Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 222 An opportunity that everyone can see is also a risk (Bonus chapter for monthly votes, 4k chapters)

Keiko Miyazawa's opinion was ignored.

The directors in the conference room had different expressions, some were pleasantly surprised and others frowned.

The former had long wanted to sell this top-grade Wagyu beef and receive a share of the profits.

The latter is not satisfied with the current price offered by Lingkong City, feeling that it could rise significantly later.

Kiryu Yaya noticed this.

The former were mostly older men, in their seventies or eighties, while the latter were younger, in their fifties or sixties.

Clearly, the expectations for Lingkong City are closely related to the age of these directors.

Older people are afraid that they'll die before land prices even rise.

Younger people are definitely more likely to be the "wait and see" type.

Matsubara, one of the younger directors, was the first to raise an objection: "President, 50 billion yen is indeed very tempting."

"But I would like to remind everyone here of one thing—when the former chairman bought this land in 1950, it cost him less than two billion yen."

"Twelve years later, the site for Kansai Airport was announced, and the appraised value of the land increased twenty-five times."

"What if we wait another ten years? Once the airport is fully operational and all the surrounding commercial facilities are in place, will the value of this land increase fivefold?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across both sides of the long table.

"By then, 50 billion yen may just be a starting price."

A low murmur of agreement rippled through the conference room.

Director Inoue, sitting to his left, nodded and cautiously continued the conversation: "Director Matsubara makes a good point."

"The land in Rinko City is not just an ordinary commercial land; it carries the growth expectations for the entire Kansai region over the next twenty years."

"Taking action now may solve the immediate problem, but could it cause us to miss out on even greater opportunities for the group in the future?"

He looked at Keiko Miyazawa, his tone softening slightly.

"President, I'm not against selling, I just hope we can be more cautious."

"For example, is it possible to sell a portion first? For instance, sell 20,000 square meters first and retain 30,000 square meters. This would alleviate cash flow pressure without completely giving up future appreciation potential."

This proposal sounds reasonable and has clearly been well thought out.

Keiko Miyazawa listened quietly, without immediately refuting, and first looked at Yutaro Kamiya, who was sitting at the end of the long table.

Yutaro Kamiya remained silent.

He hasn't said a word since the meeting started; he's just been sitting there leaning on his cane.

But at that moment, he felt Keiko Miyazawa's gaze.

Kamiya Yutaro slowly raised his eyes, first glancing at Matsubara, then at Inoue, before speaking.

"Matsuhara, Inoue, who told you this land will appreciate in value in the future?"

Director Matsubara was slightly taken aback.

"Director Kamiya, this isn't something anyone said; it's the market consensus."

"consensus?"

Yutaro Kamiya chuckled softly: "At the height of the bubble, it was common knowledge that land prices in Tokyo rose by 30% every year and floor prices in Osaka doubled every year."

""

"And the result?"

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Yutaro Kamiya tapped his cane lightly on the floor, making a thud.

"You say land prices will rise after the airport opens. But when will the airport open? Next year? The year after? Or the year after that? Even if it opens, will passenger traffic increase immediately? Will the supporting infrastructure be implemented immediately?"

He paused, his gaze slowly sweeping across Matsubara and Inoue's faces.

"Shouldn't you directors take a look at the land acquired during the bubble economy in Osaka Port? How much of it has now become collateral for banks?"

Director Matsubara's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to refute, but he found himself unable to find the right words.

Because every word Yutaro Kamiya said was true.

Yutaro Kamiya didn't give them much time to process what was happening.

"Do you know what people said when the old chairman bought this land in 1961?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if lost in a distant memory.

"Some people say he's gone mad, that he's throwing away 2 billion yen, and that there's nothing in Osaka Bay except fishing boats, so who would build an airport there?"

He raised his hand and pointed to the ceiling: "But the old chairman said something. He said that what no one can see is the opportunity, and what everyone can see is the risk."

"It's increased twenty-fivefold in sixteen years. Do you still think this profit margin isn't enough?"

"When everyone thinks land prices can still rise, how much higher do you all think they can go?"

The meeting room fell silent.

Yutaro Kamiya turned his gaze away from Matsubara and Inoue's faces and onto the unfolded assessment report.

