Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 358 Quickly Finalized

After inspecting the various subsidiaries, Masato Takeshita returned to headquarters.

Major banks have completed the land acquisition process and are waiting for the Xinghai Group to complete the transaction.

"Kobayashi-san, you'll be in charge of the rest of the work. I'd like to chat with my seniors about something else."

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman."

It was just a simple, clandestine auction; there wasn't much work involved. Hiroaki Kobayashi oversaw the process to facilitate future land development.

After watching the chairman leave, Kobayashi Hiroaki looked at Uchida Junichi, the president of Seikai Architecture.

"Uchida-san, let's go. We'll need your help with the rest of the work."

"Yes, President."

The process of shooting undercover is very simple and can be completed quickly.

The next step is the evaluation phase, where the company's internal professionals write detailed evaluations for each piece of land.

After three days of repeated inspections, Xinghai Construction finally completed the land evaluation.

"Chairman, here are the reference opinions you requested for each piece of land."

"Okay, just leave it here. You go ahead with your work."

Masato Takeshita is busy right now, so he plans to watch it later.

"Yes, President!"

Hiroaki Kobayashi wisely slipped out quietly, closing the door so softly it was almost inaudible.

Miho Uchida, who was waiting at the door, rolled her eyes and immediately figured out the reason.

She remained silent, offering a smile as a greeting, without engaging in any conversation with Hiroaki Kobayashi.

"This company is good. It just so happens that there is no successor to take over, so it shouldn't be difficult to acquire it."

Japan is becoming an aging society, resulting in many small and medium-sized companies with fewer than 300 employees lacking successors.

Many of these small and medium-sized enterprises are hidden champions in their respective industries, and Xinghai Group can make money immediately after taking them over.

However, many of these companies are unrelated to Xinghai Group's main business, and Masato Takeshita plans to have Galaxy Capital take them over.

For investors in Galaxy Capital, making money is the second priority; stability is the first priority.

These hidden champions in the industry perfectly meet the needs of Japanese investors.

Besides making money and meeting investment needs, acquiring these small and medium-sized enterprises can also enhance Xinghai Group's influence.

Most employees in Japan work in small and medium-sized enterprises.

If Xinghai Group can exert a certain influence on small and medium-sized enterprises, it can easily obtain more benefits.

"This hot spring hotel is also great, perfect for a staff trip."

Japanese people love hot springs, and even a hot spring hotel cannot meet the needs of headquarters staff.

Masato Takeshita wants to develop a large-scale, company-exclusive tourist area in Kanagawa Prefecture.

"Let's wait and see. Building materials are too expensive right now, and so is land."

Japan has already invested tens of trillions of yen in infrastructure, and the prices of building materials such as steel bars, cement, and concrete have naturally risen accordingly.

Buying now is extremely uneconomical, as the construction cost will be far higher than the actual cost.

In one morning, Masato Takeshita selected thirty to forty high-quality medium-sized companies near Tokyo, which he then sent directly to Takamasa Kamoto via email.

However, just to be on the safe side, Miho Uchida would send it along with the fax, and the company's administrative staff would also send another copy.

The process is indeed a bit tedious, but it minimizes errors to the greatest extent possible.

In a sense, complex processes are a common problem for large companies.

There's no way around it; things become more complicated when there are more people.

After lunch, Masato Takeshita rested for a while in the luxurious private room of his office before opening the land-related documents.

"Wow, as expected of Chiyoda Ward, land prices are really expensive."

Chiyoda Ward is the political center of Japan, and Seikai Hospital must establish a firm foothold here if it wants to gain a foothold in Japan.

Even if it doesn't make money, it's still necessary to have it, as it serves as a brand and for publicity.

"The central district is equally impressive, with numerous large banks."

In the 1990s, the Central District was far more economically prosperous than the Port District.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange and numerous major banks here control the lifeline of Japan's domestic economy.

However, the Central District's rise and fall were both due to banks; in later generations, the economic growth slowed down due to a wave of bank failures.

On the contrary, the port area, relying on its location advantage as a port and related industries such as entertainment and games, has shown signs of catching up.

Despite the high price, Masato Takeshita still carefully reviewed and compared the books.

For the next two weeks, he personally conducted detailed investigations every day.

Investments involving billions, or even tens of billions of dollars, must be handled with utmost care.

He quickly compiled a detailed land acquisition plan, taking into account factors such as the land, nearby residents and businesses, the company behind it, and land prices.

