America: My Time

Chapter 153 Struggle for Interests
Chapter 153 Struggle for Interests

"We must secure either the loan business from Southern Company or the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Although Mitsui has the advantage, we cannot back down because of that. There must be no surprises in today's arrangements, absolutely no surprises, understand?"

After the share battle ended, the bigwigs of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank were discussing with their partners. Mitsui was very disappointed with their defeat in the Universal Studios share battle. However, it was also expected. After all, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank's cooperation with John was only once, while Sony had many collaborations with John. With Sony acting as an intermediary, Mitsui could naturally gain more benefits and a head start, which was something they couldn't match.

The choice of Universal Studios' location depends on the incentives offered by various cities. Although John said he wouldn't get involved, no one really took it seriously. John wouldn't completely relinquish control over such a significant matter; anyone who believed that would be a fool. Therefore, they all kept their hands on this issue.

While the First Industrial Bank was exchanging information, Mitsui and other conglomerates were also using this brief time to exchange ideas and prepare for the upcoming battle for profits. They were unwilling to give up the several major plans in John's hands, each of which contained huge profits, and they did not want to be kicked out of the game!

"It seems you've all finished distributing the shares. I wonder if there's been any decision on the location for Universal Studios?" John asked after returning to the conference room. The location of the studio was extremely important. Even though John had previously said that it was up to these Japanese bankers to decide, no one really took it seriously, and it was impossible for John to have absolutely no opinions!

"We have the results. We think Osaka and Yokohama are both good options. However, Yokohama's offer is not as good as Osaka's, and Yokohama's economy is worse than Osaka's. We can't make a decision right now, so why don't you decide, Mr. John?"

"We still chose Osaka. The initial investment was too large, and reducing that investment would ease the pressure on us. Yokohama's conditions aren't as good as Osaka's, so we had to give that up. Opening the park sooner will reduce the pressure on all of us. Osaka can offer us the best conditions, and we have no reason not to accept it!"

As soon as John finished speaking, the Japanese bankers breathed a sigh of relief. They also hoped to accept Osaka's terms; Yokohama's offer wasn't the best, which put them under more pressure. For investors, minimizing initial investment and recovering their capital sooner was crucial. If they hadn't needed to consult with John, they would have made their choice much earlier.

John breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the fleeting expressions on everyone's faces. If these bankers had other ideas, it would affect the future development of Universal Studios. Only by working together could they complete the construction of the studio in the shortest time and open it as soon as possible!
John's ability to make choices from everyone's perspective pleased the Japanese bankers. His behavior was exactly what they wanted, something other Americans couldn't do. These Japanese bankers had all worked with Americans before, and the Americans were always aloof, wanting to control everything and never considering their interests. John didn't exhibit any of this, which made them even more convinced of his abilities and the plan!

“Okay, we’ll choose Osaka. They will do their best to help us build the film studio, based on the conditions offered by Osaka. With Osaka’s support, we will greatly reduce the construction time!”

"Speeding up construction is fine, but quality must be guaranteed. It must be able to withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake without any problems—that's non-negotiable!" Seeing the Japanese banker's desire to expedite the studio's construction, John felt some unease and had to bring up the quality issue again. He didn't want any quality problems to arise! After all, a major disaster was still to come, and if Universal Studios' quality was compromised, the consequences would be severe!
"Mr. John, please rest assured. We all understand that quality cannot be compromised in any way. We will definitely complete the work according to the requirements. There will absolutely be no problems in this regard. After all, we have invested a huge amount of money, and we do not want to see any potential dangers that could threaten everyone's investment security. If an accident were to occur, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"Yes, there will absolutely be no quality issues. We are fully aware of this and will not tolerate any mistakes." Soon, everyone present assured John, guaranteeing the construction quality of Universal Studios!

"I'm relieved by your assurances. If you have no further objections, we can discuss our future cooperation!" Although John was well aware of the thoughts of these Japanese bankers, he didn't mind giving them more face and satisfying their vanity in order to better continue the 'cooperation'.

