Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 339 Finding Gold in the Sand

As they were talking, Ichiro Haneda suddenly slammed his hand on the table in frustration.

"Why do you think Americans are always making things difficult for us?"

"Forehead……"

Masato Takeshita couldn't answer that question; he didn't want to incur the wrath of the Americans.

The sheer power of the sole superpower at the turn of the century was so formidable that even powerful nations with independent capabilities could only yield and back down.

"Sigh, I wonder when we can become a normal country."

"Complaining is useless. What we need to do now is to work hard to help the country revive its economy."

The young man quickly changed the subject, shifting the focus back to domestic development.

International politics is too serious to discuss at dinner time; be careful, someone might overhear you.

Of course, it doesn't matter to ordinary people, because they don't own a large company.

"That's true, but this depends on you guys. We in finance can only add icing on the cake."

"Let's work together. Finance can also boost economic development. Our Xinghai Group is a typical example of a company that has received assistance from Industrial Bank."

Although banks prefer to open up when things are good and close up when things are bad, they still do some humane things sometimes.

Of course, such times are rare.

Masato Takeshita was able to secure such a large loan because of his status as a Waseda University graduate and the promising future of rolling suitcases.

Furthermore, and more importantly, major Japanese banks are facing difficulties in issuing loans.

Even without the promising invention of the rolling suitcase, there's a chance to secure loans of tens of billions of yen.

However, without actually taking out a loan to cash out anything, it requires a bit of emotional intelligence and the cooperation of internal staff.

For example, the loan is listed as 200 billion, but you only receive 100 billion.

In short, during the bubble economy era, Japanese society was bizarre and grotesque, with all sorts of strange phenomena constantly unfolding.

"Alas, that was then; banks have changed completely now."

Ichiro Haneda is now very disappointed with Industrial Bank, which lacks a sense of social responsibility and is only interested in making quick money.

He sensed something was wrong and was very worried about the company's future.

"Come on, let's eat and not talk about those annoying things at work."

"Yes, you're right, nothing beats filling your stomach."

After saying this, he channeled his grief and anger into his appetite and began to devour the delicious food.

After his gathering with friends, Masato Takeshita did not go home, but went directly to Starsea Capital.

I haven't been here for a few days, so I still need to make my presence known.

"Was the transaction successful?"

"It went very smoothly. We sold either popular stocks or blue-chip stocks, which were highly sought after in the market."

Benefiting from the disintegration of the polar bear, the US economy grew rapidly in the 1990s, and stock market investment became more and more active.

The shares held by Xinghai Group are unlikely to shake the upward trend of US stocks.

"That's good. If everything goes smoothly, we can sell more every day so everyone can go home and rest earlier."

"Okay, thank you, Chairman!"

People are very different; some people can stay at home for half a year without leaving the house, while others can't even stand it for half a month.

Xinghai Investment's employees working on US stocks are very resilient, but we also need to end the closed management as soon as possible to ensure everyone's physical and mental health.

"By the way, Mr. Kaben, I had a small get-together with senior Haneda Ichiro tonight. He mentioned that SoftBank Group is about to go public, and Industrial Bank is one of the stock underwriters."

"I plan to first acquire one-third of the shares held by Industrial Bank, and then buy more shares from other securities firms."

Once you discover a high-quality asset like SoftBank, you can't afford to miss it.

Anyway, brokerages sell to whoever they want, unlike early-stage investors who might risk offending people by competing for business.

Faced with his chairman's new request, Jiaben readily replied, "Understood, I will pay close attention to this matter."

"I just wonder how many shares the chairman wants to acquire?"

Takeshita Masato pondered for a moment, then looked up and replied, "Let's take 10% first, and buy more after the stock lock-up period is over."

Most early investors in a company will sell some of their shares after the lock-up period ends to recoup their costs and make a profit.

That time usually coincides with a significant drop in the company's stock price.

For example, after Xiaomi went public, its stock price plummeted after the lock-up period ended, as many people cashed out and ran away.

If the company is a high-quality asset in this situation, then buying it would be a huge profit.

For example, Lei Jun himself bought his own company's stock at the bottom during this period. After holding it steadily for several years, he made a lot of money.

Of course, there are also those who believe the company has great potential and hold it for the long term.

For example, the major shareholder of Penguin in his previous life did not sell a single share for more than a decade, demonstrating astonishing self-control.

"Yes, President."

Jia Benlong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With Xinghai Capital's influence, acquiring a 10% share of the stock would be quite easy.

After discussing SoftBank, Masato Takeshita casually asked, "Besides SoftBank, are there any other companies with great potential in the Japanese stock market recently?"

"I think Keyence and Nikon are two very good companies."

