The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 457



Only Krnovel

457. Big Capital (2)

I drank alcohol with Bin Salman for over 10 hours.

After finishing his last schedule in Korea, he and Captain Kang enjoyed all kinds of alcohol at their villa.

It wasn’t until daytime that we came to our senses.

Only after seeing him off at the airport could I go to work at the headquarters.

“Mr. Chairman, are you okay?”

“I haven’t had a binge in a while so I’m having a hard time coming to my senses.”

“I’ll even make you a glass of honey water.”

I drank the honey water prepared by the vice president.

Only then did I feel a little better and my eyes became clearer.

“I can finally live a little.”

“If Crown Prince Bin Salman visits Korea a few more times, the Chairman will not be able to bear it.”

“That’s right. Did Bin Salman go well?”

“It shook Korea and went very well. Every front page of the newspaper was filled with stories about Crown Prince Bin Salman.”

Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman.

The name alone was enough to fill the front page of the newspaper.

He spent so much money that the media got even more excited and started writing articles about it.

“They signed a ton of MOUs.”

“We have signed MOUs with a wide range of industries, including construction, energy, and automobiles. That’s why the media is giving us major coverage, and the related stocks are skyrocketing.”

“What is the MOU and why are the stocks skyrocketing? It’s just a story about being able to work together.”

“That’s true. Even if an MOU is signed, it’s rare for it to lead to a formal contract.”

The signing of the MOU had no effect.

It simply meant that ‘Saudi Arabia and the company could work on the same project.’

“It would be fortunate if even 10% of the signed MOUs were to be converted into formal contracts.”

“However, the MOU signed with Taewoo Securities seems very likely to be concluded. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund has been inquiring every day for several days about when they will be able to officially move in.”

I don’t know about the other MOUs, but the financial one was not false.

Because it was something bin Salman had promised, and it was beneficial to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

“Vice Chairman Han must be having a headache.”

“We can’t just give a position to a place like the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, but we can’t ask an existing financial institution to relocate.”

“If that doesn’t work out, I’ll ask Representative George. If it’s the kind of position that Quantum Fund uses, wouldn’t Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund be satisfied?”

Quantum Fund was the first financial company to enter the financial tower.

That’s why we got the best seats and used the largest offices.

“If Quantum Fund were to vacate its position, the problem would be solved, but wouldn’t Quantum Fund be upset?”

“What does location matter? After all, the most important thing for a financial company is profitability. And if you give me an office right next to Taewoo Securities, I would be even happier.”

Taewoo Securities was located on the lowest floor of the financial tower.

The reason was that, as the owner, he could not occupy a high place, so there was quite a bit of space left.

“Let’s proceed like that. But is it really true that Taewoo Securities will be managing part of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s funds?”

“I guess it’s already been reported in the media.”

“There was an article reporting that Taewoo Securities would be managing about 10 billion dollars. The Planning Department contacted me, saying that it was information leaked by the Saudi government.”

Did the Saudi government leak the information?

It could have been a well-intentioned information operation.

Since Bin Salman also meant that he wanted to be with the financial tower that much, I decided to just let it slide cutely.

“This is a media report that was not properly fact-checked.”

“Is that so? Well, I thought $10 billion was a bit excessive.”

“I disagree. The scale was understated in the report. Taewoo Securities will be managing $100 billion, not $10 billion.”

“A hundred billion dollars? You, that’s a lot of money!”

Vice Chairman Han was responsible for all investments at Taewoo Securities.

Although I provided direction on where to invest, it was the job of Vice Chairman Han to analyze and find investment locations.

But what if it adds up to a trillion dollars?

As such, Vice Chairman Han’s worries could not help but deepen.

We had to work twice as hard to find places to invest.

“You don’t have to worry so much. You want to double your investment within three years. Isn’t that something you can easily achieve?”

“It is not impossible, but we still have to consider fairness, so it will be difficult for Taewoo Securities to monopolize high-yield investments.”

“Don’t worry, a difficult pie to monopolize will come soon. And if we use the name value of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, we can eat a bigger piece of the pie.”

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund was not a typical financial institution.

Since it was money managed by the Saudi government, it could not be treated as a financial institution.

Since we are also connected to a country called Saudi Arabia, we can use that much more power.

“If the Saudi sovereign wealth fund comes in, I will first invest in places that generate stable returns. I would like to touch on things like oil futures, but since Saudi Arabia is an oil-producing country, I think it would be sensitive to oil prices, so I excluded it.”

“There are plenty of things to eat besides oil. And since it seems like you’re going to make a profit in the long term, you can invest in the US-China trade war in advance.”

When I was talking with Vice Chairman Han about the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

The planning director knocked urgently and came in.

“Mr. Chairman, we have received a call from the Blue House. You have been invited to an unofficial dinner with the President.”

“You contacted me again after only meeting me for a short time? I guess something happened.”

President Choi Jae-seok was not a person who regarded the heads of large corporations as subordinates.