“Mr. John, we have no objections. We can begin the next phase of cooperation!” At this point, no one had any objections. Anyone who dared to voice their objections would be met with a united attack from the others. “As you all know, my initial development received assistance from Mitsui Bank and Sony. I remember this favor, so I’ve chosen to entrust the loans needed for 7-Eleven’s expansion to Mitsui Bank. I hope you can understand! If Mitsui Bank has no objections, how about we finalize this agreement?”

As soon as John finished speaking, the Mitsui Bank representative's face lit up with surprise. He never expected such a good thing to fall into his lap. He would be a fool to refuse at this moment.

“We at Mitsui Bank have no objection; everything is as Mr. John says.”

The representatives and bigwigs of Mitsui Bank were happy, but other banks in Japan were very unhappy. However, they had no choice but to cooperate with John, a man who valued old friendships, which was the safest option and also brought them great benefits.

"Damn Mitsui, how could they be so lucky to get such a huge benefit for nothing? Speaking of which, it's all thanks to that old man Akio Morita's foresight. If he hadn't forged a deep friendship with John in the early days, how could Mitsui have achieved such great success today!"

Although everyone present secretly envied and hated Mitsui, they did not show it. They could not be impolite, especially on such an important occasion. No matter how much resentment or hatred they felt, they could only suppress it.

“Everyone, you’ve handed over 7-Eleven to Mitsui Bank. The expansion of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel will require your support. However, what you’ve known so far is only a small part of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s plans. Two hotels do need to be built in Tokyo and New York, but the funding required isn’t large. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel has other expansion plans!” John paused here, giving everyone time to process the information, allowing them ample time to react rather than being overwhelmed with surprise or shock!

After a brief pause, seeing the gleam in everyone's eyes, John continued, "The expansion of luxury hotels is exactly what was planned in the previous document, as everyone is aware of. Mandarin Oriental's plans aren't limited to luxury hotels; we also have expansion plans in other areas, including investing in resort hotels in Japan to build three to five boutique resorts. Of course, this isn't much for anyone here, as the investment in resort hotels is limited. However, shopping malls are entirely different. If you are all willing to accept the construction of Mandarin Oriental shopping malls, we will have much broader scope for cooperation. However, this investment is quite large, and we may lack sufficient collateral. After all, Mandarin Oriental's foundation is not strong enough, and we have limited assets to offer. Please consider this carefully!"

Compared to 7-Eleven's expansion, Mandarin Oriental's expansion indeed faces numerous problems. For 7-Eleven, even with its ambitious plans, ample cash flow and exceptional potential make it a viable option. Mandarin Oriental, however, is entirely different. While it owns considerable real estate in New York City, this is insufficient to support the loans required for its expansion plan. Therefore, this loan plan carries significant risk, causing considerable headaches for the bankers present.
Does John have any other collateral? Yes, but it's clear that in this project, Chinese Oriental is also a conglomerate, a conglomerate focused on hotels and real estate, so he has to take out the loan himself.

“Mr. John, Mitsui Bank is willing to accept Wenhua Oriental’s loan, and as with previous loans, we can offer the lowest possible interest rate!” Before anyone else could speak, a representative from Mitsui Bank stepped forward to declare their willingness to accept the loan.

All bank loans carry risk. Although Mandarin Oriental didn't have enough collateral, was it really just low-quality business? No, the representatives and bigwigs at Mitsui Bank didn't see it that way. They didn't believe John would make such a basic mistake; there must be other secrets involved, but they couldn't reveal them here.

Are only the representatives and bigwigs from Mitsui Bank thinking this way? No, all the bank representatives and bigwigs present understood that the Mandarin Oriental Group's expansion had secrets, but also carried significant risks. For those who were conservative, although they knew John's abilities were exceptional and his investments had never failed, they were still unwilling to take too much risk. If it were 7-Eleven, it would be completely different; they wouldn't have so many concerns!
Unfortunately, 7-Eleven has already been handed over to Mitsui Bank. No matter how much they covet it, it's useless and there will be no result. Now, facing a high-risk investment, they're having second thoughts. This shows their bank's lack of strength, or perhaps their own lack of courage, leading them to make this decision and selectively retreat! It's all because they don't want to take on this responsibility, don't want to bear too much pressure, and are afraid of failure!
(End of this chapter)