America: My Time

Chapter 697 Laying out the future
Chapter 687 Laying Out the Future
John paid no attention to the changes in Japan; now was not the time to act. The situation in Taiwan was what he needed to prepare for more and accelerate development. After all, this was an era of booming record sales and explosive growth in television and film. Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media still needed more preparation and strategic planning. Both media groups were about to enter an era of blockbuster films and high investment.

"Tianfan, the main reason I asked you to fly here this time is to discuss our upcoming investments. I don't have time to go to Hong Kong this time, and our target is Taiwan and Japan, so you need to be prepared. Their stock markets are too crazy, and we need to be ready to retreat. I've also done some research in Taiwan and need to make arrangements as soon as possible. The stock market in Taiwan is recovering rapidly, but the companies there aren't very strong. We learned about this last year. This time, we need to withdraw quickly after we've made our profits. As long as the stock price exceeds our expectations, we'll leave and focus all our efforts on Japan and Europe."

The more John learned about Taiwan, the less he wanted to invest more money there. He intended to withdraw quickly, as the profits from Japan were far greater. Although he had profited considerably from the previous stock market turmoil in Taiwan, few people had noticed the situation at Standard Chartered Bank. Everything was obscured by Standard Chartered's rapid expansion. This time, John no longer planned to keep his funds in Taiwan, but instead actively sought investment in Japan and East Germany, accelerating his investment in East Germany.

Instead of putting funds into the Taiwanese stock market, it would be better to invest in the East German mark and increase the acquisition of East German assets, especially Berlin. Previously, the obstruction from the Europeans caused some problems in our East German strategy, but now that the confrontation with the British is over, those guys are afraid, and our European strategy can continue.

Of course, abandoning the aggressive exploitation of Taiwan is more about strategic planning. It's about making those guys lower their guard, making them think that their financial acumen isn't all that great, that they can't win every battle, and that they can also make big mistakes. As long as there aren't excessively high returns from Taiwan, those guys on Wall Street will think their judgment is inadequate, making it much easier to plan their expansion into Japan, and even Europe, and further lowering the guard of those guys in Japan.

John was well aware of how wary the Japanese were of him. Even though his investment company in Tokyo wasn't very powerful, it still attracted a lot of attention from the Japanese. After he gave up on going long on the yen, the Japanese paid even more attention to his investment company in Tokyo.

"Boss, is there really no problem in Europe? Our expansion previously encountered considerable resistance, wasting a lot of time and energy, and we still haven't gotten everything we wanted?" Yuan Tianfan was somewhat worried about the suppression and attacks from the Europeans. Those guys were too hateful, causing a huge impact on Standard Chartered's layout in Europe.

"Don't worry, this time the Europeans won't dare to continue targeting us. We need to speed up the completion of our European strategy, especially in West Germany; we need sufficient strength!" John also needs to accelerate the planning for German reunification. Otherwise, how can he turn his previous strategies into his own interests? How can all those East German marks become profits? He's not doing charity work; after so much planning, he should reap the rewards.

As a commodity trader, Australian shipping companies hold a significant amount of East German marks, and their trade with East Germany has been steadily increasing. Over the years, John has also had numerous collaborations and investments in East Germany, and these investments will soon yield substantial returns, as the Russians are no longer able to hold out.

The more Australian shipping companies do business with Russia, the more they understand how dire Russia's situation is. Russia is now willing to sell almost anything; they're even willing to sell strategic equipment if asked. It's fair to say Russia is desperate for money. Australian shipping companies have repeatedly increased their business with Russia to extract more profit.

As for the British, John is also making preparations, but his current focus is still on Japan. However, he can't say too much about it, since anything can change, and Japan is no exception. Even though Japan is now on a crazy, self-destructive path, John must be cautious and cannot be careless in the slightest, especially in the financial field. Showing weakness to the enemy is the best option. Only by making those Japanese guys more arrogant can he gain more profits.

The sale of 7-Eleven and the early withdrawal of Taiwanese businesses were all part of a strategy against Japan, making those Japanese even more frantic. Akio Morita, that old guy, thought he was very clever and capable, but he didn't know that John had already laid a trap. It seemed that he had gained a huge benefit by acquiring a highly profitable and high-quality asset, but there was a huge crisis behind it. Real estate prices couldn't keep rising indefinitely. When the bubble burst, Sony's crisis would erupt.