Apart from Industrial Bank, which has a close relationship with the bank and received the equivalent of three land contracts, the other nine major banks each received one contract.

After the contract was exposed, the major banks had nothing to say, given the established relationships.

After the signing was completed, a celebratory banquet was naturally in order.

During the banquet, Akio Toyoshima approached Masato Takeshita and expressed his gratitude.

"I really have to thank you this time, junior. Things are basically done."

"Oh, really? Then congratulations to Senior Brother Toyoshima, no, to President Toyoshima for getting what he wanted."

Due to poor banking performance, the non-performing loan ratio has been rising steadily.

Industrial Bank is feeling the pressure and wants to change its president to see if it can regroup.

Akio Toyoshima is the top favorite, but he has a formidable rival from the University of Tokyo.

However, with the success of clearing out bad land debts and a large new loan from Xinghai Bank, he has once again solidified his position as the top favorite.

Unlike other large companies, Xinghai Group is currently undergoing a full-scale expansion.

Even if Sony, Panasonic, and Toshiba combined, their combined borrowing would not be as large as that of Xinghai Group.

More importantly, Xinghai Group does not belong to any large conglomerate; it primarily obtains loans from Industrial Bank, Changxin Bank, and Citibank.

Industrial Bank accounts for the majority, about 50%, while Citibank and Changxin together account for only 30%.

As for the remaining 20%, banks all over the world have it.

There's no way around it; if you want to do business in a certain place, you have to curry favor with the powerful. And banks are usually the most influential institutions in a region, so naturally you have to reach out to them first.

This is also a major reason why many companies, even those that are not short of money, still need to borrow heavily.

Of course, some companies believe that their profitability is definitely higher than bank interest rates, so they choose to borrow heavily.

"Not at all, junior, you're too kind. We're all members of the Daomen Clan, there's no need for that."

"Yes, we are all colleagues."

Masato Takeshita also replied sincerely, and then the two smiled at each other.

The Daomen Valve platform must continue to be supported, because even today, it can still bring immense benefits to the two of them.

Xinghai Group has developed so smoothly without any other forces causing trouble or harassment.

The deterrent power of the rice gate valve is an indispensable part of this.

"By the way, senior, has the domestic financial environment improved at all?"

"It's very difficult. Maintaining the status quo is already causing major banks a lot of headaches." Akio Toyoshima didn't hide anything and directly told his junior about the situation in the financial world.

The Japanese financial system today only looks glamorous on the surface. There are too many companies dragging it down, and they can't just be abandoned.

Because there is no precedent for this in the Japanese financial world, if you don't want to be remembered with infamy, then don't be the first to stick your neck out.

"So, has the government relaxed its regulations on banks, allowing insolvent bank-related companies to go bankrupt?"

"No, we've approached the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan multiple times, but they simply don't dare to agree."

Allowing banks to do this would be tantamount to watching a large number of businesses go bankrupt.

The massive unemployment will then completely reshape Japanese society.

Those in power dare not do this, nor do the large conglomerates that enjoy the fruits of the economy.

If the unemployment rate is too high and serious social unrest occurs, no one will benefit.

Perhaps we should wait until the science-based national strategy succeeds and Japan emerges from its economic predicament; then everything will be alright.

As for the possibility of the science-based nation strategy failing, everyone is subconsciously ignoring it.

We shouldn't dwell on it; overthinking will only lead to greater pessimism. The market needs emotional guidance, and the strategy of building a nation based on science will surely succeed.

"I see. It seems that overseas business is the only thing that's easy to do right now."

"Yes, our company's overseas business is growing very rapidly. Especially in Southeast Asia and China, we need to borrow a lot of money every year."

In the 1980s and 1990s, the United States supported South Korea and Taiwan in their efforts to counter Japan.

In an effort to save itself, Japan provided large-scale support to Southeast Asia and China, including substantial interest-free loans and various forms of technological assistance.

However, the barriers to entry for this business are too high, and currently only a few large banks can do it.

"That's great, we can consider giving more preference to China."

Long-term loans from Japan are still very attractive to China, and can indeed accelerate China's economic development.

When Xinghai Hospital is completed, Xinghai Group will also consider providing interest-free loans to top hospitals in China.

His requirements were not high; he only needed to bring in a few experienced surgeons from these hospitals each year under the guise of academic exchange.

After all, China has a large population, and every experienced doctor has extensive surgical experience.

