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However, facing the sudden surge in stock prices, while everyone was cheering, one force was worried at the moment.

They are from the Mitsui Group.

Since Citibank may have become a major shareholder of Toyota Motor Corporation inexplicably and has been unwilling to disclose the purpose of its acquisition of Toyota Motor shares for a week, the Mitsui Group is in a difficult situation.

After all, they were planning to take control of Toyota with the goal of incorporating it into the huge system of the Mitsui Group, thereby further consolidating and enhancing their own position.

In the past, their plans went very smoothly, and even the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu eventually gave in.

Just when they thought that according to plan they would be able to become major shareholders of Toyota Motor within a few years.

But who would have thought that a competitor, Citibank, would appear out of nowhere.

Therefore, they were forced to enter the secondary market a few days ago. Their purpose was naturally to increase their holdings, as they did not want the shares controlled by the Mitsui Group to lag behind too much.

This is also the reason why Citibank discovered that Toyota Motor’s stock trading volume suddenly increased significantly in those few days.

But within a few days, Toyota's stock price began to soar due to the US-Japan auto trade negotiations.

The price has increased so much in one go, how can they increase their holdings?

The cost suddenly increased.

This is not just an increase of one or two points, but an increase of more than a quarter in price.

The president of the Mitsui Group sat in his office, frowning as he read the news in newspapers that exaggerated the prospects of Japanese cars.

It is clear that Japan had to make concessions in the automobile trade negotiations with the United States. This is not good news. Even if the sanctions are light, they are still sanctions.

But even though they have been sanctioned, their stock prices are still rising sharply, as if Japanese cars have completely conquered the American market.

Most importantly, how can he continue to buy Toyota shares when the car's stock price has risen so much?
Whether acquiring from the secondary market or from other shareholders, the cost of increasing holdings at this time will obviously be high.

Moreover, everyone can also find that in Toyota Motor’s stock trading, there are obviously more buy orders than sell orders.

After all, at this time, many people have no longer thought about selling their stocks.

Therefore, the Mitsui Group's increase in holdings of Toyota Motor shares was obviously hindered.

"Hasn't there been any news from Citibank yet? What is their purpose in acquiring Toyota Motor's shares? Could it be that they really just received the news from the US government in advance?" The president of the Mitsui Group raised his head and asked his right-hand man beside him.

"President, we continued to negotiate with Citibank today, but still didn't get any response. Citibank remains silent. I suggest that the president ask the Japanese government to intervene. As a brand of national pride, I believe the Japanese government will not watch Toyota fall into the hands of the American consortium!" the assistant said in a deep voice.

"Request the Japanese government to intervene..." The president couldn't help but fall into deep thought when he heard this.

"But asking the government to intervene means that we have to put the battle for Toyota's equity on the table." The president of the Mitsui Group tapped the table with his fingertips, and the sandalwood pattern glowed coldly in the sunset. "The Mitsubishi Group will immediately smell the blood, and those old guys like Sumitomo and Yasuda will also take the opportunity to disrupt the situation. By then, we may face more than just Citibank as an opponent."

Even though Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and others seem to have given up on Toyota, the shares they own in Toyota are not high.

That's because the shares held by the Mitsui Group are far ahead, and if they still want to continue competing with the Mitsui Group, they have almost no chance of winning.

Once the government intervenes, Citibank is very likely to give up Toyota Motor for the sake of the Japanese government. But now there is a very critical point, that is, they know openly that the shares acquired by Citibank this time exceed 18.07%!

At this time, if the Mitsubishi Group, Sumitomo Group, Yasuda Group and others try to seize the Toyota Motor shares held by Citibank, if they succeed, then the advantage of their Mitsui Group in Toyota Motor will be completely gone.

Will these consortiums give up such a good opportunity?
impossible!

Moreover, Japan has more than just the four major chaebols.

With the development of Japan's economy, more and more emerging conglomerates have emerged, such as the Fuji Group, Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank, the Sanwa Group, and others, which are showing signs of catching up.

These emerging forces are all eyeing the positions of the four major chaebols.

Even among the four major chaebols, although they appear to be cooperating and getting along harmoniously on the surface, they are actually competing secretly, and only their top brass know how fierce the competition is.

These consortiums are eager to find an opportunity to swallow up each other in order to strengthen their own strength.

Fortunately, Citibank has not announced the purpose of their acquisition of Toyota Motor shares, otherwise those old guys might have already taken action.

