What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 487 Demon King
The automotive industry is still reeling from the storm. The United States and the European Union are launching intensive investigations into monopolies and fraud, and automakers such as Volkswagen and Daimler are mired in accountability and rectification dilemmas. Various media outlets continue to delve into the inside story of the incidents, and even emission standards in various countries are developing more rigorous and mature testing procedures.

But the part about crossing the mountain peak has already ended—or so it should be.

Those who wanted to short sell have done so, and those who didn't have time to short sell have already surrendered. The European joint investigation team announced a major blow, and industry peers are praising him as the king of short sellers. Meanwhile, based on media analysis of Guo Shanfeng's behavior, he will be quiet for a while, and it's unknown when we'll see him again...

Wait, wait, another public email from Guoshanfeng has surfaced!

Many media outlets that received the email immediately skipped over the iconic motto of the mountain peak and quickly identified the company as "Kobe Steel," then learned that it was a traditional materials company listed in Japan with a latest market value of $160 billion.

160 billion US dollars!
Another target worthy of being called the "King of Short Sellers"!

People from different regions and institutions who came into contact with firsthand information all had similar thoughts.

While Kobe Steel's market capitalization is not as high as that of top global automakers like Volkswagen and Daimler, it is undoubtedly closely related to the ongoing industry storm. It boasts annual revenue of nearly $200 billion and is also an important supplier to Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Honda.

This action, besides being unexpected, only brought a brief silence to the mountain peak, and most importantly, it made many people feel that it proved their conjectures.

The fact that Guoshanfeng has such a planned short-selling strategy shows that he has thoroughly researched and mastered a number of issues in the automotive industry!
From this perspective, Daimler's confession was the right thing to do! Fiat's shamelessness was also the right thing to do!

Otherwise, Kobe Steel would be in the same situation as them today!
——5052 series aluminum-magnesium alloy.

——6061 series aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy.

Guoshanfeng's short-selling report is ten pages long, showcasing cross-verification results from multiple batches of testing agencies in different regions. The main focus is on the counterfeiting of two alloy materials, while also mentioning the performance defects of a stainless steel wire and its specific application in Subaru car suspensions.

In addition to material testing, Guo Shanfeng mentioned that Kobe Steel's main customers include automakers such as Toyota and Nissan, as well as Japanese Shinkansen trains, Boeing aircraft, and even military enterprises. He issued a safety warning, not ruling out the possibility that Kobe Steel may have yet to discover any material performance fraud.

Cars, high-speed trains, airplanes...

Would Kobe Steel really dare to falsify data like this?
With top automakers like Volkswagen and Daimler falsifying emissions data, and the BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) continuously monopolizing and manipulating different market sectors, and now that Guo Shanfeng has named them, who else can't be questioned?

The Japanese stock market reacted immediately, with Kobe Steel's stock price plunging 7% within just half an hour of opening, wiping out $11.2 billion in market value.

As reporters flocked to Kobe Steel's headquarters and the Tokyo Stock Exchange sent an inquiry letter, Kobe Steel's stock price continued to decline, wiping out more than $20 billion in just half a day.

Guoshanfeng had previously visited the Japanese stock market, this time targeting Mitsubishi Motors. However, unlike the uproar surrounding that attack, its short-selling of Kobe Steel went largely unnoticed for half a day.

Aside from the panic among stock market investors on social media, media outlets, institutions, and peers that have always championed local businesses have fallen into a similar silence in the face of attacks from foreign short sellers.

What should I say? What should I say?
Guo Shanfeng has already made it very clear that the issue of material performance is related to safety and involves a wide range of issues. His authority has been repeatedly verified, so why do we still need to stubbornly refute it?

In fact... we can now almost put Kobe Steel aside and consider something else entirely.

The storm that swept through the automotive industry this year began with the short-selling attack on Mitsubishi by Guoshanfeng. At the time, everyone thought it was just a short-selling attack on "one" car company, and no one expected it to cause such a huge impact in the middle of the year.

So, with the king of short sellers entrenched above Kobe Steel, is it possible that he's eyeing more than just this one company?

The media remained silent, institutions sold off their shares, and many people pondered the attack on Mount Everest. While they could look away, Kobe Steel's customers could not remain so calm.

