Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1393 Imitation of others
The Vision Fund in its previous life raised nearly $100 billion through several rounds of funding. The foundations of Middle Eastern oil-producing countries contributed the most, with Saudi Arabia's foundation alone investing $45 billion.

Those in the know understand that these foundations are pouring money into investing in Masayoshi Son; those who don't might think they're using Son to dispose of stolen goods—the Vision Fund, after all, has lost a fortune…

Masayoshi Son poured the money he raised into Silicon Valley internet technology companies, based on past experience, hoping to replicate the miracles of investing in Yahoo and Alibaba. The result was that he was almost ruined by companies like WeWork.

Rather than letting Masayoshi Son squander the funds of foundations from Middle Eastern oil-producing countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in Silicon Valley, essentially throwing money away and offering tribute to the Onsa and the Hebrews, it would be better to dedicate them to the greatest Silicon Harbor project in Asia's tech industry...

Perhaps the Silicon Harbor project is more reliable than Masayoshi Son's Vision Fund. If it succeeds, it could bring huge profits to these big investors.

After Khalid, several other groups of people spoke with Li Dongling. Their purpose was simple: to get on the coattails of the Gangcheng Future Industry Foundation and companies like 3721.

After several groups of people, representatives from several Wall Street institutions, including Bear Stearns Asia President Wei Jiaxuan and Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific President Cornell, headed towards Li Dongling.

Seeing this, Cao Zongyan, the representative of the Hong Kong City Chinese Capital of Bank of China Hong Kong City Company, also followed.

It's important to know that BOC City is the biggest contributor to Cyberport's success, and now is the time for BOC City to reap the benefits. Cao Zongyan is even less likely to miss this opportunity.

When Li Dongling saw Cao Zongyan, Wei Jiaxuan, Cornell, and others, he said directly, "Starting tomorrow, companies such as 3721 and Ruyan e-cigarettes will begin their final round of financing at the Dongke Port City Building, and then officially begin their sprint to go public!"

Upon hearing that this was not only about listing 3721, but also about Ruyan e-cigarettes, Cao Zongyan was taken aback. He now understood why these Wall Street institutions were so enthusiastic.

……

At the headquarters of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, a workaholic, was processing documents when he suddenly shivered.

I have a feeling that something is missing, but after examining myself, I can't find anything unusual.

Then, Masayoshi Son pulled out another document, but it made him frown at first glance.

"Selling Yahoo! Japan's stake?"

The document that Masayoshi Son received was an agreement sent by the Zhixing Foundation to SoftBank.

In summary, the Zhixing Foundation intends to sell 14% of its 19% stake in Yahoo! Japan, retaining only 5%, which is equivalent to retaining a seat on Yahoo! Japan's board of directors.

Yahoo! Japan is the elder brother of the Japanese internet industry, and in its previous life, it was the leader in the Japanese internet portal, e-commerce, social networking, and search industries.

This also shows the state of the Japanese internet industry, where SoftBank and Yahoo Japan basically dominate.

Japan's conservative approach to the internet industry meant that it barely gained traction in Japan. Yahoo Japan had no rivals in the Japanese internet market, while overseas internet companies faced difficulties adapting to the Japanese market. This led to Yahoo Japan's near-monopoly in the Japanese internet industry.

By retaining its board membership in Nihon Yahoo, Dongling High-Tech and Cyberport can use Nihon Yahoo as a guide or agent to enter Nihon's rather conservative market in the future!

As for the shares of Yahoo! Japan that were sold, the Zhixing Foundation can buy them back in the future. After all, after the dot-com bubble burst, Yahoo! Japan's stock price was just like cabbage.

Now it depends on whether Masayoshi Son will repurchase the 14% stake in Yahoo! Japan.

This may seem like an inquiry into SoftBank's stance, but in reality, it leaves Masayoshi Son with no choice. Would he dare not repurchase?
If he doesn't repurchase, the Zhixing Foundation will dump these 14% of Yahoo! Japan shares on the stock market, and Yahoo! Japan's stock price will probably collapse immediately!

Would Masayoshi Son just stand by and watch Yahoo! Japan, which he built from scratch and whose market value was about to reach $36 billion, collapse?
If, amidst this favorable momentum, the stock price were to collapse due to a large-scale sell-off by the Zhixing Foundation, then Masayoshi Son would be filled with regret.

However, the Zhixing Foundation's asking price is quite high. SoftBank is asking for a 14% stake at a premium to Yahoo Japan's market capitalization of $40 billion, which is equivalent to $56 billion!
If SoftBank, the major shareholder of Yahoo! Japan, does not repurchase the shares, the Zhixing Foundation will look for "other" buyers.

Whether Yahoo is a tiger or not is unknown, but the Zhixing Foundation treated Yahoo like a sheep to be fleeced, fleecing it again and again, using all sorts of creative ways to cash out.

After selling its stake in Yahoo! America and the internet companies it invested in, the Zhixing Foundation has started to fleece Yahoo! Japan again!
Masayoshi Son sighed deeply; SoftBank had no other choice.

As the pen touched the document, Masayoshi Son was about to sign it. But then he remembered the Zhixing Foundation's actions over the past two years, which involved various forms of cashing out. This made him wonder if the internet was overhyping it and if there were any risks involved.

