Translator: Dreamscribe
A negotiation demanding triple the amount and even taking equity stakes.
Of course, I thought they would reject it too.
If they refused, I was planning to adjust things within that to align the contract terms, but China approved it not long after receiving our proposal.
As a result, the money we had invested tripled in value, and after keeping a certain portion, we sold off the rest.
“I heard about it. I heard Kwangwoon hit it big again this ti? Kwangwoon Group hasn’t even been around that long, and already it’s gaining attention not only dostically but also overseas?”
Everyone in this field would know.
That the biggest beneficiary of the recent Chinese restrictions and the Belt and Road Initiative was none other than our Kwangwoon.
“How strong is your connection with China that you could make money while everyone else was collapsing? Huh? Introduce too.”
“There’s no such thing.”
“Is it that kind of connection you can’t casually introduce to others? Just how high up is this person?”
CEO Kim Doo-young was like that.
And so was Chairman Kang Sung-ho whom I t today.
They were firmly convinced that I had so secret hotline in China.
“Don’t even say that. He won’t even tell who it is.”
“What? Even to Chairman Hwang, who you call hyung and are so close with? Hey, don’t tell that hotline is the Chinese President or sothing?”
“I’m telling you, there’s really nothing like that.”
“Tsk. I’m seriously curious now. Who are you hiding like that?”
In the end, I gave up trying to explain.
“Well, I don’t know what kind of connection you have, but in business, the most important thing is ultimately personal networks. Especially maintaining good relationships with the governnt and building connections, there’s nothing better than that.”
Collusion between governnt and business.
In any country, when a company grows in scale, it inevitably gets entangled with politics.
To start a large-scale project, a company needs governnt approval, and to receive subsidies or investnts, it also needs the governnt’s influence.
“The people we’re eting today are exactly from that side.”
In that sense, it could be said that our Kwangwoon had now reached that scale.
However, the governnt official we were eting today wasn’t from Korea, but from Malaysia.
“Welco. Pleased to et you. I’m Jho Low.”
Jho Low.
A few years ago, Malaysian Pri Minister Najib Razak created the nation’s largest sovereign wealth fund to be used for developing international competitiveness.
“Korea is a close country to us. And the Republic of Korea is a role model for all developing countries. Despite going through such a dreadful war, it created a miracle in a short ti and developed into a remarkable advanced nation. And that too, in a country without a single drop of oil.”
Our Republic of Korea is a nation that made the impossible possible, a miraculous country.
Today, we dig up roots to eat, but Korea exists now thanks to the elders of the past who spared no effort to rebuild the country so that future generations wouldn’t have to.
“So our Pri Minister created the sovereign wealth fund called 1MDB in hopes of creating a second Korea, and due to its stable and high returns, many companies are already investing. Representative examples are Gold Reagan and JP Mason. In addition to those, we are increasing the fund’s size by receiving investnts from various companies.”
A sovereign wealth fund refers to an investnt fund operated at the national level.
It is used for the financial stability and long-term economic developnt of a country, and in our country, the Korea Investnt Corporation falls under this category.
The National Pension Service isn’t a sovereign wealth fund per se, but it has a similar nature.
This 1MDB that Jho Low was talking about was also a type of sovereign wealth fund.
“When we first started 1MDB, its size was only 1 billion dollars. But we quickly expanded it, and now it’s nearing 30 billion dollars. Our ultimate target amount is 150 billion dollars. I understand the Korea Investnt Corporation is managing around 150 to 180 billion dollars.”
The size of Korea’s sovereign wealth fund ranged between 150 and 180 billion dollars.
1MDB was also being expanded to that scale by issuing bonds and distributing them widely.
“To be honest, Japan and Korea have almost completed their growth, so they are not very attractive places to invest in. But Malaysia still has a mountain of areas left to develop. That’s why foreign investors are watching Malaysia closely.”
The 1MDB sovereign wealth fund was well-known even to , recently drawing a lot of attention in overseas markets.
Because Malaysia still had so many undeveloped areas, the goal was to utilize this capital to achieve explosive growth and deliver investnt performance.
“That is why we are making an investnt proposal to Kwangwoon Group, which helped revive our port business in cooperation with China, as well as to Kangseong, Korea’s largest group. Let make one thing clear in advance, 1MDB does not extend investnt proposals to just anyone. These offers are made only after going through a rigorous selection process.”
We’re the ones doing the investing, so it was ironic for them to speak about selective criteria and whatnot.
But this was no ordinary fund.
