The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 125



Only Krnovel

Episode 125 Before the Storm (4)

A month passed and it was mid-June.

I spent a month checking the personnel roster of employees.

As it was the No. 1 business group, the number of employees was naturally enormous, and there was not enough time just to form a new organizational chart.

When you are having such a busy time.

Lee Ju-young, president of Taewoong Communications, came to the vice president’s office with good news.

“Vice Chairman! Daiblo 2, recently released by Bliad, was a huge hit.”

“It looks like Taewoo Telecom’s market share has risen again.”

“As we have the Korean distribution rights for Daiblo 2, our market share has increased slightly.”

From Stark to Daiblo 2.

Blyard hit consecutive home runs, and thanks to this, Taewoong Communications and the gaming platform benefited greatly.

“That’s good news. “I know you had quite a bit of fun with the Stark Tournament. How was it?”

“It can be said that there is no one among young people who does not know about Taewo Telecommunications. In particular, the fan base of professional gamers belonging to the Taewoo Gaming Team has grown significantly. “The fan club alone has over 500,000 members.”

Taewoo Game Team was a huge success.

Although the amount of money spent was less than sponsoring a ball game, the promotional effect was several times greater.

“Now the gap with KS Telecom has widened considerably.”

“There is a 15% difference. “Other telecommunications companies are launching Internet TV and Internet lecture services to follow our lead, but we are already leading the way, so we are not seeing much of an effect.”

Taewoo Electronics had great fun with Internet TV.

Of course, other companies rushed to launch Internet TV, but we were unable to close the gap because we had the weapon of OTT service.

The same was true for online lectures.

Because we had all the same instructors, it was difficult for latecomers to catch up.

“Just keep it the way it is now. “Don’t fret even if your market share drops a little.”

“Is that okay? “Shouldn’t we have to endure more bleeding to completely secure the top spot?”

I smiled and shook my head.

With the iPhone being released in just a few months, market share was bound to rise on its own.

The problem was the defense of the stock price.

Due to the IT bubble, the stock prices of Taewoo Electronics and other affiliates were plummeting.

If you think about it differently, it was also an opportunity.

A good opportunity to secure Taewoo Group stocks at a low point.

***

Taewoo Group is divided into several affiliates.

It moved smoothly according to the will of the group headquarters.

More accurately, it should be seen that it was moving according to the will of the grandfather, and the grandfather trusted the words of Taewoo Securities CEO Park Man-deok the most.

That’s why I called President Park Man-deok into the vice president’s office.

His influence was needed to prevent Taewoo Group’s stock price from plummeting due to the IT bubble.

“Congratulations once again on your appointment as Vice President. “I wanted to say hello in the president’s conference room, but there were so many people watching that I couldn’t say hello properly.”

“Is there any need to exchange excessive greetings between us?”

“Thank you for saying that.”

The corners of President Park’s mouth were turned up toward the ceiling.

Taewoo Group’s affiliates are going through difficulties, but they are smiling?

The smile was possible because, unlike other affiliates, Taewoo Securities is not experiencing any difficulties.

“The first half of this year is almost over. How is the Patriot Fund response okay?”

“I survived thanks to the Vice President. I never expected the IT bubble to arrive so quickly. “At the beginning of this year, there was an uproar that customers were not investing in IT stocks, but now we are receiving phone calls thanking us.”

Among several securities companies that operate funds.

The only securities company that did not invest in IT stocks was Taewoo Securities.

“IT fund returns will be disastrous.”

“Among the funds launched by other securities companies, not a single one has recorded positive returns.”

“It seems like everyone has fallen in love with the IT sector.”

“The number of places that suffered small losses was -15%, and there were many places that lost more than half. In the case of the fund launched by Current Securities, it was -70%. But our Taewoo Securities fund is seeing a return of +7%, so how happy will our customers be?”

Taewoo Securities’ rate of return was only 7%.

There was no significant difference compared to the interest on bank deposits.

However, when comparing non-bank funds, there was a difference of at least 20% and at most 80%.

“Most of the customers who left early this year have come back, right?”

“One customer even came to the securities firm and shed tears. He wept loudly, saying he was sorry for not trusting Taewoo Securities.”

“Thanks to this crisis, the loyalty of fund subscribers must have increased.”

“The number of customers who say they only trust Taewoo Securities has increased significantly. And even though the fund was launched and recorded the lowest rate of return, the amount of money collected in the fund is increasing significantly.”

This is why President Park’s expression was good.

As the amount of money coming into the fund increased, the commissions that securities companies could earn also increased, and the result became the career of President Park.

“The IT bubble is not over yet. “Stock prices will continue to decline.”

“Then we should continue to make only stable investments such as bonds.”

“The fund can proceed that way, but shouldn’t it protect Taewo Group’s stock price from falling?”

“Speaking of defense, are you by any chance thinking about buying back shares?”

“Isn’t it a good opportunity to purchase our own stock at a low price, not only for the shareholders?”