So there was no reason to call without a reason, and seeing that he was calling in such an urgent manner, it was clear that there was a pretty big problem.

“Tell them you’re going. I guess I’ll have to go to the Blue House to get over my hangover.”

“I will prepare to enter the Blue House.”

I haven’t even sobered up yet from the alcohol I drank with Bin Salman.

I decided to warm up with a hot soup dish prepared by the chief chef of the Blue House.

***

A small annex located in the Blue House.

A table full of kimchi stew and tofu pancakes prepared by the First Lady, not the head chef, was waiting for me.

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t call you that so casually, but I couldn’t stand it because it was so frustrating.”

“It’s okay. Whether you eat at home or here, people have to eat to live, right? Besides, when will I ever get to eat the kimchi stew that the First Lady made for me again?”

President Choi Jae-seok’s expression was quite dark.

He was full of energy when he ran for election, but after he was elected, he aged rapidly.

“The position of President seemed really good when viewed from afar, but now that I’m actually in it, I’ve been thinking that there’s no position more difficult than this one.”

“Are you worried about China?”

“The THAAD sanctions are getting worse. Korean companies are being driven out of China, and in China, they are even burning Korean products.”

The damage caused by the Hanhanryung pandemic has reached its peak.

Just a few years ago, companies viewed the Chinese market as a land of opportunity, but now it has become a land of hell.

“I know that cosmetics, electronics, and even entertainment are all struggling.”

“It seems as if they are trying to completely erase Korea from the Chinese market. Korean entertainers can’t even rent concert halls in China. In addition, the tourism industry is suffering great damage. The Chinese government is actually blocking tourism to Korea.”

It was a policy that was possible only in China.

They’re even blocking tourism to other countries.

Of course, we also impose travel restrictions on countries with a risk of terrorism, but there have been no cases where tourism was blocked due to problems between countries.

“As time goes by, companies will find their own way out. They may challenge the US and European markets or create new markets in Southeast Asia.”

“Actually, I think the Hanhan issue will be resolved over time. But isn’t there a bigger problem?”

“What problem are you talking about?”

“Korea’s population is starting to decline. The birth rate has dropped to 1, and it is projected that it will drop to 0.9 next year.”

The current birth rate was 1.

It may seem low from President Choi Jae-seok’s perspective.

From my perspective of knowing the future, it was a very high number.

Because it was supposed to drop below 0.8 after just a few years.

“We are putting in a lot of effort at the Taewoo Group level to restore the birth rate.”

“I know you are putting in the most effort, from maternity leave to working from home. But not all companies can be like Taewoo Group. After all, Korea’s working-age population is gradually decreasing.”

Why is President Choi Jae-seok like this?

I’ve occasionally given advice on my worries, but this was the first time I’ve heard someone complaining like this.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“If the economically active population decreases, won’t pension problems eventually become bigger? The previous administration succeeded in reforming the civil servant pension system, but failed to reform the national pension system. And there are still many areas that need to be addressed in civil servant pension reform.”

“I once received a report from the Taewoo Economic Research Institute that the national pension fund could be depleted before 2055.”

“Wouldn’t the shortfall ultimately have to be compensated for through taxes? If that happens, it will place too much of a burden on future generations.”

National pension reform was a hot potato.

It was a reform that had to be done, but it was a topic that could not be brought up in the political world because it was a low-priced reform.

“But isn’t the National Pension Fund being managed well?”

“Last year’s return was only 4.75%.”

“That’s because the fund is so large. In terms of profits, it amounts to 25 trillion won.”

“Isn’t the financial tower also operating on that scale? But I understand that the rate of return is at least 50%.”

Why is the National Pension story leading to a financial tower?

What is President Choi Jae-seok’s intention in bringing up this topic?

“Isn’t stability the top priority for the National Pension Service? However, the financial tower is making aggressive investments and is generating high returns. On the other hand, if a crisis comes, it could suffer huge losses.”

“You suffer losses? Have you ever suffered losses? I don’t remember any. So, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund also moved into the financial tower and signed an MOU with Taewoo Securities?”

Now I know exactly why you called me here.

The MOU signed between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and Taewoo Securities seems to have made President Choi Jae-seok anxious.

“Although we signed an MOU, it is absolutely not the case that Taewoo Securities or Financial Tower guarantee the returns of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.”

“I don’t guarantee returns, but I know they provide a good investment as a first priority. Why should the Saudi sovereign wealth fund be the first priority instead of the National Pension Service?”

“That’s because the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is coming into the financial tower and entrusting some of its funds to us.”

“So, they are planning to entrust part of the national pension to the financial tower.”

It turned out like this.

From Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to the national pension fund.

A ridiculous situation has arisen where funds and endowments ranked in the top five globally are coming to each other to entrust their money.

This meant that the financial tower’s position had become stronger.

It was also an excessive burden on Taewoo Securities and Financial Tower.