The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 465



Only Krnovel

465. Equity Participation (5)

I returned to Korea after finishing my schedule in the US.

Looking at the face of the vice president who greeted me with a very bright expression, I could intuitively feel that the market situation was going the way we wanted.

“Is something good happening?”

“Haven’t you ever had that happen to you? You were trying to put on your winter coat when you found a pile of bills you had left there the previous winter?”

“Sometimes, yes. Maybe you found a wad of bills.”

“Venezuela is likely to default soon. I have been enjoying short selling for several years now, but I still have some money that I have not been able to generate any profit from. This is a good opportunity to completely liquidate it.”

One of the reasons oil prices will rise in the future is Venezuela.

Relations between Venezuela and the United States were at an all-time low.

If Venezuela, which is considered the world’s largest oil producer, were unable to produce and sell oil as smoothly as before, oil prices would naturally rise.

“If a default declaration is made, oil prices will fluctuate.”

“Most American oil companies have pulled out of Venezuela, and while the Venezuelan government is trying to produce its own oil, drilling for oil is not easy enough to do without any know-how.”

“Financial companies that invest in oil prices will make a lot of money in the future.”

Conservative financial firms betting on oil prices.

The returns may be lower compared to cryptocurrencies, but when looking at the overall pie, the returns could actually be higher because oil prices are higher.

“And the value of the Guyanese oil fields, in which the Chairman has acquired a large stake, has also increased significantly.”

“When I met with oil company representatives in the United States, they all talked about the Guyanese oil fields.”

“It is highly likely that Guyana will take over the position of oil producer that Venezuela once had. That is why American oil companies are trying to secure shares in Guyana’s oil fields.”

Even if oil exploration was successful, it did not mean that oil could be drilled right away.

It would take at least several years to secure the related infrastructure, starting with the plant, and at least two more years to bring the Guyana oil field into full production.

“I guess you want to secure a stake before drilling for oil.”

“The Taewoo Group owns more than 70% of the Guyana oil field. So, they will probably contact you soon.”

“The value of the shares will definitely increase significantly.”

“We spent over $30 billion to acquire a 70% stake. We spent over $25 billion on Hess alone, and over $5 billion on the stake held by a Chinese oil company.”

The money wasn’t only used to acquire shares.

To ensure smooth exploration, we provided human resources along with huge investments.

They spent about the same amount of money to acquire the stake as they spent to develop the Alaskan oil fields.

“If a satisfactory offer comes, there is no reason why I would not sell my shares.”

“There is also speculation that American oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil will look to acquire Hess, in which they hold shares, rather than simply acquire them.”

“If oil prices continue to rise, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea to acquire an entire oil company.”

Taewoo Group owned several oil companies.

One of them was Hess, and so he was able to attend the White House oil company invitation event, which only invited big oil companies.

“Would it be better to sprinkle some bait?”

“It would be disadvantageous for us to enter into negotiations right now. Oil prices will continue to rise. So, just give us some bait so that negotiations can proceed by the end of this year or early next year.”

“I’m afraid that even the slightest bait will cause the fish to pounce without mercy. But I don’t know if the White House will just sit back and watch. If we sell Hess, won’t that destroy trust?”

The relationship of trust between the Taewoo Group and the U.S. government was solid.

Several factors were at play, but investment in shale gas was a decisive factor.

But if the company were suddenly sold, the relationship could naturally go wrong.

“As long as we have a stake in the Alaska oil fields, there won’t be any major problems. And we will continue to hold Cheshire Peak, the shale gas company.”

“Although Cheshire Peak is small compared to Hess, it has shares in Alaska, so it can maintain its current relationship with the U.S. government.”

In fact, it didn’t matter if the relationship was a little off.

When the Corona era came, there were plans to acquire various oil companies, including Hess, at low prices again.

If that had happened, we could have formed a deeper relationship than we have now.

We could have created a relationship where the US government, not the Taewoo Group, reached out to us.

“Let’s wrap up the oil price policy to this extent. The Bitcoin lending business should be gradually completed. Financial institutions should also start selling off their Bitcoin holdings.”

“Isn’t it too early?”

“The price of Bitcoin will continue to rise, but if you sell now, you can get out without any losses. It’s much better than being greedy and getting caught.”

There is still more than half a year left until Bitcoin falls.

Because it will be towards the end of the year before regulations are announced in the US and Korea.

However, because the amount of money invested was so large, it was necessary to start the selling process now to sell while protecting the price.

“Taewoo Securities will begin liquidation today. I will give instructions to the other financial institutions, but ultimately, isn’t the timing of liquidation the financial institutions’ choice?”

“You must have felt what happens when you move late in Chinese short selling, so you will know how to do it well.”

“I think so. I will sell just enough to keep the Bitcoin price from falling. Everyone is trained in short selling, so they will do well.”

Timing was important when it came to short selling or Bitcoin.

The group that knew the best timing in the world was the financial tower.

“The same goes for altcoins. Start organizing them little by little.”

“Ethereum’s price increase is greater than expected. It is already close to $200.”