"The market today is different from that of 1960. Back then, the Japanese economy was on the rise, land prices were rising, and everyone was full of confidence in the future. But what about now?"

He paused, his tone becoming slightly somber.

"Right now, holding onto this land is like clutching a piece of red-hot cast iron. The longer you hold on, the more it burns. The smart thing to do is to let go while you can still sell it for a good price."

Director Matsubara remained silent.

Director Inoue also fell silent.

The men sitting in the inspector's seats exchanged glances, and no one spoke again.

Keiko Miyazawa waited quietly for a moment, and only spoke again after confirming that no one else raised any new objections.

"Since no one has any further objections, let's proceed to the formal vote."

Keiko Miyazawa raised her hand, signaling Akio Uesugi to distribute the ballots to each director and auditor.

The white pieces of paper were passed silently across the long table.

The pencil tip pauses, falls, and moves across the paper.

Kiryu Yaya sat in the back row, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the students who had their heads bowed.

Director Matsubara hesitated for a moment before putting pen to paper, while Director Inoue wrote down his answer without hesitation.

Yutaro Kamiya was the last to finish writing.

He didn't rush to write; instead, he took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with a neatly folded handkerchief.

Then he put it back on, picked up a pen, wrote a few words on the paper, folded it, and handed it to Akio Uesugi.

Akio Uesugi collected all the ballots, stood at one end of the long table, and read out the votes one by one in front of everyone.

"In favor of selling: 6 votes, 1 vote from Keiko Miyazawa (18%), 20% from Yutaro Kamiya (20%), 10% from Michiko Miyazawa (10%), and 7% from Yumi Miyazawa."

(Nominee shareholding), 6% by employee stock ownership plan representatives, and 3% by inspector-general.

Total percentage of shares in favor: 64%.

"Against the sale: four votes - Matsubara Director 10%, Inoue Director 8%, Kansai Industrial Revitalization Investment 15%, and Auditor B 3%."

""

Total opposing shareholding: 36%.

"The 'yes' vote wins!"

There was a silence in the conference room for about three seconds.

Then, several different voices rang out almost simultaneously.

Director Matsubara leaned back in his chair, let out a long breath, and forced a bitter smile onto his face, which was tinged with dissatisfaction.

But since it's already decided, there's not much more to say.

Director Inoue remained silent, tapping his fingers lightly on the table twice without saying a word.

Some of the people sitting in the inspector's seats loosened their collars, while others quietly closed their notebooks.

Keiko Miyazawa sat in the main seat, her gaze slowly sweeping across the room before she spoke: "The decision regarding the sale of the Rinko City land has been passed."

"Next, proceed according to the plan. Mr. Uesugi, please lead the establishment of a special task force to liaise with potential buyers and initiate formal negotiation procedures as soon as possible."

"clear."

Akio Uesugi responded and quickly jotted down a few notes in his notebook.

Director Matsubara, who was sitting on the other side of the long table, finally looked up and said, "Now that the decision has been made, let's hope that this deal can be negotiated at a good price."

Director Inoue nodded slowly, without saying anything more.

Kiryu Yaya, sitting in the audience, remained calm, as if he had known this outcome all along.

Judging from the equity structure of the Miyazawa Group, the outcome was actually decided on the morning of the corridor conversation.

Miyazawa Michiko, who previously held the 10% stake in Miyazawa Hara, now has her aunt no longer involved in the group's affairs, and her decisions are largely influenced by Miyazawa Keiko, since Miyazawa Hara has passed away.

Keiko Miyazawa herself owns 18%, and also holds 7% on behalf of her mother, totaling 25%.

They also won the support of Kamiya's board of directors.

With his 20% stake, he now holds a total of 55% equity, putting him in an invincible position.

However, this was only a board resolution.

A majority of votes is enough to determine the outcome of the meeting.

According to Japan's Commercial Code of 1991, proposals involving the disposal of core assets, after being passed by the board of directors, must be submitted to an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders for final ratification.

But for Keiko Miyazawa, this recognition was no longer in doubt.

The board meeting has already passed, and Keiko Miyazawa, holding 17% of the shares on behalf of others, has become the de facto largest shareholder. With the support of Yutaro Kamiya, she also holds an absolute majority at the shareholders' meeting.

