The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 385



Only Krnovel

385. War and war (5)

After completing my itinerary in the US and China, I returned to Korea.

Whenever I finished a business trip abroad, I would stop by Captain Kang’s office and relax by eating ramen with my closest associates.

But I didn’t have time for that now.

President Han was also working all night at the financial tower, so he went to work at the financial tower instead of Captain Kang’s office.

“On the way, I saw that oil prices had fallen a lot in the meantime.”

“It was showing a sharp decline before, but if you look at the current graph, oil prices are plummeting like a cliff.”

Even before the regression, oil prices had fallen sharply.

However, this time, it was showing a sharper decline than before the regression, and this was because Taewoo Securities, fintech banks, and financial tower financial companies were all engaging in aggressive short selling.

“We are still far from reaching the lowest point. It will be at least another month.”

“As the Chairman said, it is expected to break through to the $40 level. As a result, water has become more expensive than oil.”

“Then it’s good for us.”

“If we add in profits by the end of the year, I think we’ll be able to raise $25 billion.”

Taewoo Securities was earning its highest profits ever.

If you look at just the rate of return, the rate of return was higher in the Lehman incident and previous large-scale events.

Because this investment was so large, the returns were higher.

“I’m glad to hear that it looks like it’s going to be over 25 billion dollars. I already had some things to buy from China and was on my way to see them.”

“Is it an expensive item?”

“It won’t cost that much. It’s roughly worth about 2 to 3 billion dollars.”

“······I’ll have to whip it a little more until the end of the year.”

Raising $25 billion was not difficult.

However, since we had to invest in other areas besides acquiring oil companies, we had to hold on tight to our seed money.

“Doesn’t it make you feel sick because you’re spending everything you earn?”

“No! It’s not something the Chairman is using for something strict, and it’s an investment for the future, so it’s not a waste at all.”

“The oil war can be seen as having passed the first inning. If you want to consistently score until the 9th inning, stamina is important. So don’t overexert yourself.”

The oil war did not end in 2014.

It was a war that would last for years, and a war that would never end as long as the game of chicken between the United States and OPEC continued.

“The longer the war lasts, the better for us. Is there anything that involves as much money as war?”

“The approximately $25 billion used to acquire oil companies will be able to be recovered quickly. Oil prices will rise again in the first half of next year.”

Even though the oil war continued, oil prices did not continue to fall.

There was a rebound, and in particular, if OPEC even slightly hinted at reducing oil production, the price of oil would jump significantly.

“Would Saudi Arabia cut production? The moment they cut production, wouldn’t they be admitting defeat?”

“Who said they were going to cut production? They’re just giving a little indication of that trend. And in half a year, the world will get used to the era of low oil prices. Then, oil prices will gradually rise.”

Now the one-sided downward trend is over.

It was the beginning of a period of repeated rise and fall.

Of course, oil prices rose and fell repeatedly at any given time.

However, in today’s era, the decline and rise are very rapid, so if you get the timing right, you can make a big profit.

“We will ensure that we can complete the acquisition of the oil company before oil prices rise.”

“What we do is important, but more important is how proactive the U.S. government is.”

“I heard from David that the White House is very actively meeting with oil companies. And in the case of Hess, there are already strong voices from the board of directors calling for a sale.”

Things were going smoothly in the direction I wanted.

The moment the consortium was announced, the acquisition of the oil company could be completed within a few days.

* * *

Taewoo Group has been very busy in 2014.

Taewu Securities was not the only company busy due to the oil war, and Taewu Semiconductor, which was nearing completion of its large-scale semiconductor complex, was also going through a very busy time.

And today.

Taewoo Semiconductor’s Gyeonggi-do semiconductor complex was completed.

Everyone from the political and business world came out for the completion ceremony, and foreign groups, including those from the United States, sent congratulatory envoys and filled the event hall.

“Let the completion ceremony begin!”

Is it because it is an event that will inevitably be in the news?

There were so many politicians who wanted to give congratulatory speeches, and the speeches lasted for over two hours.

“Chairman, I feel like I’m at a wedding again. Even back then, I was completely out of my mind and just waited for it to end quickly.”

“But we can’t kick out the people who came to celebrate.”

The completion ceremony ended only when the sun was setting.

Key executives moved to the RND Center, located in the center of the newly built semiconductor complex, as if taking refuge.

“Looking from here, the semiconductor complex is definitely big. You can’t see it all at a glance.”

“The problem is that this is not the end of the semiconductor complex. The semiconductor complex being built in the United States is by no means small.”

I leaned against the window and looked down at the semiconductor complex.

President Lisa was standing next to me with a face that was half hopeful and half worried.

“You can run the business thinking that you will see a loss for several years. This is not a semiconductor complex built with the idea of ​​distributing money on the first drink.”

“Still, I don’t think we’ll see a big loss. From American companies like Apple and Qualcomm to Korean and Japanese companies, we’ve been receiving requests for semiconductor production. Even if we can’t do that, it’s expected that the operating rate will exceed 80%.”

Taewoo Group was also using a huge amount of semiconductors.

