America: My Time

Chapter 1222 Soros's Concerns
Chapter 1212 Soros's Concerns

The next morning, John left Hong Kong, much to the surprise of those watching him. With their abilities, they naturally knew John's destination. His decision to go to Tokyo, Japan, at this time naturally aroused their suspicion. What was John up to? Was it about energy?

Of course, John understood that the issue of energy and minerals was unavoidable on this trip. After all, Japan is a resource-poor country, and the depreciation of the yen has had a significant impact on them. At this time, they needed to discuss with John to at least ensure Japan's energy supply. The outbreak of the Asian financial crisis was like adding insult to injury for Japan, causing another major blow to its financial sector and severely damaging its economy once again, shattering any signs of recovery.

"Leaving Hong Kong for Japan, what is John planning to do? Leaving Hong Kong so easily, it seems that his previous attention to the Phoenix Group was a setup. But now Japan is also in crisis, is he trying to take advantage of the situation?" After learning of John's whereabouts, Soros looked puzzled and was somewhat surprised that John would go to Japan at this time.

"I don't know. We can't see through John's schemes at all. We have no idea what he wants to do. Hong Kong may not be that important to him. We might have all been fooled by him. In comparison, the assets of Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan are all higher than those of Hong Kong. He has no reason to ignore everything about Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan and only focus on Hong Kong."

"Actually, we don't need to rush to conclusions. Once John makes his move, everything will become clear. As long as he's willing to take action, we'll understand what he's up to. He does have quite a few businesses in Japan, but I think he's been planning this all along. Now he's going to take over Japan. This bastard is more insidious and cunning than us!"

“That makes sense. If John's previous actions were all part of a scheme against us, perhaps this trip to Japan will expose his true intentions. What else in Japan is worth his attention? Does he want to acquire even more assets there? Nissan isn't enough for him, and neither is Japan's energy supply? If so, this guy is even more greedy and insane than we are. Perhaps we're just doing all the work for him! We've taken the blame, while John is completely unaffected. In fact, those speculative investors are throwing the blame onto us, cooperating with that bastard John!”

"What's the use of saying all this now? Can you stop it? You're not still counting on the US, on those guys, are you? I can't trust them anymore. Discussing countermeasures with them is a waste of time. We should speed up the process of regaining control of the media and focus on restoring our voice."

"Heh, you make it sound so easy. You think you can just recover as you please? You think John and those Middle Eastern tycoons and conglomerates are fools? It's not something we can just acquire as we please anymore. Those guys have been targeting us all along, especially the Middle Eastern tycoons. Those guys are the craziest; they just throw money at us. Even if they don't get what they want, they won't let us off easy. They'll make us pay a huge sum of money. Even if we're eager to gain control, we can't afford such huge losses. Spending huge sums of money to acquire things time and time again is simply not worth it!"

Oil Capital is not monolithic. Although they know the importance of having a voice and are willing to regain it, there are differing opinions within the company. Their acquisitions at prices far exceeding reality have already caused dissatisfaction among many.

"Since you're against it, what good solutions do you have? We can't keep letting others control the narrative. This time we were scapegoated, which is the best lesson we can learn. Do you want to go through that again? Even though we have the Federal Reserve and the United States behind us, and we don't have to worry about those guys targeting us, our reputation is ruined!"

"Is reputation useful? Do you think we'll have a good reputation after initiating the Asian financial crisis? And even if we control the narrative, so what? Do you think those guys at the Fed will give us a good reputation? Don't forget, John and the Middle Eastern tycoons also control a portion of the narrative! We also have some media power now, but do we dare to mount a targeted resistance? Do we dare to directly shift the blame to the Fed or the White House? We don't dare, and we can't do it. If we dare to do that, we'll face their suppression. Instead of wasting money on these media outlets, we should invest it, giving us more power to deal with more crises!"

