America: My Time

Chapter 440 Neon's Reaction

Chapter 440 Neon's Reaction

In neon-lit Tokyo, banks quickly learned of the Permian Basin's shutdown. They were somewhat reluctant to accept John's early repayment, but their attitude changed when they heard that the loan for the refinery's expansion had been awarded to them.

“Our bank has no problem. In fact, John can expand using the existing funds without taking out a loan!”

“That’s how you see it, but John, that little fox, doesn’t think so. If the Permian Basin is his private property, he has to bear all the loans himself. The expansion of Western Energy, on the other hand, requires the company to bear the investment. If I were in his shoes, I would make the same choice.”

"I heard that John wanted to jointly develop North Sea oil with the British, but was rejected. There was also a strange accident before. It seems that someone is targeting him. No wonder the kid is so cautious and chose to stop production in the Permian Basin oil field at this time to reduce his own losses and pressure. He also communicated with the Middle Eastern tycoons."

"This is perfectly normal. We can't confront you directly, but it's perfectly normal to cause you some trouble over trivial matters. That's the case with John. The continuous expansion of Western Energy has caused unease among many oil giants, so it's understandable that they chose to make a move at this time. However, it won't have much effect. John, this little fox, is focusing on developing gas and electricity. Although the petrochemical industry is also expanding, it's all based on the transformation of its existing refineries. Now, the focus is on transforming the UK and the US, and this transformation project requires a considerable amount of capital!"

"Alright, let's leave the Permian Basin oil field matter here. Since you've agreed, then arrange for someone to go to the United States as soon as possible to sign the contract with John. He's not short of funds now, and if he's willing, he can repay a large amount of loans. The depreciation of the dollar has allowed him to plunder a lot of wealth in the financial market."

Although there isn't an exact figure, those guys on Wall Street can roughly estimate how amazing the returns from hurricane investments are. It's precisely because they know how incredible the returns from hurricane investments are that some people can't help but jump out and cause trouble for John again, forcing John to increase his oil reserves in case of an accident.

"Now we should talk about the semiconductor situation. The Americans clearly don't want to give us a chance and want to force us to give up semiconductor memory chips. What should we do now? This is not just one person's problem, but concerns the development of the entire Japanese semiconductor industry!" At this point, Toshiba could no longer hold back, as he was under great pressure.

"Mr. Morita, what are your thoughts at Sony? Sony is also a member of the semiconductor industry. What are your opinions on this?" At this moment, the guy standing with Toshiba turned his attention to Sony. After all, among the semiconductor companies in Japan, Sony is doing the best, so it's only natural that some people are envious.

"The development of semiconductors is not up to us. If the Americans really wield their big stick, we need to prepare for the worst. I don't know what you all think or how you see it, but what I want to say is that our costs are already rising, and there is not much profit left in domestic production. Only by going global can we have a chance. As long as we go global, even if the Americans wield their big stick, we can get rid of some of the pressure. Sony is already interested in investing overseas. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

“Mr. Morita’s words do make sense, but they are not absolute. In fact, we have another option: to jointly build a factory with the Americans. They are suppressing our semiconductor development because they think that American companies are in trouble. We can jointly build a factory with them. We provide the technology, and they provide the site and manpower, and then we share the profits!”

"Impossible. The Americans won't agree. Those guys are too greedy. They would never cooperate with us like this. Instead of hoping the Americans will let us off the hook, we should accelerate our overseas expansion and move production overseas."

“Mr. Morita is mistaken. We can cooperate with Mr. John, who is also in the semiconductor industry. If we cooperate with him, we can avoid danger. Moreover, NBC has always glossed over the issue of Japan without going into depth. If we cooperate with him, wouldn't we be able to avoid danger?”

“It’s difficult, very difficult. I understand your thoughts, but it’s extremely difficult to achieve this because their business model is different from yours. They focus on exploring their own potential and concentrating on their own research and development. Nvidia only focuses on chips. Even if we invite them, they won’t agree. This isn’t just about them; it’s about the entire US semiconductor industry!”