Ultimately, since they are suppliers from their own country, Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan did not immediately take advantage of the situation. However, American customers such as Boeing and General Motors immediately announced a suspension of purchases from Kobe Steel and conducted internal tests to verify whether the performance met the standards.

Even before the Tokyo stock market closed, further news came from Boeing: the aluminum alloy it had previously purchased from Kobe Steel for the cabin door hinges of the 787 aircraft was now being used by airlines to monitor the lubrication status of the hinge components and the bolt torque.

In addition, Boeing responded quickly by requiring global suppliers to submit material traceability certificates, with a focus on verifying the strength data of aluminum alloy components.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also reacted swiftly, issuing a safety bulletin. While not mandating a grounding, it recommended suspending the use of Kobe Steel materials until verification was completed. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strengthened periodic inspections of airframe structures through airworthiness directives.

This serious treatment from customers further dampened market sentiment, leading Kobe Steel to ultimately suffer its biggest single-day drop since the 1987 stock market crash, with a 24.6% decline and a market capitalization loss of $39.36 billion.

Kobe Steel did not respond publicly, but the media, airlines, and regulators almost all adopted the safety warning from the mountain peak immediately.

It wasn't until the end of trading that day that Japan's Financial Services Agency belatedly announced that it did not welcome malicious short selling and would investigate the illegal activities of hedge funds.

Undoubtedly, it's still aimed at Guoshanfeng, but this targeting seems... a bit weak.

Secondary market investors voted with their actions, rushing to sell shares of Kobe Steel, a company with a prestigious reputation, while angrily condemning the far-reaching consequences of such falsification of raw materials.

The short-selling report by Over Peak was released at 7 a.m. in Japan, and Kobe Steel did not respond until 8 p.m. However, the Japanese media, which had been almost silent all day, finally couldn't help but start commenting on this short-selling attack.

"It's very worrying that Guo Shanfeng accused Kobe Steel of using counterfeit materials."

"Kobe Steel should face public opinion and explain the issues; it cannot continue with this unsettling silence."

"We must take this seriously."

"If other companies have the same problems, they must bravely stand up and admit it."

Compared to the past visits by Guo Shanfeng, the media's rhetoric seems somewhat weak and even overly sympathetic.

Short sellers are always bad, but those who are bad enough to trigger a global industrial storm like the one at the peak of a mountain peak do need to be taken seriously, and we should also reflect on whether there are systemic problems lurking beneath the surface.

At 10 p.m. that night, Kobe Steel President Hiroshi Kawasaki finally held a press conference to directly respond to the short-selling allegations made by Guo Shanfeng.

Many authoritative media reporters were present. Although reactions from all sides indicated that Kobe Steel had problems, some people still hoped to hear a strong counterattack against the king of short sellers.

However, Kawasaki Hiroshi's first words and actions after taking office shattered any remaining illusions. "I express my deepest apologies for Kobe Steel's falsification of materials."

Hiroshi Kawasaki bowed deeply in apology, his head almost touching the table.

That's it. Unsurprisingly, it was all fake.

If car manufacturers are falsifying data, and suppliers are falsifying data, then who else is falsifying data?

This year's upheavals in the automotive industry have been utterly disheartening.

A reporter at the scene murmured the proverb of the mountain passerby: "One generation passes away, another generation comes, deception endures..."

Hiroshi Kawasaki's bow lasted a long time. When he raised his head again, he admitted that the counterfeit products had entered approximately 500 customers and that he would actively recall the materials and negotiate countermeasures with the customers.

He casually uttered the number "500," and some reporters suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

Even though I know Kobe Steel is a leading materials company in the industry, I still find it absurd and hard to accept when I hear about the scale of the impact.

Reporters on the scene raised pressing questions and offered serious criticism.

How will Kobe Steel issue a recall? How will the materials on the aircraft be replaced?

Are users who experience safety incidents due to the materials eligible for compensation?

"Hiroshi Kawasaki, you have tarnished the value of 'Made in Japan'!"

The president of Kobe Steel turned a deaf ear to the problem, and simply continued to explain the company's issues this time. In addition to the scale of customers, he also mentioned that there was data falsification in nine categories of products, from aluminum and copper products to steel wire. He also stated that this was not an individual's behavior, but a systemic problem within the company.

Hiroshi Kawasaki raised more issues than the accusations made in the short-selling report by Guoshanfeng...

