America: My Time

Chapter 982: Scheme or Intimidation?
Chapter 952: Scheme or Intimidation?

"I wonder how likely this plan will succeed. I wonder if those bastards are willing to sell us some iron ore mines. If we could join forces to take over the Australian iron ore mines, we wouldn't be in such a predicament, and we wouldn't be held hostage. So I think Mr. John's strategy is the most perfect. He has all the resources in his own hands and is not afraid of anyone holding him back. Just look at his support for the Akihabara project this time. He can arrange so many precious metals so easily. Not everyone can have such gold reserves!"

“I also think that Mr. John’s resource strategy is the best. We should learn from him. Only by having resources in our own hands can we be truly secure. Whether it’s Quantum Mining or Western Energy, they control absolute resources. Even if Mr. John has a good relationship with the Middle Eastern tycoons, he has not given up on expanding in the oil fields. So why should we give up?”

"What's the point of saying all this now? Back then, we had to invest in their mines because those Australian guys simply refused to sell. Saying this now is pointless. Even if we wanted to change things, it would take time. After all, acquiring their iron ore mines is virtually impossible, and even other mines are out of the question. We're different from Mr. John; he won't face any obstacles, but we do. Oil Pacific Capital doesn't dare to take drastic action against him, because angering Mr. John would affect their pricing power over gold and many other resources. Quantum Mining controls such vast resources!"

Indeed, Quantum Mining now controls a vast amount of resources. Australia alone is enough to make countries like Japan envious, as it contains all the resources they need. Furthermore, it has mineral resources in North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. It's fair to say that Quantum Mining has a global presence and is not afraid of any pressure. Most importantly, the resources it possesses that are already publicly known are enough to impress everyone, not to mention the resources hidden in the shadows.

Nowadays, Quantum Mining is no longer aggressively seeking out and expanding its own mineral resources. Its annual gains are not significant, and it mainly focuses on mergers and acquisitions. However, those acquired are world-class mines, but many people believe that these are resources hidden in the shadows, with the aim of concealing Quantum Mining's shareholding.

Oil Pacific Capital wasn't without its ambitions to acquire Quantum Mining, but they lacked the capability. As a non-listed company, swallowing it whole wouldn't be easy. They didn't have the confidence to wage a financial war, let alone make an acquisition. As for other means, they were even less capable. Furthermore, if they angered John, the consequences would be unbearable, potentially causing them to instantly lose their current pricing power, given that Quantum Mining's strength already surpassed that of their existing mining operations.

"Gentlemen, do you think Mr. John's Akihabara project this time is just an experiment? Do you think this craze for figures is just to increase the exposure of the Akihabara project?"

"What do you mean by that? Do you think you've seen through something? There are no outsiders here, so just say what you want to say. We're all in this together now. If something goes wrong, none of us can escape. If the current situation continues, we'll all be the ones who suffer. There's no need for you to hide anything!"

"I do have some thoughts, but they are just speculations, without any evidence. I think the other party's move is not only to raise the profile of the Akihabara project, but also to intimidate and demonstrate their strength, so that those 'interested parties' dare not act rashly. After all, no one knows how much wealth this person controls or how much gold reserves they have. No one has a specific figure for Quantum Mining's annual gold production capacity, and very little of Quantum Mining's gold is circulating in the market. If there is any, even if it is the gold they need for internal consumption, the rest is held by Standard Chartered Bank, Sinolink Bank, and East West Bank, either being sold or stored."

"I understand. He is indeed trying to intimidate the other party. Choosing this time and this situation to bring out so much gold is killing two birds with one stone. It's not only to promote his animation project, but also to warn those 'those with ulterior motives' that he has the power to overturn the table. If you anger him, there will be such danger!"