Therefore, the sale of the Lingkongcheng plot is a done deal and beyond dispute at the Gongze Group level.

Finally, Keiko Miyazawa announced the adjournment of the extraordinary board meeting.

Then, the sound of chairs being pushed away rang out one after another.

Director Matsubara was the first to stand up. He nodded slightly to Keiko Miyazawa, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the door.

Director Inoue followed behind him.

Several inspectors also got up one after another. Some whispered a few words, while others simply packed up their notebooks and filed out.

The number of people in the meeting room gradually decreased.

Yamada closed the notebook in front of him, glanced at Kiryu Yaya, and said in a low voice, "Let's go, the meeting is over."

As a creditor, Mitsubishi Bank was not entitled to vote at the board meeting.

So neither Kouyuki Hiko nor Ushio Takeo said a word during the meeting.

This is a matter of respect for the board meeting and an obligation that should be fulfilled by those in the audience.

However, Kouyuhiko had come all this way, clearly not just to attend a boring meeting.

Kiryu Yaya sat in the audience, his gaze fixed on the head of the table.

Keiko Miyazawa was whispering something to Akio Uesugi.

Just then, Kouyu Tianyan stood up.

A perfectly timed smile, characteristic of high-ranking bank executives, appeared on his face.

"President Miyazawa."

Keiko Miyazawa looked up at him.

"Minister Furuta, is there anything else?"

Kouyuhiko did not answer immediately, but walked to the other side of the main seat, rested his hands on the back of the chair, and adopted a relaxed and natural posture.

It's like someone who suddenly decided to say a few more words out of goodwill.

"Hey, I heard the whole meeting just now."

"The land of Rinko City is indeed the most core asset in the hands of Miyazawa Tourism Development."

"To be honest, I was somewhat surprised and have great respect for President Miyazawa for making the decision to sell under such a complicated situation and for pushing the board to approve it."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping lightly between Miyazawa Keiko and Uesugi Akio.

"However, there is one thing I'd like to mention."

Keiko Miyazawa looked at him, smiled gently, and gestured for him to continue.

Kouyu Tianyan nodded politely and continued, "The land in Lingkong City is quite large."

"With a valuation of 50 billion yen, there aren't many buyers in the Kansai market who have the ability to acquire it in one go."

"If we allow your group to find buyers on its own, firstly, the process may be very long, and secondly, the transmission of market information may not be asymmetrical, which may cause potential buyers to have unnecessary concerns."

He clasped his hands together in front of him, his posture sincere and restrained.

"On the other hand, Mitsubishi Bank has some long-term institutional clients who have been paying close attention to large-scale real estate projects in the Kansai region."

"If your group trusts me, I can coordinate with the bank to arrange a targeted buyer contact for your group."

He paused, then added, "Of course, regarding the price, I will ensure it is no lower than today's appraised value. In fact, it may even be better."

"After all, there is a difference between the customer channels of banks and the buyer channels that your group has contact with."

"President Miyazawa, what do you say?"

After Kouyu Tianyan finished speaking, the conference room fell silent for a moment.

This executive director of Mitsubishi's headquarters, after enduring a long board meeting, finally chose to show his fangs at this moment when the dust had settled.

This made him appear to both respect the Miyazawa Group's decision-making process and perfectly fill the crucial window of "after the resolution is passed and before implementation begins".

But to Kiryu Yaya, who knew Kouyuki Hiko's background well, these words were a complete art of dialogue.

He first expressed a point of view:

What level of buyers can your Miyazawa Group find on its own? What price range can you negotiate?

The buyer I, Kouyu Tianyan, introduced has a bank credit guarantee and can offer a higher price.

And this buyer, without a doubt, is a black glove connected to the Dongzheng Association.

Bringing this up at this time allows Miyazawa Group to lock the deal within a scope he can control before the group reaches the real market buyers.

Therefore, this is the real purpose of Kouyuhiko's visit.

He wants to take control of the land transaction in the Lingkong City area.

But at this moment, the confident Kouyuu Hiko was completely unaware that his thoughts had already been seen through by Kiryu Yaya.

At this point, the executive director of Mitsubishi Corporation truly fell into the carefully woven trap of revenge.