Home appliances, electric vehicles, etc. However, Taewoo Group could never take responsibility for the entire semiconductor complex alone.

We needed help from overseas groups.

Semiconductor usage had to increase further than now, but the entire complex could be operated.

That’s why President Lisa was worried.

“Semiconductor usage will increase significantly. Don’t worry too much.”

“I keep thinking that we are the only ones building too large a semiconductor factory while Samjin Electronics stays still.”

“If Samjin Electronics releases the internal reserves it has accumulated, building a semiconductor complex of this scale would be a no-brainer. You will regret not investing in advance.”

Of course, Taewo Group could have regrets.

It was certain that semiconductor usage would increase in the future.

There was a cycle in the semiconductor business, and if a downward cycle occurred, Taewo Semiconductor could have suffered a huge loss.

Nevertheless, we had to invest heavily in the semiconductor business.

Semiconductors could be used as a kind of strategic weapon, and in order for the Taewo Group to exert power in international relations, it had to possess a huge semiconductor production volume.

“Samjin Electronics won’t keep it in check, right?”

“That won’t happen. The semiconductor complex is no different from a foundry-only factory. If anything, Taiwan will keep it in check.”

The Tae Group semiconductor complex was actually supposed to be in Taiwan.

However, I was the first to take the lead and established a huge foundry complex in Korea first.

Nevertheless, we kept hearing news that a foundry factory was being built in Taiwan, and our competitor was more likely to be a Taiwanese semiconductor company than Samjin Electronics.

“I can’t make any other promises, but I can promise that we won’t be overtaken by latecomers. Taiwan’s semiconductor companies will never be able to catch up with Taewoo Semiconductor.”

“It’s very reassuring to hear Lisa’s boss say that.”

It was President Lisa, whose eyes were so sharp that they seemed almost poisonous.

She was a person with strong pride, and was not one to let latecomers overtake Taewoo Semiconductor.

Actually, I was a little worried.

Because both executives leading Taewo Semiconductor were of Taiwanese descent.

Although I had concerns about what might happen, the management showed greater affection for Taewo Semiconductor than I thought.

So there was no need to worry.

I was confident that Taewoong Semiconductor would dominate the foundry market.

* * *

HESS, a company specializing in oil and natural gas exploration.

They owned oil field business rights in North and South America and were one of the oil companies in the spotlight because they had excellent exploration capabilities.

However, two crises occurred in succession.

We faced a crisis due to shale gas production, which had increased to the extent that it was called the shale revolution.

Hess was experiencing a more severe crisis as oil prices fell due to the oil war.

Therefore, an emergency board meeting was convened.

The board was already in constant dialogue with the U.S. government, and now was the time to make a choice.

“Oil prices fell today as well. They have fallen nearly 40% in six months. And there are predictions that they could fall by as much as 50% next month.”

“Next month is a problem, but there is no guarantee that oil prices will rise next year and the year after. Shale gas production continues to increase, and OPEC shows no signs of stopping its increase.”

“We need to go through the sale process as soon as possible, but we can reduce losses.”

Everyone was aware of the seriousness of the situation.

However, there were two sharply conflicting opinions regarding the sale of the company.

“Does that make sense to sell the company? Hess’ history of over 80 years cannot end like this.”

“Let’s wait a little longer for the current crisis. Haven’t we survived two oil wars? We can survive this third oil war!”

Hess was a company with deep history and tradition.

It is safe to say that it was the beginning of oil exploration, so the management was very proud of the company.

“We absolutely cannot survive without the government’s help. But the Obama administration is only interested in shale companies. Haven’t we been told that they will just wait and see what happens to us?”

“That’s right. In six months, the market capitalization has been cut in half, and the debt has tripled.”

Everyone lives their own life.

It was the White House that clearly conveyed its intention to survive on its own.

More than half of those supporting the sale were aware that they would not be able to receive government support as before.

“The debt is increasing, but if we can find oil fields in South America, we can repay the debt in one go. With our technology, it is possible.”

“Is finding an oil field the end? If you add up the oil field development costs and transportation costs, you could actually incur more losses. With oil prices dropping so much, producing oil will only cause the price to fall further.”

Those in favor of the sale were heartbroken.

Since everyone owned a portion of the shares, even if it went bankrupt, they would not be able to save a single penny.

Of course, not everyone was like that.

Even among those in favor, there were those who were concerned about corporate members rather than their own interests.

“Think of the employees who wander the vast ocean exploring oil fields. In order for them to receive proper compensation, they must have a strong parent company.”

“Can Taewoo Group be a reliable parent company? They say they are forming a consortium, but isn’t Taewoo Group taking the lead?”

The board of directors heard from the U.S. government that the buyer was Taewoo Group.

Some people were reluctant to accept Hess from being acquired by a Korean company rather than an American company.

“From what I found, Taewo Group’s debt ratio is close to 0%, and its internal reserves amount to tens of billions of dollars.”

“Hmm, I understand. We will proceed with the sale first, but we will meet with Taewoo Group to make the final decision.”

The board of directors is already leaning towards selling.

However, there was a possibility of collapse in the final negotiations with Taewo Group.