychological factors in company-to-company transactions.

“John probably just thought of it as one of the possibilities.”

John Peer shook his head.

“No. I think I was trying to take the easy way out.”

Maintaining good relationships with multiple companies and proceeding with the Japanese real estate business.

‘It would make the work easier, but we wouldn’t be able to extract the best conditions.’

He was trying to choose multiple companies to make the work easier.

“Rather than that, I would like to hear about each construction company’s position.”

He wanted to hear the stories of the five companies that would submit their business plans tomorrow.

“Can I briefly tell you the pros and cons?”

“That’s enough.”

John Peer wasn’t an investor well-versed in Japan. However, he had arrived in Japan earlier than Jung Hyun-woo and gathered information by sharing various stories with Yu Tanaka.

“In terms of scale, Shimizu, Kajima, and Sumitomo will be ahead.”

Sekisui Construction and Taisei Construction did not match the scale of the three leading companies.

“Which is the largest?”

“It would be Sumitomo Construction.”

“If we look at the group as a whole, which company is it?”

Japanese construction companies were often affiliates of large corporations. Jung Hyun-woo wanted to know the largest company.

“Considering the size of the group, Shimizu Construction would be better.”

“There would be banks too, right?”

“Of course.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his right hand and said.

“Let’s move on to the next.”

What John Peer thought of next to scale was technology.

“Taisei Construction and Kajima Construction are superior in terms of technology. The two companies are also active in overseas construction.”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders.

“We are investing in Japanese real estate, so I don’t think technology is a consideration.”

John Peer paused and asked.

“Are you saying you won’t consider technology at all?”

Jung Hyun-woo replied in a calm tone.

“Because we’re not building buildings.”

Not building buildings.

At his answer, John Peer asked again.

“If not buildings, are you planning to invest mainly in land?”

“We will invest in both land and buildings. However, we will not build anything new. Because there isn’t much time.”

Not much time.

John Peer couldn’t understand this one word. So he spoke honestly.

“If you’re going to quickly get in and out, it’s better to invest in stocks rather than real estate.”

Jung Hyun-woo tapped the table with his right-hand fingernail and said.

“I’m not saying we’ll get in and out in a month or two. However, if the conversation flows towards construction or development, it will be impossible to withdraw funds within 5 years.”

John Peer could see that the limit period Jung Hyun-woo had set was 5 years.

‘He’s saying that he can’t guarantee the Japanese economy after 5 years.’

Many people were talking about the Japanese bubble [an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991]. He also thought that the Japanese economy had grown irrationally.

‘There’s also the Plaza Accord [an agreement between France, West Germany, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the Japanese yen and German Deutsche Mark], and the Japanese economy might falter as early as next year.’

Maybe even 5 years was a long time.

“I understand. I will focus on purchasing real estate rather than construction or development.”

Jung Hyun-woo was trying to make a profit by buying and selling real estate.

“John, you weren’t thinking about building a new city, were you?”

John Peer nodded and answered.

“I didn’t have such thoughts.”

The construction he was thinking of was building buildings in the city center. Just like the famous Donald Trump did.

* * *

Tuesday.

Executives from Japanese construction companies gathered with their team members at the hotel where they had met with Jung Hyun-woo.

“Have you all finished checking the data?”

“Executive Director, of course.”

“Good, you guys wait here.”

“Understood.”

Shimizu Construction, which had plenty of funds, even rented a room in the hotel and showed their efforts by working through the night there.

“Executive Director Ono, how do you do?”

Yamada, the Managing Director of Taisei Construction, greeted Executive Director Ono of Sumitomo Construction.

“Managing Director Yamada, you look bright.”

“Isn’t today the end of the night shifts?”

Working overnight or giving up holidays was not welcome even for executives.

Managing Director Yamada wanted to end this matter with today’s meeting.

“Managing Director Yamada, you say it’s the end today. If you are selected as a partner of Victoria Fund, shouldn’t you be coming to work even on January 1st?”

Managing Director Yamada shook his head and answered.

“Even if I am selected as a partner today, I will rest on January 1st.”

“Is that so?”

“Does Sumitomo Construction not plan to rest?”