He seemed almost genuinely sincere.

Hiroshi Kawasaki did not answer reporters' questions. After delivering his prepared statement, he bowed deeply again in apology, representing Kobe Steel in responding to the public. However, this behavior was unsatisfactory.

He wanted to leave after stepping down, but the reporters were unwilling to let him go so easily, and a physical altercation broke out between him and security personnel on site, which to some extent demonstrated the media's attitude of upholding right and wrong.

Kobe Steel had no room for defense; its surrender was swift and decisive. This was followed by an investigation announced by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which would thoroughly examine Kobe Steel's internal problems and... whether there were further issues throughout the industry.

With European automakers as examples to follow, everyone has become smarter.

The day after the attack by the mountain peak, Kobe Steel's stock price did not recover. Affected by the press conference last night, and also worried about the chain reaction that might be triggered and the boycott of products by many customers, institutions and shareholders continued to sell.

The drop on this day was not as large as the first day, but it still wiped out 17.4% of the market value, worth 21.3 billion.

In just two days, Kobe Steel's market capitalization plummeted from a high of $16 billion to $99, failing to even hold onto the $10 billion mark.

On July 25, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into Kobe Steel for falsification, which means another order was accepted this year, and the result will almost certainly be another hefty fine and product access restrictions.

The attack on the mountain peak occurred on Monday, and the Department of Justice made an official announcement on Wednesday. Although the mainstream media reported on the incident for three consecutive days, the scale and volume were not significant. There was neither excessive criticism of the mountain peak nor extensive coverage of Kobe Steel. Overall, there seemed to be some undercurrents.

On Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m., Toray Industries, a well-known Japanese tire material supplier, suddenly issued a statement on its official website, claiming that an internal investigation had been conducted in the past period and found that there were discrepancies in the strength data of polyester industrial yarn in different batches of its subsidiary Toray HC, involving 13 customers.

This statement gave the entire Japanese media a jolt of excitement. Here it comes, wake up!
There's still work to be done, and it's definitely big work...

At 5 p.m., Toray Industries President Akihiro Nikkaku held a similar press conference, revealing a more specific method of falsification: directly altering performance indicators in the report. The actual strength of the polyester filament was only 85% of the standard value, but it was submitted to the customer as 100%.

It was clear that Akihiro Nikkaku did not intend to answer the reporter's questions, but as he was leaving, he seemed to be moved by the targeted questions and gave a more progressive answer.

He admitted that Toray's motivation for conducting its own investigation stemmed from the exposure of the Kobe Steel scandal, and that Toray would not have proactively disclosed the information without the attack by Guo Shanfeng.

Do you believe Guo Shanfeng has evidence of Toray Industries' fraud? Do you believe there are other fraudulent activities in the industry?

The reporter pressed on with Akihiro Nikkaku, bombarding him with more targeted questions.

When faced with the media's cameras and such questions, Hikaru Shōhiro neither hurriedly fled nor immediately answered, but instead fell into an eerie silence.

After a moment, he said, "I don't know if Guoshanfeng has it, but it is the king of short sellers, so it's not surprising that it does. From the perspective of being responsible to the industry and customers, the existence of such a short seller is also a kind of spur. As for whether there are other fraudulent activities, I don't know. Perhaps Guoshanfeng will know."

You don't know if you'll cross the mountain peak, but surrendering might mean losing half the battle.

Italian automaker Fiat is like that, and now Toray Industries is doing the same thing.

Just one day later, Mitsubishi Materials coincidentally discovered that its subsidiary had falsified performance data in its supply of rubber seals for automotive transmissions, and stated that it would launch a further rigorous investigation.

Seeing the spread of such fabrication that it didn't even last a week, TV Tokyo couldn't help but offer its own assessment.

"The Renault-Mitsubishi-Nissan alliance is in crisis, the global diesel vehicle business has been hit hard, and the entire industry is facing a crisis of trust. And that's not all. This time, Guoshanfeng has launched a severe questioning of the Japanese supply chain, with Kobe Steel, Toray and Mitsubishi all falling into the trap, which almost proves that there will be more problems to come."

"Over the mountain peak is practically destroying the reputation of Japanese manufacturing and the reputation of the global automotive industry!"

"Guoshanfeng isn't some short-selling immortal, he's a short-selling demon king!"

(End of this chapter)