"I think this suggestion is excellent. Continuing to acquire media companies like this will have a significant impact on us, and not everyone can accept it. It's better for everyone to act independently. Those who want to acquire media companies can do so themselves, and those who want to invest in other areas are free to act as they see fit. We can't put all our energy into one thing; that's not a good thing!" Faced with the backlash, Soros sighed. This wasn't just his decision, but the decision of many people within Oil Capital. However, now that some members of his team had stood up to oppose it, he had to make a change, otherwise his small group would collapse first. If he really invested in media, these financial colleagues would have objections, would oppose it, and might even part ways with him.

"Alright, everything will be done as you say. We never intended to force anyone to invest in media and entertainment!"

Hearing Soros's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Normally, the profitable media and entertainment industry would have been attractive to them. However, now that it was being suppressed by John's three major media groups, with little to no profit and even losses, this was unacceptable to them, hence this dramatic turn of events!
John was unaware of Soros and his associates' situation. His focus was currently on Japan, and when he appeared in Tokyo, many in Japan were watching him closely. Soros and Oil Pacific Capital were unaware of John's plans in Japan, but those in Japan were well aware of his intentions. His numerous acquisitions of banking and securities businesses led many to speculate that he might be planning to integrate these businesses, or even his investment companies, into Standard Chartered Bank. Of course, it was also possible that he would integrate them into Hurricane Investment, something they found unacceptable.

"Let our people get moving and transform the investment company into a bank. The integration has begun. From now on, the investment company and the acquired businesses will be reborn, and that will be its name—the new bank!" When it came to Kikuchi Momoko, John didn't discuss it much, directly arranging the transformation of the investment company into a bank. Qualifications were no longer an issue; Kikuchi Momoko had been planning this for a while. However, without John's involvement, she wouldn't have had the confidence to complete such an integration!
When investment companies transformed into banks, merging regional banks and integrating some of their securities businesses with investment companies, a new bank called 'New Bank' appeared in Japan. John's original investment company finally underwent a transformation. Its appearance did not cause unease in Japan; in fact, it brought a sense of relief to the locals.

For these Japanese companies, the best outcome is to avoid being integrated by Standard Chartered Bank. Being independent of Standard Chartered means they don't have to worry about Standard Chartered's expansion in Japan.

"What a John! What shrewd tactics! It seems we've really been tricked by this guy. This bastard's target isn't Hong Kong at all, but Japan. That insignificant investment company has been doing so much behind the scenes. And those damned Japanese! They knew about John's actions but didn't inform us. Those bastards deserve to die!"

When Soros learned that John had already begun operations in Japan, he was furious. He couldn't accept being outmaneuvered by John; in his eyes, it was a slap in the face. He had never imagined John would make such an arrangement, entering the Japanese banking industry at this crucial moment.

Today, Shinsei Bank is no longer a regional bank. Although it can still be considered a national bank in Japan, it has expanded beyond its regional boundaries and now has a considerable number of branches, especially in the Hokkaido area, where it remains the largest local bank.

“Soros, is anger useful? What we need to know now is where John’s funds came from. It’s just a small investment company. How could it have such a huge amount of money? There must be something we don’t know. If we can’t figure out the source of these funds, it will be a big threat to us.”

At this point, some clever people had already figured out the source of funds for 'New Life Bank' and wanted to find out the secret behind it. However, they were overthinking it. The small investment company they had ignored had already undergone a complete transformation. Through repeated investments, it had accumulated a huge amount of funds, which were now being used for acquisitions.

John's strategy for investing in Japanese banks wasn't something he'd been planning for the last two or three years; it was a much longer-term plan. However, because of Standard Chartered's presence, everyone's attention was focused on Standard Chartered, and no one knew about the incredible track record and terrifying financial reserves of this small investment firm. Not to mention figures like Soros, not many people in Japan were aware of this investment firm's formidable strength. They were also shocked by this series of acquisitions, especially the current transformation, which has stunned the entire Japanese banking industry!
(End of this chapter)