Executive Director Ono trailed off.

“The president’s will is so strong on this side…….”

Sumitomo Construction had no intention of resting on January 1st if they were selected as a partner of Victoria Fund.

“You’re saying you don’t plan to rest.”

“We rest every year on January 1st, so wouldn’t it be okay to skip it for one year?”

The two men boarded the elevator side by side. Soon, the elevator stopped on the floor with the VIP room.

“Managing Director Yamada, Executive Director Ono. You both came early.”

Executive Director Yoshida of Shimizu Construction greeted the two men in the hallway.

Shimizu Construction had worked through the night at the hotel, as mentioned earlier.

“Executive Director Yoshida is…….”

“We worked through the night here.”

“I, I see.”

Executive Director Yoshida of Shimizu Construction looked confident.

Executive Director Ono narrowed his brows as he looked at him.

‘He has an expression that he has something that can overwhelm us.’

The financial power of Shimizu Construction was always uncomfortable.

“Let’s go inside.”

8:55 AM.

Executives from Japanese construction companies were all seated.

“5 minutes left.”

“I heard that Mr. Peer will also be attending today.”

“Mr. Peer too?”

John Peer was known as the CEO of Victoria Fund.

“Charlie Jung is the owner of Victoria Fund, but isn’t John Peer the CEO?”

It was a story that the CEO couldn’t be absent from important decisions of the fund.

“In the end, it means we have to please Mr. Peer too.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

While the construction company executives were talking, it became 9 o’clock.

Click.

The secret door connected to the VIP room opened.

“Is everyone here?”

The one asking in a clear voice was Kato Hitori, an employee of the Victoria Fund’s Japanese branch.

The construction company executives nodded at her question.

“Everyone is here.”

Kato Hitori smiled and accepted their words.

“Everyone is here. The representative director is scheduled to arrive in 3 minutes.”

3 minutes.

The time it takes for a cup of ramen to cook.

A time that would be long for some and short for others.

Soon, 3 minutes passed.

“The representative director is coming out.”

As soon as Kato Hitori finished speaking, Jung Hyun-woo, Sera, John Peer, and Yu Tanaka entered.

The construction company executives thought to themselves as they saw the significant increase in the number of Victoria Fund personnel.

‘Today’s meeting is real.’

‘The owner of 15 billion dollars will be decided in this place.’

‘In the end, the real power of Victoria Fund is Mr. Peer.’

As Jung Hyun-woo sat in the middle, Sera and John Peer sat on either side of him.

“Is everyone ready?”

The construction company executives nodded at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“We are ready.”

As Jung Hyun-woo nodded, John Peer said.

“We will proceed from right to left.”

The one sitting on the far right was Yamada, the Managing Director of Taisei Construction.

* * *

The meeting that started at 9 AM continued past 12 PM until 2 PM.

A long 5-hour meeting.

The Japanese construction company executives returned with subtle expressions, but the meeting for the Victoria Fund people did not end there. They gathered again in the VIP room after the meal.

“John, which company do you like the most?”

At Jung Hyun-woo’s question, John Peer answered.

“I think Sumitomo Construction is better.”

“Why?”

“Sumitomo Construction’s financial conditions are the best.”

Sumitomo Construction stated that they could execute loans at a low interest rate of 4% using Sumitomo Bank.

“John prioritized the interest rate.”

“I think Sumitomo Construction’s other conditions are not significantly lacking either.”

John Peer thought that the business plan submitted by Sumitomo Construction was the most balanced.

“What does Sera think?”

Sera asked Jung Hyun-woo back.

“The company I like? Or Sumitomo Construction?”

Jung Hyun-woo answered her question.

“Sumitomo Construction. I wanted to hear what Sera thinks of Sumitomo Construction.”

Sera examined the summary of the business plan submitted by Sumitomo Construction and said.

“I think Sumitomo Construction is not bad. They didn’t try to do anything too forced. However, should I say something special? Or should I say the company’s own strength? It’s a bit disappointing that I don’t see anything that overwhelms other companies.”

She also acknowledged that Sumitomo Construction had submitted a balanced business plan.

