America: My Time

Chapter 408 Tired
Chapter 408 Heartbroken
After a pleasant exchange, John received a good result from Akio Morita. In fact, from the very beginning of John's shipping company's expansion in Southeast Asia, the Japanese had already realized that John would inevitably have ideas about ports and docks in the future. Moreover, John had discussed this issue with Akio Morita before, and now he was just getting their response.

Of course, this is only a verbal agreement; a formal contract is still required. John doesn't need to be involved; that will be handled by Quantum Mining and the shipping company. As long as no one in Japan stands in the way, it won't be a problem. Cooperation always requires sacrifices, and the mine is now John's biggest weapon, and Japan's biggest weapon as well.

With the opening of the Roppongi shopping center in Tokyo, it quickly unleashed its amazing potential. The merchants who moved into the Roppongi shopping center made a fortune, a situation that John had not expected. After all, this was not yet the most crazy period in Japan. This was just the beginning, and even crazier things were yet to come.

However, at this time, the Japanese record industry had already experienced a significant decline, which made John sigh. After hearing the report on the situation of the record industry in Japan, John shook his head. This was just the beginning. With the continuous development of the Japanese economy, it was only natural that the record industry would experience a downturn.

John is taking this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show very seriously; it absolutely has to be held in Japan this year to increase awareness of the brand among Japanese people and expand its influence in Japan. The planning for this show has already begun in Japan, and this important task has fallen to Elite Agency.

Unfortunately, John doesn't have the energy to focus on that right now, because there are many other things to deal with in the US. The Nvidia IPO needs to be resolved, and the acquisition of Mandarin Oriental needs to be discussed with Morgan. All these things combined are putting a bit of pressure on John.

Of course, the most important thing is whether those old guys have really reconciled and whether my investments in the United States will no longer be suppressed by any force. That's the most important thing, and I need to make arrangements for that myself.

Before returning to the United States, John did some research on Pacific Investment and its plans in Hong Kong. Time was running out, and if he didn't accelerate his expansion, it would be difficult to guarantee that he would get the biggest slice of the pie in the Plaza Accord. Such an opportunity was extremely rare, and John wouldn't let it slip by.

Meanwhile, in his conversation with Yuan Tianfan, John made it clear that the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank could no longer be delayed; preparations needed to begin, and they should wait for the opportune moment. John wanted to know how many Standard Chartered shares he currently held, and that once the time came, he would go all out to take over Standard Chartered entirely. Following the Plaza Accord, the acquisition of Standard Chartered needed to be completed, and preparations now were in place.

On the surface, Pacific Investment holds less than 10% of Standard Chartered's shares, but John's hidden company holds less than 5% of the shares. However, this is far from enough; he needs more Standard Chartered shares.

Time waits for no one, and plans can't keep up with changes. John hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, so it was time to take action. It was also time for his hidden funds to slowly enter the market and start operating in the designated account. Otherwise, how could he obtain the benefits he wanted from the Plaza Accord?

No one knew about this conversation with Yuan Tianfan, and no one would have thought that John would start targeting Standard Chartered Bank at this time. After all, in many people's eyes, John's cash flow was already very tight. Although he was not short of money, he would definitely need the cooperation of Japanese banks to complete another major acquisition.

This time, however, John did not intend to rely on the power of the Japanese banks, because he did not trust those guys, and after planning for so long, he was confident in his abilities.

Exhausted. Back in the US, John was utterly exhausted. The series of investments and actions had placed immense pressure on him. With his reconciliation with those old guys, John's investments in the US were no longer affected. However, John didn't act immediately; instead, he met with Morgan Stanley executives in San Francisco to discuss Nvidia's IPO. John needed to discuss Nvidia's listing, and now Morgan Stanley needed to start promoting the IPO!
"John, are you sure you want to go public in February next year? Isn't that too late? If we choose to go public at that time, all the attention Nvidia has generated will disappear!"

"No, Nvidia's annual financial statements will be released by then, making it the perfect time to go public. Furthermore, starting the publicity now will allow everyone to prepare in advance. Most importantly, Nvidia also needs to make some arrangements. Six months later, you'll find that Nvidia's popularity will be even more formidable, and ASUS's PCs will bring Nvidia substantial profits. As for the shareholding issue, like with Dreamworld, how to proceed is up to Morgan."