It was a fund run by a governnt.
So if one intended to do business in Malaysia, there was no better opportunity than this.
Because it would create a strong link with the Malaysian governnt through this fund.
And if the governnt actively supported it, doing business would be much easier.
Moreover, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund had high profit potential.
Just as Jho Low said, Malaysia was currently in the middle of growth.
“…….”
Jho Low.
This man gave off a very favorable impression.
He was passionately giving his presentation, clearly explaining one by one how 1MDB was currently a high-return model.
But I don’t know why.
Every ti he opened his mouth, it was as if a red smoke-like aura ca out and wrapped around him, and he began to resemble a serpent, just like the one that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.
That eerie image was so strong that I could barely concentrate on what Jho Low was actually saying.
“In any case, I hope you make a good decision. Malaysia will grow to beco a major nation like Korea in the future. And through close cooperation with the Malaysian governnt, we’ll help ensure you gain various benefits.”
With that, Jho Low wrapped up his remarks and was the first to leave his seat.
He emphasized especially strongly that if we joined hands with 1MDB, cooperation with the Malaysian governnt would be possible.
“That felt like borderline blackmail.”
“He was smiling, but I heard it the sa way. If we don’t invest in 1MDB, there will be no support from the governnt. I heard the Kangseong Group is planning to expand its business further into Southeast Asia.”
“Yes. Malaysia is a key part of that. Right now, our targets are Europe and Southeast Asia. Knowing that, it seems the sovereign wealth fund approached us.”
Kangseong Group had begun active investnts in Southeast Asia, expressing its ambition to overtake Apple, which was currently dominating the global mobile phone market.
“Apple smartphones are very dominant, so it’s definitely a difficult task, but if we move forward step by step like this, won’t we eventually be able to grab those bastards by the collar? And we’re not just selling phones. In a hot country like Malaysia, air conditioners are essential.”
That’s why Chairman Kang Sung-ho seed inclined to join hands with 1MDB.
If the Malaysian governnt supported Kangseong Group, selling electronics would beco much easier.
“Our Kangseong will be going in. What about Kwangwoon? What do you plan to do?”
“We probably…….”
Hyung glanced subtly in my direction.
Chairman Kang Sung-ho also looked at .
“……I think it would be better if we don’t join.”
“Ah- right. CEO Jung prefers short-term investnts, doesn’t he? If you put money into a sovereign wealth fund, you have to view it from a long-term perspective. Plus, I heard you already handed over most of the managent rights to the Chinese side.”
There was that too.
But more than anything, that snake-like image of Jho Low still lingered in my mind.
There are sotis conspiracy theories that the world’s richest people are a kind of alien, and this felt like seeing the real-life version of that.
“That’s not what I ant.”
“What, are you saying that Jho Low guy is a con artist? You don’t have to worry about that. Just in case, I already did a thorough background check on him. He’s the one actually running 1MDB. And this is a sovereign wealth fund, right? It’s operated by the state, how would anyone pull off a scam with that?”
A sovereign wealth fund is transparently operated by a governnt, making it much safer than funds run by other asset managers.
I knew that too, and yet that chilling image wouldn’t leave my mory.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to focus on Europe instead of Southeast Asia?”
“I’d like to, but the interference in Europe is too intense. Especially from Germany, you know Deutsche Bank, right?”
It’s Germany’s largest bank.
While banks in our country struggle even to establish other securities firms or conduct M&A, foreign banks are different.
Especially Deutsche Bank, which plays a central role in Germany’s financial system, manages vast amounts of capital and holds influence across all of Europe.
“Deutsche, those guys are seriously blocking our path. That’s why we haven’t been able to properly expand our business in Europe.”
But every ti the na Deutsche ca up, it felt like sothing shook inside my head.
“Does Deutsche have a reason to do that?”
“Of course. We’re pushing forward with semiconductors and displays, right? But Deutsche holds shares in Infinit, a European semiconductor company, and Aslan, a display company. So they’re not happy about our market entry. On top of that, they even own shares in Apple. No wonder they can’t stand to see us succeed.”
Apple’s smartphone is the global No. 1.
It’s so dominant that the only real challenger is Kangseong Group.
However, Kangseong Group is considered the global leader in semiconductors, so they were trying to further expand in that area.
“We’ve mainly been relying on China for production, but after seeing the recent Chinese restrictions, it seems like that won’t work anymore. That’s why we’re trying to expand production facilities elsewhere. Especially if we install semiconductor facilities in Germany, it could beco a stronghold for us to target all of Europe.”