This time, John had planted a significant trap for Sony, waiting to reap the rewards. John's repeated concessions were designed to embolden and embolden these guys, and the final 'warning' was merely a tactic. John believed that Yuan Tianfan's appearance would attract considerable attention, so when Standard Chartered Bank rapidly withdrew from Taiwan, those guys would fall into John's trap one by one.

When news of John's meeting with Yuan Tianfan was quickly relayed back to various factions, it attracted considerable attention. Even Taiwan remained vigilant, given John's formidable track record in the financial markets, fearing it might be a ploy against Taiwan. However, these people were overthinking it. John wasn't focused on exploiting Taiwan; he was currently strategizing. "Tell me, what is this little fox John up to? Who is he targeting?" The most uneasy were the old Rockefellers, as they found it increasingly difficult to suppress John's growth. His latest sale of Japanese assets had given him a large sum of money, making them uneasy and threatened. Especially now, with his meeting with Yuan Tianfan in Taiwan, it fueled speculation that something big was about to happen.

"It's hard to say. Perhaps it's targeting Taiwan. After all, the Taiwanese stock market is quite crazy right now and is gaining momentum again. It's not impossible that John, that little fox, wants to enter the market and reap the rewards. Standard Chartered Bank did it once before, but not many people noticed because it was just normal trading in the stock market, but that trade made them quite rich."

"You mean they bought back the shares they sold? Could this be a setup?"

"Do you think John, that little fox, wouldn't have done something like buying at the bottom? As for whether it's a setup, it's hard to say right now, but I think this little fox definitely has other schemes, or rather, he'll take action. We need to be careful."

"What's the situation with Morgan?"

"Those guys at Morgan haven't made any moves. They're currently arranging the company's IPO for John. 7-Eleven in North America is going public, and they need to make a lot of preparations. I heard there's been quite a bit of internal strife at Morgan this time. Originally, it was supposed to be a full IPO of 7-Eleven, but the frenzied sale of 7-Eleven in Japan changed the IPO plan, so only North America remains. This has caused dissatisfaction among some people at Morgan!"

"Dissatisfied? Are these guys putting on an act with John? They're not just handling the 7-Eleven IPO; they have more IPO plans. Who would believe they'd dare to be dissatisfied with John at this time!" These old guys simply didn't believe Morgan's story. In their eyes, it was a conspiracy, a trap. They would be fools to believe it and fall into Morgan's trap.

"Morgan is getting more and more cunning and treacherous, resorting to such ridiculous tactics. Who are they trying to fool? If they don't want to take over John's companies for listing, many people will stand up for them. 7-Eleven has the largest market share in North America and is a valuable asset; why would they complain or be dissatisfied? I think this is a conspiracy, designed to attract our attention and give that little fox John more time to prepare. We need to be especially vigilant in Taiwan!"

"Taiwan definitely needs to be careful. John's plans there are getting more and more outrageous. If it weren't for the fact that the R&D funding from Bell Labs and Nvidia hadn't decreased, I would have thought he was going to transfer the R&D in the US to Taiwan. Now he's even making his own monitors and has acquired a lot of patents from Japan. He's not only going to expand aggressively in the semiconductor industry, but also intends to expand in the electronics and home appliance sectors. This guy's ambitions are too big."

"Yes, his ambitions are too great, and they have already impacted our interests. But that bastard Morgan stands by his side, helping him again and again, giving him all sorts of assistance, making it impossible for us to restrain this guy now!"

Upon hearing these words, Rockefeller's expression changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "Enough! I don't want to hear that anymore. If you know you can't do it, then don't say it. Don't cause trouble for everyone! Nobody wants to be targeted by that crazy little John. In normal business competition, failure is failure. Don't make excuses for yourself, and don't give the other side any. Do you think Morgan is just a figurehead, or do you think that little fox John can be suppressed at will? If you have such thoughts, then do it yourself. Don't drag us into it. I believe none of you here have such thoughts!"

(End of this chapter)