“It’s gone up more than tenfold in just a few months.”

The initial purchase price was just $8.

But in not long, Ethereum had already soared to $200.

“However, financial institutions that have invested in Ethereum all have an aggressive nature. There is a possibility that they will start liquidation late in order to maximize profits.”

“Please do so. Even if the liquidation is delayed, there will be no loss. Wouldn’t it be a profitable business even if the 10-fold profit becomes 5-fold?”

“Then I will just issue a liquidation order. I feel sorry for the financial institutions that invested in cryptocurrency. They were just starting to make money, but now they have to liquidate.”

“There are still bigger opportunities. If you prepare well, wouldn’t there be more to be gained in a bear market than in a bull market?”

“The powerful forces are eagerly eyeing the pie that is not enough for even the financial towers to eat.”

The price of cryptocurrency was rising higher and higher.

This has led to an increase in the number of people interested in cryptocurrencies.

As the number of users increased, forces like anteaters were bound to appear.

“For the time being, do not restrain the forces.”

“Are you saying we should let the forces run wild?”

“Wouldn’t the powerful take out their own pocket money and invest? There’s a famous saying in gambling circles: Let a sucker lose his first round.”

“Then we will not engage in any checks and balances for several months so that the powers that be can have fun.”

It was a scenario of devouring the forces that had already eaten their fill.

The story that the power in the stock market has moved over to Bitcoin has been circulating for some time.

“How do you know the size of the force?”

“It’s hard to predict. If we look at Korea alone, forces that manipulated finances have come in large numbers, and forces that launder money through dark channels have come in from the US, Europe, and Japan.”

“When you say the path of darkness, you mean organizations like the mafia or the yakuza.”

“It’s not as much as it used to be, but the yakuza is still making millions of dollars a year. The mafia and gangs are making even more money. Of course, it could be a conspiracy theory.”

In fact, the identity was not important.

It didn’t matter whether it was yakuza money, mafia money, or some unknown force.

There was no change to the fact that they were messing around with Bitcoin, and they were making fun of the Taewoo Group, the creator of Bitcoin.

“Design it right. Make sure you build a device that can completely drain the power.”

“It seems like a large-scale design is needed. In Korea, it would be enough to grab power together with Myeongdong, but in the case of the US or Japan, several financial companies would have to join forces and do preliminary work.”

“So you’re saying it’s difficult?”

“It might be difficult in other places, but it is possible in the financial tower. I will clearly show that no matter how hard you try in the shade, you cannot beat the financial companies that are flying in the sun.”

The force was like a mosquito.

If you don’t disinfect regularly, it will become more rampant.

It was similar to mosquitoes in that their power did not completely disappear even after quarantine was implemented.

***

A few days later.

I went to the Artificial Intelligence Center.

I don’t know if this is Korea or America.

As it was a center with the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence technology, more than half of its staff were foreigners.

World’s highest salary.

Up to world-class welfare.

The AI ​​Center was a place where employees could freely choose their working hours and even work from home as much as they wanted.

But there were some people who never left work.

Director Minjeong Cheon, head of the Artificial Intelligence Center, resides at the center 24 hours a day.

“I knew you’d be here. When did you go home and when did you not come in?”

“I hate commuting. There’s a bathroom and hotel-quality sleeping rooms in the center, so there’s no reason to go home.”

The center was like home to her.

This is also why I visited the center today.

“Have you ever imagined that? If the virtual reality that appears in science fiction novels becomes a reality, wouldn’t the concept of commuting to and from work disappear?”

“Have you ever thought about that, Mr. Chairman? I think about that dozens of times a day. That’s why I looked up related information and even read science fiction novels!”

“If you’ve ever read science fiction, you’ve probably heard of the term metaverse.”

Metaverse.

It was the field that burned the hottest during the Corona era.

That is why I came all the way to the center and talked to Director Cheon Min-jeong about the metaverse.

“I know the concept, but we’re still a long way from that concept. I think it’s going to take at least 50 more years of science and technology to make it possible to experience interactions that are possible in reality in virtual reality.”

“Perfect interaction may be impossible, but wouldn’t it be helpful if it were just an upgraded version of remote conferencing?”

“Of course I want to carry out such a project. However, I couldn’t even dream of it because carrying out a metaverse project requires a huge amount of investment and a large number of employees.”

As expected, it was Cheon Min-jeong who took the bait.

Now that the bait has been taken, all that’s left to do is lift it up with the net.

“Let’s actively support this from the headquarters level. Let’s try to promote it as an official business of the AI ​​Center. If necessary, you can purchase patents, and if you need related companies, you can even acquire them. And if you need the necessary manpower, hire as many people as you need.”

“I mean, really? This is a business that I can’t guarantee will be profitable.”

“If you’re talking about talent related to the metaverse, there must be a lot of them in the gaming industry. Should we take this opportunity to acquire a few gaming companies? Taewoo Electronics is also developing VR devices, but if necessary, we can acquire VR device companies.”

It didn’t have to be perfect.

Just by having the image of being a leader in the metaverse, Taewoo Group was able to gain a lot of benefits.