But this thought only flashed through his mind before he dismissed it. As a gambler, he would never leave the table at crucial moments, especially since Masayoshi Son might very well use the internet to his advantage, with the market value of companies like SoftBank and Yahoo! Japan soaring, to challenge the position of Asia's richest man, right under the nose of some philanthropist. How could he possibly back down now?
With a stroke of his pen, Masayoshi Son signed the repurchase agreement, preparing to use SoftBank as collateral to borrow cash from Yahoo! Japan to repurchase 14% of Yahoo! Japan's shares.

"Let's issue an announcement!"

"Tell all Yahoo! Japan investors that SoftBank is optimistic about Yahoo! Japan's future, and the Zhixing Foundation will forever regret today's decision!"

Masayoshi Son handed the repurchase documents to Masahiro Inoue, president of Yahoo! Japan, and began to speak to him.

Masahiro Inoue glanced at the document and had no objection to Masayoshi Son's decision to repurchase the shares.

With Yahoo! Japan currently enjoying great success, does President Masahiro Inoue believe that Yahoo! Japan is risky?
"There's another thing. Japanese media got news from Hong Kong that the first phase of the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund has an astonishing rate of return."

Now we're starting the second phase of fundraising, with a total size that could exceed HK$30 billion!

After Masahiro Inoue left, Yoshitaka Kitao, the investment manager of SoftBank, who was sitting in his office, spoke to Masayoshi Son.

In Southeast Asia, Cyberport is increasingly becoming a rival to SoftBank. Both companies are based in Asia and are considered local players.

They are all investing in internet and high-tech companies, especially Cyberport, which has a geographical advantage and seems to regard the internet market in the Greater China region, including the mainland and Hong Kong, as its own territory, directly competing with SoftBank.

With Cyberport in existence, SoftBank's investments in mainland China have been somewhat hampered. After all, Cyberport is backed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has the ability to list the internet companies it invests in on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Can SoftBank really say it can list the companies it invests in on the Tokyo Stock Exchange?
Given the current state of the Japanese domestic internet industry, which is resistant to the internet, even if it were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, how high could the stock price rise?
But the mainland is also the most active internet market in the entire Asia region, so how could SoftBank miss it?

In order to invest in internet companies in Zhongguancun, SoftBank often has to pay a higher price than Cyberport to snatch the investment opportunity from Cyberport.

This has led to SoftBank being vaguely perceived as a sucker in the mainland internet market, which makes Yoshitaka Kitao quite dislike Cyberport.

When Masayoshi Son heard that Cyberport's Harbour City Future Industry Foundation Phase II was going to raise more than HK$30 billion, this amount was nothing in his eyes. Converted to US dollars, it was less than US$4 billion, which was less than the amount SoftBank was about to spend to repurchase Yahoo! Japan's shares from the Zhixing Foundation!
But Masayoshi Son is well aware of the implications behind this: it represents an increasing number of wealthy families, investment institutions, and tycoons in Southeast Asia and even Asia, who are investing their money in the Cyberport Future Industry Fund.

It's only HK$30 billion now, but who says the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund can't grow to hundreds of billions, or even trillions of Hong Kong dollars, or even larger investment funds in the future?
When all these people are siding with Cyberport, it's equivalent to the whole of Asia supporting Cyberport. Will SoftBank still be able to attract investors from various Asian countries in the future?

Once Cyberport receives more funding, it can begin large-scale investments. From Masayoshi Son's perspective, the Cyberport Future Industry Foundation will then be able to buy up assets all over the world!

"SoftBank... needs to establish its own investment fund!"

Upon hearing Yoshitaka Kitao's report, Masayoshi Son said with a firm expression that the idea of ​​the Vision Foundation had surfaced in his mind for the first time.

Kitao Yoshitaka nodded in agreement with Son Masayoshi's words. In his eyes, Son Masayoshi was a god in the investment world. Compared to some so-called richest man in Asia, Son Masayoshi was far superior in both investment vision and courage.

The fact that Cyberport has set up a HK$30 billion foundation, and that the philanthropist Li has also established it through Cyberport, clearly shows that he doesn't want to take any risks. In Kitao Yoshitaka's eyes, this is entirely because he's afraid of being exposed. If the investment fails, people will see Li's true level.

"Cyberport was able to establish a HK$30 billion foundation, and I believe that you, President, are qualified to establish a US$30 billion investment foundation to lead Japan's internet industry toward a brighter future and allow more Japanese investors to reap the benefits of the internet."

"In the entire Nippon Benzoate Corporation, only you can do this!"

Kitao Yoshitaka stood up, bowed ninety degrees to Son Masayoshi, and said earnestly, "Only Son Masayoshi can save Japan's internet industry and allow more Japanese people to enjoy the benefits of the internet."

Masayoshi Son's breathing quickened. If he had $30 billion, how many Yahoos could he have created?
……

"According to sources, the second phase of the Hong Kong Future Industry Foundation will launch its fundraising campaign. This will be the largest foundation fundraising in Hong Kong's history, with a total scale of over HK$30 billion!"

Khalid, President of the Qatar Foundation Southeast Asia Company, announced that the company will subscribe to more than HK$5 billion of the second phase of the Hong Kong City Future Foundation.

Several other investment institutions, prominent Hong Kong businesses, trust funds, and insurance companies have expressed interest in subscribing to the second phase of the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund, with subscription amounts potentially exceeding the target by four to five times!

"Analysts at Peregrine Securities, the largest securities firm in Hong Kong, believe that the first phase of the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund may have a return of close to 300%, which is the main reason why the second phase of fundraising has been so popular!"

(End of this chapter)