The president of the Mitsui Group sighed and couldn't help rubbing his slightly aching forehead.

Previously, they had thought about asking the government to intervene, but ultimately gave up because there were too many things involved.

Originally, they thought that if they slowly bought shares in the secondary market or from other shareholders and gradually increased their holdings in Toyota, they would have room to retain the company. But before they even started to increase their holdings, the stock price soared, and the stock market was so crazy that the cost of increasing their holdings would become increasingly high.

Even if we are not careful, the stock price may be pushed to an even more outrageous level.

Therefore, the Mitsui Group is in an awkward situation now, feeling like it is caught between a rock and a hard place.

"President, I suggest that the chairman personally meet with Mr. Walter Reston, chairman of Citibank, to find out from Citibank the real reason why they hold shares in Toyota Motor.

The president and the chairman of Citibank used to have a good relationship and they are old friends. I believe the chairman of Citibank should give the president some face." The assistant continued in a deep voice.

He knew very well that Citibank remained silent on the matter, and it was obviously an order from the headquarters.

Therefore, there is no point in looking for the general manager of Citibank's Japan branch.

It would be better to go directly to the chairman of Citibank.

The chairman of the Mitsui Group is the former president of the Mitsui Group. He has now retired to the second line, but his majesty and influence are still great.

The president was silent for a moment and nodded. This was the only way now.

He has been the president of Mitsui for two years, but his influence is still far inferior to that of the chairman.

"In that case, come with me to the president's residence and ask him to handle this matter together." President Mitsui said directly.

"Yes!"

While the Mitsui Group was planning how to find out the real reason why Citibank held shares in Toyota Motor, other Japanese groups, including the Sumitomo Group, the Mitsubishi Group, the Yasuda Group, etc., were indeed eyeing Toyota Motor, just as the president of the Mitsui Group had thought.

In the past, the Mitsui Group had a far-leading stake in Toyota because of its early layout, so they were forced to give up on bringing Toyota into their system.

But now, Citibank may have quietly become a major shareholder of Toyota Motor. Isn't this a great opportunity for them?

Once they take over the Toyota shares that Citigroup acquired some time ago, they will become the largest shareholder of Toyota.

This is a rare opportunity to strengthen our strength.

Therefore, they also looked for opportunities to demand a response from Citibank, but were also met with silence from Citibank.

This makes major financial groups more convinced that there must be deeper strategic considerations behind Citibank's actions rather than simple financial investments.

Citibank's move is by no means accidental.

Citigroup chose to buy a large number of Toyota shares at this sensitive time in March and April. It is very likely that it had anticipated the outcome of the US-Japan auto trade negotiations or had obtained some inside information.

In this case, Citibank's goal of acquiring Toyota Motor seems to be less likely.

The Mitsui Group did not dare to ask the Japanese government to go to Citibank, but who would have thought that when they were unable to get the real reason from Citibank, the group had already directly approached the Prime Minister, hoping that they would help find out the real reason why Citibank acquired Toyota Motor shares.

Therefore, during the first weekend of May, Citibank received many inquiries from Mitsui Group, Mitsubishi Group, Sumitomo Group, Yasuda Group, Fuji Group, Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank, Sanwa Group and other forces. Not only that, even the Japanese government sent them an inquiry letter.

The situation became increasingly complicated.

Faced with this situation, the general manager of Citibank Japan Branch could not bear the pressure and contacted Lin Haoran again.

Before this, Lin Haoran told Kawai Yasuya to help him keep it secret for a week.

Now, seeing that there was almost enough time for a week, Yasuya Kawai no longer wanted to be the scapegoat.

He was indeed under a lot of pressure during this week as he received a large number of visits from Japanese business tycoons every day.

This is the busiest time since he took up the position at the headquarters office of Citibank Japan.

But he was only a regional manager after all, facing Japan's top business tycoons. He was really unable to cope with them and could only fool them again and again, hoping that this week would pass quickly.

Now, a week has passed, and he can't wait to announce to the outside world that Lin Haoran is the important driving force behind Citibank's investment in Toyota Motor.

But before taking action, he realized that he had to consult with Lin Haoran himself so as not to violate the instructions of Chairman Walter Reston to maintain the relationship between the two parties.

Although the one week agreed upon has passed, if the news is leaked to the outside world without permission, it might make Mr. Lin unhappy.

So, Kawai Yasuya called Lin Haoran again. (End of this chapter)