"That's right, that's my thought. To spend so much precious metal on an Akihabara anime project, do you think it's necessary to do this just to gain fame? And is it really that crazy? It's a pity we can't do it, otherwise those bastards wouldn't dare target us, and we wouldn't be in this mess!" At this moment, many people thought of John's warning. Now, the entire Japan is secretly taking action to investigate everything behind this. They all want to know if the Japanese capital has really completely targeted them, whether there are other people behind it, or whether those guys in the US are plotting against them.
If it were just oil and gas capital, these guys in Japan wouldn't have too many scruples. But if those American conglomerates were involved, they'd have to be careful. After all, these bastards were partly responsible for the bursting of the bubble. Of course, John was also partly responsible, but John was too shrewd. Even though they knew John was also a beneficiary, they didn't have any temper with him, and they couldn't even hate him. He had warned them more than once, and he didn't act at the last minute; he withdrew early. It was their own greed that made them believe everything John said was a lie, and they insisted on getting even more profit, so they fell into the trap and couldn't get out. Who else could be harmed?

Most importantly, John's departure was orchestrated behind the scenes by them. At least Yoshiaki Tsutsumi of the Seibu Group made a move. The more arrogant Tsutsumi was back then, the more pathetic he is now. Moreover, now that the Mandarin Oriental Group is making a comeback, they can only welcome them with smiles and dare not launch any attacks, after all, they are all hoping for a recovery in the real estate market.

However, after entering the market, the Mandarin Oriental Group didn't expand as aggressively as they did. Instead, they conducted market research, and even when they did take action, it was only to acquire commercial real estate, specifically in prime locations. They had no interest in real estate development, which caused them considerable distress. Many properties in prime locations fell into the hands of these other companies, causing them pain. After all, these properties had already lost a significant portion of their value, and although they were still falling, everyone understood that they were valuable assets. However, no one dared to acquire them now because their own circumstances didn't allow it.

Many people present even sold their valuable assets. The reason was simple: they needed to raise funds, save themselves, and persevere until the real estate market recovered. Therefore, they had to sell these valuable assets. After all, no one was willing to take over the assets that were not yet completed. At this time, the only way to raise funds was to sell valuable assets; otherwise, nothing would come of it!
Now, all these guys in Japan are pinning their hopes on John's Akihabara project. Real estate companies and banks alike are hoping for a real estate market recovery, hoping to give them hope that the Akihabara project will succeed. Compared to the real estate companies, Japanese banks have even more confidence in John; after all, he's never failed.

John didn't care what those Japanese guys thought or how they viewed him. His plan was slowly unfolding, and once it was announced, he believed many people would notice the Akihabara project. As the renovation continued, he believed everything would soon be resolved, but the overall project planning still needed time.

Just as many people were watching and hoping for the success of the Akihabara project, the old man Akio Morita couldn't hold on any longer. Sony's situation was getting worse and worse. If it weren't for the support of overseas assets, Sony would probably have been plunged into the abyss by the real estate industry long ago. As for the North American media and entertainment sector, it was only breaking even. So he needed to turn the situation around and had to speed up his party plans.

For Akio Morita, the pressure from his real estate holdings was immense. If he couldn't quickly recoup his investment, it would swallow up all their profits from entertainment, a result he didn't want to see! Just as those guys in Japan had said, he wanted to sell his real estate holdings, especially the high-quality assets he had acquired from John, and the target of the sale was John, since none of the guys in Japan were willing to take them over.

Although this would inevitably result in a significant loss at current market prices, it's better than dragging things out and bankrupting ourselves, since all those assets are losing money and there's no hope in the short term. At this time, all of Japan's high-end retail sectors were severely impacted, with shopping malls suffering the most, as well as upscale restaurants. Countless upscale restaurants are now going bankrupt and undergoing liquidation because they have no customers and can't survive.

With the Mandarin Oriental Group's resurgence, many high-end restaurant properties have fallen into their hands and been acquired. However, these are mainly assets in prime locations, especially in Tokyo, where many such assets have been acquired. High-quality stores have naturally been taken over by John's accessible luxury brands, as Japanese consumers don't have that much money to spend. Even some fast-food brands have taken over these assets, given Japan's current dire situation; relying on high-end brands wouldn't be sustainable.

(End of this chapter)