"Morgan is fine, it's just that the old guys and the Wall Street folks might have different ideas!"

"What they think doesn't matter. Nvidia's shares are limited. I can't just give up more shares and harm my own interests. Even if these guys have problems, they'll only come after Morgan. Last time you swallowed up too many shares, leaving those old guys with nothing. They're obviously not happy. If you do the same this time, it's very likely to provoke public outrage and make those old guys target Morgan." "So what? Since we're not on the same side, Morgan doesn't need to give them face. We can't sacrifice our own interests to benefit these enemies. No matter how much Morgan pays or how many compromises they make, those old guys won't be satisfied, just like your current situation!"

"That's right. These old guys are too arrogant. They don't take us seriously at all. Everything revolves around them, as if we should all revolve around them and obey their orders. Anyway, I'll leave the Nvidia IPO to Morgan. I won't concern myself with anything else. I believe Morgan can give me a satisfactory result."

"Don't worry, Morgan won't let you down. However, there's one thing I hope you'll understand: many people are eyeing Quantum Mining right now and are eager for it to go public. Those old guys might put some pressure on you when you're not looking!"

"It's not just those old guys who are envious; the whole of Wall Street is envious. Unfortunately, Quantum Mining isn't short of money right now, nor does it plan to go public. Most importantly, Quantum Mining doesn't want to expose its secrets. What those guys want isn't Quantum Mining's shares, but Quantum Mining's secrets."

“John, it’s good that you understand. Big data is a great temptation for many people, especially since some people have already succeeded with it. This makes it even more tempting, and many people are even eyeing Dream World.”

"Let them be. What they think and do is their freedom. As long as they don't provoke me or cross my bottom line, I don't care what they think or do. Right now, I'm having a headache about how to complete the integration of Western Energy. This is not an easy task and it requires a lot of effort."

“John, your investment in China this time has made many people unhappy, especially the White House. They hope you will focus your energy on the domestic economy and boost the domestic economy, rather than investing overseas. They are also looking forward to this kind of investment.”

"Heh, they have expectations, but I don't see any possibility of making money. Domestic refineries are already saturated. I can say with certainty that it will be difficult for new refineries to be built in the United States in the future. At most, they will only be upgraded and renovated. Moreover, I have given them enough face by taking over that mess in the Permian Basin. If they have any more demands, I will not agree. What they think or how they see it is not important. Both Quantum Mining and Western Energy need to make a profit. Without profit, Western Energy cannot last long. I dare not invest in the petrochemical industry in the United States, at least not now. I don't have the same sales channels as those old guys. It's better to be careful."

“That’s true. The situation at Western Energy is indeed not ideal right now. Survival is the top priority. Everything else can be put aside. If a company can’t even survive, that won’t do. However, you should at least give White House some face and offer them some incentives, otherwise it will be difficult to explain.”

"That depends on Morgan. Mandarin Oriental has already started new acquisitions, and investments in the catering industry can benefit many people. It's just that you haven't given a satisfactory answer yet, which is not Morgan's usual pace."

Upon hearing this, Morgan said with a wry smile, "John, Morgan isn't omnipotent either. Such acquisitions take time. Although those old guys won't intervene, many people in the catering industry are also interested, which will affect our acquisition. After all, those guys aren't fools and won't give up easily."

“I understand. Since it’s so difficult, let’s choose the easier acquisitions first. Starbucks and Dairy Queen should be the easiest to acquire. I hope to see results. We can’t wait too long for Mandarin Oriental, otherwise we’ll have to choose overseas investment. We don’t have that much time to wait. Time is money.”

Time is money, everyone knows that, but hearing it from John put a lot of pressure on Morgan. He understood that this was John's decision and a reminder to Morgan. The reason why acquisitions of Subway, Pizza Hut, and Burger King had stalled was that someone was asking for exorbitant prices, preventing Morgan from completing the acquisitions at the lowest possible cost!

(End of this chapter)