As Akio Morita said, John had no choice but to back down when facing the entire US semiconductor industry. Cooperating with these guys in Japan at this time would put him on the opposite side of the US semiconductor industry, and Nvidia and Dreamworld could not afford such pressure and serious consequences.

While the Japanese were discussing countermeasures, John looked troubled. The limiting factor for personal computers wasn't chips anymore, but hard drive storage. Current hard drive storage couldn't meet the needs of Dream World's development, and many of Dream World's research projects were hampered by insufficient storage. IBM might have such a product, but they wouldn't release it easily, forcing John to make a change. When Meg Whitman raised Dream World's difficulties with John again, he looked troubled. His company didn't have any hard drive research. Did they have to make another acquisition? Would an acquisition at this time cause discontent? The American semiconductor companies were all relentlessly attacking the Japanese company.

“Meg, you know the current state of the US semiconductor industry. The large storage hard drives that Dreamworld wants might only be available to those guys at IBM, but they won’t release them. They haven’t made enough money yet. To change this situation, we’d have to develop our own hard drives, which would come at a significant cost and waste a lot of time. If the storage technology from Japan can’t meet our needs, then we should acquire it!”

“Boss, we also want to acquire it, but we can’t do that. If we make a move, it will cause a stir in the computer industry, make those guys uneasy, and affect the development of Dream World!”

John understood immediately. He realized Meg Whitman's intention: to let him make the acquisition on his own, free from the influence of Dreamworld and Nvidia. Only in this way could the anxiety of those in the personal computer industry be reduced.

"Okay, I understand what you mean. I'll figure something out. Seagate is quite good, but the R&D of just one hard drive company is far from enough. What we need is leapfrog development. Fortunately, Hurricane Investment still has some funds on hand, so we'll use them for acquisitions in this area." Such acquisitions require professionals, and Morgan is John's best choice!

"John, you never come here without a reason. What acquisition idea do you have for Morgan this time?" When John appeared in front of him, the Morgan tycoon smiled. Another business opportunity.

"Dream World's current development is hampered by insufficient hard drive storage. To advance further, it's no longer a chip issue, but a storage issue. Perhaps Western Digital and IBM have such hard drive technology, but they won't share it. They will hold onto storage tightly and not let go, affecting our development. I even suspect that the reason those guys were surpassed by Japan is because of this. They always want to maximize profits but lose the initiative."

"John, are you saying that insufficient hard drive capacity is affecting the development of Dream World? Really? Other software companies don't have this problem?" Morgan was puzzled when he heard John's words. He had been keeping a close eye on the development of personal computers recently, and it seemed that no other companies had this problem.

“Dream World is different from them. We have always been at the forefront of research and development. As you know, software development will only become larger and larger, and the same goes for operating systems. Existing hard drives can no longer support the development of Dream World. If we don’t want to be restricted by our competitors and give other peers a chance to catch up, we must solve this problem. That’s why I came to Morgan.”

“John, this kind of acquisition is no small matter. If Dreamworld and Nvidia get involved in this acquisition, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among other companies, which will seriously affect their own development.”

“I understand. I didn’t intend for them to acquire it; I wanted to do it myself. I wonder if Morgan can handle this task. This is no ordinary acquisition. We need to complete everything with lightning speed, leaving no time for others to react. Otherwise, by the time those guys realize what’s happening, all our plans will be for naught!”

"John, it seems you're not looking to acquire just one company. We've been working together for so long, when have I ever let you down? Tell me, which companies are we going to acquire this time!"

"Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, I need to acquire these three companies, fully acquire them, and use all their resources to achieve a leapfrog development in the hard drive industry and solve the problem of the dream world."

"Sure, I'll have Jimmy do the investigation and complete the acquisition in the shortest possible time. But such an acquisition is bound to cause a lot of trouble. You can be prepared. Although this isn't Dreamworld and Nvidia making a move, your acquisition is still quite similar to theirs, and there will be some unexpected events!"

(End of this chapter)