But with Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank and a major player in the European securities market, holding us in check, Kangseong Group had temporarily shifted its focus to Southeast Asia.
“Anyway, CEO Jung, you don’t want Kangseong to go into this sovereign wealth fund either, right?”
“Yes. It just feels off.”
“Well… if anyone else had said that, I would’ve laughed it off, but it’s you saying it, so now I’m torn. Alright. I’ll consider it decided that Kwangwoon won’t join.”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho stood up first, saying he had to get back to the company.
“Doesn’t he seem a bit upset?”
“Really?”
“If Kangseong and Kwangwoon both entered together, it would’ve looked good and reduced the financial burden too. But you firmly said no.”
“Was I that blunt?”
“Haha. He’s the great chairman of Kangseong Group. He’s probably not used to having soone reject him so directly, face to face.”
But no matter how I looked at it, that Jho Low guy gave the creeps.
And now, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund was long gone from my mind.
‘Why did I get that feeling when I heard the na Deutsche Bank?’
There must be so connection between Deutsche Bank and the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund for that kind of strong instinct to hit the mont I heard the na.
The strange thing was that Deutsche Bank wasn’t investing in 1MDB.
And yet, the feeling was that strong.
Could there be sothing others aren’t supposed to know?
***
“Are you sure? There really aren’t any problems?”
“Yes. I checked multiple tis. Jho Low is clean. And there are no particular issues with 1MDB either. Although, recently they have been raising investnt funds to support large-scale infrastructure expansion.”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho was planning to invest in 1MDB without even questioning it.
And to be fair, there was nothing wrong with what Jho Low said.
Malaysia was currently experiencing explosive growth, and the judgnt was that significant profits could be made through the sovereign wealth fund.
In fact, there were quite a few companies that wanted to invest in 1MDB.
Furthermore, for Kangseong Group to push out Apple and dominate Southeast Asia, the help of the local governnts in those countries was essential.
That’s why they were planning to invest.
But the very last piece beca a problem.
‘For Jung Jin-ho to say sothing like that……’
A warning, not from just anyone, but from Jung Jin-ho.
For Kang Sung-ho, even a single warning from Jung Jin-ho was more intimidating than the research data compiled by the ultra-elite team at Kangseong.
So might call it an overreaction.
But that’s only because they hadn’t experienced being by Jung Jin-ho’s side.
He had exceptional insight.
A nearly supernatural level of analytical ability.
“Chairman, isn’t 1MDB a well-known sovereign wealth fund in Southeast Asia? Especially since a lot of Arican capital is involved, I think it’s not a bad choice for the group’s future developnt in the Malaysian market.”
“Yes. This isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity. If we gain control in Malaysia, we can use it as a base for an aggressive expansion across all of Southeast Asia.”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho knew it too.
Even if all the money invested in this sovereign wealth fund disappeared, it was still sothing worth doing.
But could it really be that Jung Jin-ho didn’t know that?
Jung Jin-ho also clearly understood how critical this investnt was for Kangseong Group.
And yet, he threw cold water on it.
That ant Chairman Kang Sung-ho now had to make a decision.
Jung Jin-ho, or the elite group whose conclusions had been filtered and refined through countless layers of scrutiny.
“…….”
The deliberation didn’t take long.
“Let’s call this off.”
“What?!”
“Ch-chairman!”
“If we reject this, we don’t know what kind of retaliation the Malaysian governnt might take! It could make expansion into the Malaysian market impossible!”
He knew that.
He understood all of it intellectually.
But human intuition is a terrifying thing.
They say intuition is the sixth sense derived from experience.
And that experience was now telling him.
That Jung Jin-ho’s words held more value than the advice of hundreds of elites.
“Europe is already nearly closed off to us because of Deutsche. That’s why we were targeting Southeast Asia, if we reject this……”
“I know. Still, let’s push through. Even if Malaysia tries to block us, could they possibly be worse than those Deutsche bastards? So for now, let’s push ahead.”
Chairman Kang’s heart was also swayed by the executives’ argunts.
Even he thought that investing in the sovereign wealth fund was the best move for their future business.
But he had already made up his mind.
‘Let trust him one more ti.’
There hadn’t been a single loss from trusting Jung Jin-ho so far.
And whatever he was thinking now, if his words turned out to be right again this ti……
‘After that, I’ll never doubt him again.’
From then on, he planned to believe anything Jung Jin-ho said.
Even if he claid the sun would rise in the west tomorrow.
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