Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 841: Request from the Minister of General Affairs

None of the banking elites present were easy to fool. Without their keen insight, the big banks would have collapsed long ago.

Just as Nagai was exhausted from dealing with it——

Suddenly, the door to the conference room opened.

The person who came in was none other than Takuya Shibata, the chairman of Nippon Steel, a man in his 60s. Shibata can be said to be a key figure in the development of Nippon Steel. In the early days, Nippon Steel was a large state-owned enterprise affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Later, because the previous cabinet implemented economic revitalization reforms, Nippon Steel was privatized.

At that time, everyone at Nippon Steel was confused.

Every employee in the company doesn't know what the future holds.

It was at that time that Shibata was appointed to lead Nippon Steel through those difficult days. After that, Nippon Steel also carried out some technological innovations, greatly improving the output quantity and quality of steel. Later, during the days of the economic boom in Japan, Nippon Steel also became a world-class steel company.

Shibata is such a veteran entrepreneur.

The bank representatives present knew the importance of such an entrepreneur, and they all stood up to show their respect.

Shibata's temples are already gray, and he has already retired to the second line of the company.

However, in recent years, Nippon Steel has fallen into poor management, and Shibata had to come back and serve as chairman again.

Following Shibata in——

There is also the Cabinet's Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, Terada.

Terada could vaguely hear the quarrel in the conference room while he was still outside the corridor. The bank representative seemed to be pressing Nippon Steel's financial director Nagai.

Today's situation should be difficult to deal with.

Terada thought to himself.

The arrival of the chairman of Nippon Steel and the Minister of General Affairs of the Cabinet instantly made the meeting room quiet. In such an important meeting, there would be no polite and lengthy opening remarks. With the two important figures taking their seats, today's creditors' meeting immediately entered the topic.

"The idea of ​​holding this creditors' meeting today mainly came from me," Terada said directly, "It was me who asked Nippon Steel to convene all major banks for a meeting here."

"I'll put it simply," Terada continued. "I hope that the banks will first implement an emergency interest payment waiver. The waiver period is three months."

The Minister of General Affairs' opening remarks at the meeting directly shocked the bank representatives present.

"A one-time exemption for three months?!" Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank representative Itabashi couldn't help but exclaimed, "If that's the case, how should our bank treat the credit line to Nippon Steel? We really can't accept this request."

"I'm sure you all understand the operational difficulties that Nippon Steel has encountered in recent years," Terada said. The Minister of General Affairs then gestured to Shibata next to him.

Shibata understood and said, "To be honest, Nippon Steel's capital expenditure is indeed ahead of schedule. In the current market situation, we have to admit that we currently have a certain degree of overcapacity. The production capacity of the company's new factories cannot be fully utilized and released. Our business plan is also forced to make certain adjustments based on market conditions."

The bank representatives present were shocked when they heard the chairman of Nippon Steel say this in person.

"Can you tell us why the situation took such a sharp turn for the worse?" said Akiyama, the representative of the Tokyo Central Bank. "I remember that your company has always been very cautious in its guidance on future business conditions, and usually gives conservative estimates. Obviously, your company has been very sure that the number of overseas orders will increase significantly in the future, so why did it suddenly fall into such a recession?"

Shibata was silent for a few seconds.

Then, the chairman also sighed, "Bad luck. Bad luck!" "Bad luck?"

Shibata looked at the bank representatives present and said, "It's mainly because of changes in the overseas market that we couldn't predict. According to the information we have, the United States in the West will impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products, and will also impose anti-dumping duties on exported steel from the East."

"The relevant tariff measures are likely to be introduced in the near future, and there will be a one-month retroactive period. Therefore, many overseas customers have temporarily canceled their orders with Japanese steel. According to the US tariff increase, our steel products are likely to face a tax burden of up to 200%, which means that we will completely lose the North American market."

The chairman told the truth.

The bank representatives present had never imagined that such a major incident would occur overseas.

Soon, a representative reacted. Mizuho Bank representative Mizushima immediately asked, "If you completely lose the American market, how long can your cash last?"

"To be honest, it's been less than half a year." Shibata knew that it would be impossible to hide the truth in front of the banking experts.

So he just said it without any embellishment.

No...less than half a year?! Such a figure shocked the bank representatives present. They did think that Nippon Steel would face difficulties due to poor management. But they all thought that the difficulties faced by such a giant enterprise would only be temporary. Who could have thought that it would not last for less than half a year overnight? Such a big change was hard for the bank representatives present to accept.

The conference room suddenly fell into a terrible silence.

Because these bankers all knew how terrible it would be if Nippon Steel fell into this situation.

You have to know how many suppliers depend on Nippon Steel for their survival.

The output of Nippon Steel is an important indicator of the prosperity of the real estate industry.

Some of these bankers couldn't imagine the situation they would face next.

"Nippon Steel has encountered difficulties recently, but I believe it can be overcome," Terada said at this time. "At this critical moment, we creditors must unite with the company to overcome this difficult time together."

The Minister of General Affairs' speech sounded like chicken soup for the soul.

To the bank representatives present, these are meaningless words.

They were all worried at the moment, not knowing how to report to the bank headquarters after returning.

"We hope that all banks can realize that Nippon Steel is not an ordinary company. It is the totem of our Oriental economy. Saving Nippon Steel is saving the Oriental economy," Terada continued.

At this time, the bank representatives had no intention of listening to the speech of the Minister of General Affairs.

However, they could not have imagined that something shocking would soon come out of the mouth of the Minister of General Affairs.

At this moment, Chiba Bank representative Iwasaki Kyoji suddenly asked, "The interest for the three-month exemption is a large amount, and we have to go back and discuss with the headquarters. But now I have a question. Assuming that your company can obtain this three-month exemption, what are your plans for this part of the surplus cash and what will it be used for?"

Nippon Steel Chairman Shibata said nothing.

The Minister of General Affairs, Terada, spoke up:

"This part of the surplus funds will be used to pay the interest on the overseas dollar bonds issued by Nippon Steel."

(End of this chapter)