“Which company did Sera think was the best?”

The company Sera chose was not Sumitomo Construction.

“I think Shimizu Construction is *gwaenchanheun* [Korean for ‘ 괜찮은’, meaning ‘okay’ or ‘decent’].”

“Shimizu Construction?”

“I could give them high scores in terms of financial power and finance.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head at her answer.

“But Shimizu Construction presented us with a mini-new city project.”

He was most reluctant to the new city project.

Sera knew very well why he was reluctant to the new city project.

“The mini-new city project was proposed without knowing exactly what business we are trying to do. After selecting that side, we can renegotiate the details.”

She thought that after selecting Shimizu Construction first, they could change the direction to real estate transactions instead of the mini-new city project.

“Hmm, that could be the case.”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze to John Peer.

“What do you think, John?”

He was asking what he thought of Shimizu Construction, which Sera had chosen.

“If we can proceed with the business we want to do, not the new city project, with Shimizu Construction, I think it’s *gwaenchanheun* [Korean for ‘ 괜찮은’, meaning ‘okay’ or ‘decent’]. The interest rate they presented is also the lowest.”

“Not bad. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s right.”

This time, Sera asked Jung Hyun-woo.

“Charlie, which company do you like the most?”

The names of two companies out of the five had already been mentioned. If he chose one of the two companies mentioned earlier, there was a high possibility that the contract would flow in that direction.

Jung Hyun-woo put his hands together and answered.

“I am thinking of Kajima Construction.”

Sera and John Peer widened their eyes at the same time.

“Kajima Construction?”

“Charlie, isn’t that a bit……?”

The reason the two raised objections to Kajima Construction was that the financial conditions presented by Kajima Construction were the worst.

Of course, Jung Hyun-woo also knew that Kajima Construction’s financial conditions were the worst.

“The interest rate presented by Kajima Construction is 4.8%, which is almost 1% different from Shimizu Construction, which has the best.”

In the case of executing a loan of 12 billion dollars, 1% was 120 million dollars.

In other words, if they worked with Kajima Construction, it meant they would lose 120 million dollars every year.

John Peer knew that Jung Hyun-woo had set a time limit of 5 years.

‘Even if we take 5 years, it’s 600 million dollars.’

The difference of 600 million dollars could never be ignored.

“Charlie, I would like to hear the reason.”

John Peer knew Jung Hyun-woo’s extraordinary nature well.

‘If Charlie chose Kajima Construction, there must be a reason we don’t know.’

Jung Hyun-woo said in a calm voice.

“The reason I chose Kajima Construction is that they have strengths in real estate transactions.”

“What do you mean by having strengths in real estate transactions?”

“The number of real estate transactions, the amount, and even the region were overwhelming compared to other construction companies.”

John Peer couldn’t help but pause at Jung Hyun-woo’s answer.

“Are you saying that you considered real estate transactions as the most important condition, not the financial conditions or the business plan?”

Jung Hyun-woo asked him back.

“Is it strange?”

John Peer sighed briefly.

“Hoo……. It’s very strange.”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze to Sera.

“Sera, do you think so too?”

Sera stroked her chin at his question.

“I know why Charlie chose Kajima Construction.”

She had spent a long time with Jung Hyun-woo, so she could read his mind to some extent.

John Peer raised his voice towards her.

“Sera, you’re not agreeing with Charlie’s choice, are you?”

Sera answered in a dry voice.

“I don’t think there’s any reason not to agree.”

“No, how can you think like that…….”

John Peer still didn’t think it was right to choose Kajima Construction.

‘Does she not know the size of the money we’re dealing with?’

He put strength into his voice again and said.

“Sera, we have to borrow 12 billion dollars. Do you know how much the annual interest is?”

“I know. If we choose Kajima Construction, there will be at least 600 million dollars in additional expenses for 5 years.”

“Do you think Kajima Construction’s conditions are good enough to bear the additional expense of 600 million dollars?”

Sera nodded and answered.

“Yes. Because we have to get in and out quickly.”

Get in and out quickly.

Jung Hyun-woo had chosen the company that could sell the real estate first when he wanted to sell it.