“Although there are differences in the surplus for each affiliate, I think the surplus will be enough to protect against the decline. However, if you use the surplus to buy back shares, you will not have enough funds to invest in new businesses.”

Share buybacks were news that shareholders liked.

As the amount of stocks traded decreases, the price of stocks is bound to rise, and the value of stocks held by shareholders also increases.

But from the company’s perspective, it was different.

It might be a case of purchasing treasury stock for the purpose of defending management rights.

They were reluctant to use surplus funds to buy back shares to protect their stock prices.

“Isn’t this the perfect time to promote Taewoo Group as a company for shareholders? “If you buy back just enough stock to defend the stock price, it won’t cost that much.”

“We need to consult with securities company executives and economic research institutes, but buying back shares doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

President Park has definitely become my person.

Because the Taewoo Securities fund survived the IT bubble, their loyalty to me became even stronger.

Maybe that’s why he nodded and looked at what I suggested.

“ah! And may I recommend one stock? “Apple’s new product is unusual.”

“We will add Apple to the Patriot Fund’s investment items. “We will think about ways to take a detour and invest to avoid problems.”

As expected, President Park was a capable person.

Taewo Group was one of Apple’s major shareholders, and of course, insider trading issues could have arisen if it purchased stock with advance knowledge of new product information.

So it was President Park who said he would take a detour and invest.

“It can be tricky. “Is that possible?”

“Apple’s stock was cut in half due to the IT bubble. “I know a few methods that can be used just for this situation.”

“As expected, you are President Park. And in the case of Apple stocks, they should never be sold and should be held by Taewoo Securities.”

“How can I easily sell the stocks recommended by the Vice Chairman? “If I think something like that will happen, I will definitely report it to the vice president.”

Taewoo Securities has maintained the number one position in the industry for several years.

And the IT bubble made it possible to widen the gap with second place.

***

The season of heat has already arrived.

On days like this, I just wanted to stay in the office with the cool air conditioning.

I had to go outside because Hyunjae Motors Chairman Jang Kyung-jun urgently requested a meeting.

“My congratulations are late. “I sincerely congratulate you on becoming Vice President.”

“Thank you. “I couldn’t be happier to receive congratulations from the president.”

First of all, a good word.

However, as soon as a few words were exchanged, Chairman Jang Gyeong-jun made a groaning sound.

“Did you hear the news? “Youngjun said he was going up to the north with a herd of cattle.”

“Isn’t that a sign of how urgent it is? “They are claiming that they want to continue Chairman Jang Young-joo’s legacy, but in the end, they are just shaking their tail at the government.”

“There are only a few months left this year. “You haven’t forgotten the promise we made, right?”

It’s because people’s personalities are so impatient.

You should think that there are still several months left, not just a few months left.

“Of course I remember. And there isn’t much left now. “Don’t you know very well that the current construction situation is not good?”

“I heard that they are working hard to block it.”

“Now there won’t be enough funds to stop it. The return on the fund launched by Current Securities was -77%. “If the current securities are shaken, where will you get money?”

In normal cases.

Even though fund returns deteriorated, securities firms did not suffer significant losses.

This is because the customer’s money invested in the fund is lost.

But this time was different.

Taewoo Securities hit the jackpot by launching a principal guarantee fund product.

Hyunjae Securities, a latecomer, also launched a principal guarantee fund to catch up with us.

And boom!

The IT bubble burst, and Current Securities also suffered huge losses.

“I feel a little reassured after hearing the vice president’s words.”

“It is very likely that Hyunjae Construction will go into default on the next bill payment date.”

“If it’s the next bill date…” … , It will be mid-October.”

Although he is now the chairman of Hyunjae Motors.

Just a year ago, Jang Gyeong-jun was the co-chairman of the current group.

That’s why I was memorizing Hyunjae Construction’s bill date.

“I don’t think Hyunjae Construction has the funds to stop the bills coming back in October.”

“As far as I know, the size of the bill is only 20 billion won. “You can’t even get that much money?”

“If the current construction is difficult, of course we can stop it. However, I think it will be difficult to find money as both Hyunjae Securities and Hyunjae Electronics are faltering.”

Actually, there was another reason.

Although not yet known to the media, Hyunjae Construction was hiding a huge amount of receivables.

The receivables not received from Iraq amounted to over 1 trillion won, and when everything else was added, they were hiding a loss of over 2 trillion won.

“Then there really isn’t much left.”

“You just need to prepare step by step to take over Hyunjae Construction. “I have already prepared to provide support to the Chairman.”

“I feel very reassured! “If I can only take over Hyunjae Construction, I will fully support Taewoo Group’s takeover of Hyunjae Semiconductor!”

It was Chairman Jang Gyeong-jun who finally showed his smile.

I also couldn’t help but smile. Because there was not much time left to acquire the semiconductor company that his grandfather had so desperately wanted.