While we may not be as good as Japan in terms of equipment and medication for serious illnesses, we absolutely outperform our Japanese counterparts in routine surgeries.

Perhaps only some doctors in India can rival those in China in terms of experience.

"okay."

Akio Toyoshima was on high alert; if his junior had said that, then he must have discovered something.

"Could it be that there's a problem with economic development in Southeast Asia?"

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he decided to find more information on this topic for reference.

If another incident similar to the Japanese bubble economy crisis were to occur, the company might not be able to withstand it.

At the celebration banquet, it was natural to chat with as many different people as possible, so the two parted ways quickly.

Akio Toyoshima sought out his peers for discussions, while Masato Takeshita awaited his next business partner.

"Junior Brother Zhuxia, it's been a long time."

"It's been a while since we last met. How's Yokota-senpai doing lately?"

Although we met just last month, in business, you naturally have to go along with things.

"It's not bad. With my junior's support, it's relatively easy for me to get things done at the company."

"That's good. I hope you can make further progress soon, Senior Brother."

Masato Takeshita sincerely hopes that Fumio Yokota will also become the president of the company, so that their relationship can be further strengthened.

When Xinghai Group makes the acquisition in the future, it will be easier to manage.

Masato Takeshita was determined to acquire Changxin Bank.

Even if Changxin Bank survives the Asian financial crisis due to the unexpected Xinghai Group incident, he still intends to make the acquisition.

In Japan, a behemoth conglomerate is incomplete without a banking system.

As for the current relationship between Xinghai Group and Industrial Bank, they can only be considered partners at best, and unexpected events could occur at any time.

No matter what it is, it's always better to have your own talent.

"It's unlikely in the short term, as my qualifications are still too shallow."

Yokota Fumio lacked support within Changxin Bank, and his success was solely due to securing Xinghai Group as a major client.

To go further, unless a major crisis occurs, or the Xinghai Group expands its scale further.

"It's good if there's a chance, anyway, you're still young, senior brother."

"Yes, now we can only rely on time."

Yokota Fumio had thought it through very clearly, so he didn't feel any sense of loss.

If you can't beat them, you can't beat them; you can only admit defeat.

As they chatted, the two of them unknowingly drifted into discussing political issues.

"When do you think the Liberal Democratic Party can return to power?"

The political backing of Changxin Bank comes from the Fukuda family, which is why Fumio Yokota especially hopes that the Liberal Democratic Party can return to power.

This will give Changxin Bank more resources.

"Everyone's patience has its limits. If the economy does not improve for a long time, there will inevitably be another major change in the political arena."

The main reason why the Liberal Democratic Party lost the prime ministership in 1993 was the continuous economic decline, which aroused public dissatisfaction.

The same reason led to the Liberal Democratic Party losing its ruling party status again in 2009.

However, given the current situation, the new ruling party is unlikely to improve the national economy, and it is only a matter of time before the Liberal Democratic Party returns to power.

"Yes, we just need to wait patiently. Hopefully, time will pass quickly."

Looking at the optimistic Yokota Fumio, Takeshita Masato was truly speechless at his political acumen.

Many of Japan's banks are backed by political forces.

The Fukuda family is indeed very powerful, but after losing political heavyweight Takeo Fukuda, his successor Yasuo Fukuda is currently not even in the running.

Neither the Takeshita faction nor the Mori faction, to which the Fukuda family belonged (later the Abe faction), would be willing to save Nagatoshi Bank first.

This is one of the key reasons why other major banks received bailouts, but only Changxin Bank went bankrupt.

The Fukuda family is in the process of recovery and simply does not have enough resources to make an exchange.

"Well, I hope so."

The young man gave a casual, perfunctory reply, not caring who would be on stage next.

He invested in Keizo Obuchi, and is currently in a dormant phase.

"By the way, our senior from the Inamori clan, Yukio Aoshima, is preparing to run for governor of Tokyo in 95. Does the Xinghai Group want to participate?"

"Of course, our Xinghai Group supports every Waseda student who wants to make a difference in politics."

Yukio Aoshima is a Japanese entertainer from Waseda University. He has worked as a director and composer, and is also a relatively well-known writer.

One of his novels won the award from the famous Japanese writer Naoki.

He was also very interested in politics and was elected senator three times.

His desire to run for governor of Tokyo was somewhat unexpected, as he did not have much political support in Japan.

But people always have to give it their all at some point, just in case they succeed.

(End of this chapter)