Since the young people encouraged Xinghai Investment to pay more attention to domestic hidden champion companies and pharmaceutical companies, Jiabenlongzheng has been tracking such companies for a long time.

Keyence in the field of industrial automation and Nikon in the semiconductor industry were among his chosen targets.

"Oh, tell me your reasons?"

Takeshita Masato sat up straight, wanting to hear the insights of the president of his financial company.

"Hi!"

Kamoto Ryūzō bowed slightly respectfully and then began to explain his reasons.

"First is Keyence, a company that is about to achieve a semi-monopoly on industrial sensors and measuring instruments."

"Although there may not be high returns in the short term, with the economic development of China, Southeast Asia and other developing countries, as well as Keyence's continuous technological progress, it will eventually become a highly profitable company."

Labor is very cheap in China and Southeast Asia now, which is much cheaper than using advanced automated machines.

But Rogers, by observing the economic growth rates of developed countries such as Japan and South Korea, as well as China and Southeast Asia, determined that the rate of increase in workers' wages would exceed the expectations of countless people.

It can be said that the higher the wages in underdeveloped countries like China, the more promising Keyence will be, since the main purpose of industrial automation is to reduce the need for manual labor and improve the production efficiency of machines.

"Furthermore, I greatly admire Keyence's boss, Takemitsu Takizaki. He has exceptional abilities in running a company and, like the chairman, values ​​technological innovation."

Keyence started as a company that made automatic wire cutting equipment. Later, when founder Takemitsu Takizaki learned that Toyota's metal compression molds often broke, he immediately organized researchers to create a pressure sensor specifically for Toyota.

The product was a great success and received rave reviews after its launch.

And not only Toyota, but also Nissan, Honda and other automakers followed suit and made large-scale purchases.

After the sensor business grew, Takemitsu Takizaki, in order to focus his efforts, decisively shut down the company's original business, demonstrating his resolute character.

The emphasis on research and development was primarily reflected in employee salaries. In later years, Keyence employees earned an average annual salary exceeding 2500 million, even higher than many top financial companies. Therefore, while Keyence headquarters recruited over 200 people annually, it received tens of thousands of resumes.

“Hidden champions in the field of industrial automation are indeed very promising, so I’ll use my personal fund to buy 10% of them first.”

The industrial automation field certainly has a promising future, but it is unlikely to see explosive growth in the short term.

We need to wait for a surge in global demand for electronic products, and we also need to wait for further development of the world economy.

The first demand is mainly due to the increasing precision in the manufacturing of electronic products, which necessitates that factory equipment keep pace.

Especially in the era of smartphones, high precision in machines is highly valued.

Old industrial machinery and equipment simply cannot meet the technical requirements of mobile phone manufacturers in the era of smartphones.

The second requirement mainly addresses the development situation of various countries, especially the United States and China.

Countries around the world have protectionist policies for their domestic industries, so even if they know that building a factory in the United States is very expensive, they still have to invest in it.

For example, Toyota, in later generations, built a car factory in the United States with an annual production capacity of over one million vehicles.

The equally renowned TSMC later had no choice but to build its most advanced semiconductor wafer fab in the United States.

However, labor costs are high and there are many tasks in the United States, so there is a great demand for advanced automated equipment.

China's main demand is for industrial upgrading and transformation.

Before the 21st century, Chinese enterprises were relatively poor and could only afford outdated equipment, or simply buy second-hand goods, or even machines that had been used many times.

As the economy develops, the company's strength also increases, so it can no longer operate like a makeshift operation as it did at the beginning.

In particular, companies that have made money are pursuing world-leading technologies and purchasing world-class industrial equipment.

A typical example is Chrysanthemum Factory, which initially made its fortune by assembling switches by hand, and later began to continuously purchase advanced equipment and embark on the path of technological innovation.

Of course, rising worker wages are also a factor.

When wages increase to a certain level, using advanced equipment will save money.

The reason why the industrial robot industry has become increasingly developed in later generations is that it has been driven by the growth of wages worldwide.

"Understood. Companies that can't take off in the short term are indeed not suitable for us."

Buffett is actually better suited to investing in Keyence, where he can hold the stock for decades.

Xinghai Capital's private equity hedge funds have to be liquidated every few years, making it impossible for them to wait for a long period without making a profit.

Of course, the youth's own foundation is an exception.

That's his own money, so he can invest it however he wants.

"As long as you know."

Masato Takeshita didn't really want to invest, since the growth might not be much even after more than ten years.

However, he cannot only consider making money; he must also consider the overall growth of Xinghai Group.

Owning a stake in Keyence will allow Xinghai Group to extend its reach into the industrial equipment manufacturing sector.

Keyence's relatively low market capitalization is also a key factor; it won't cost much money and won't affect the overall situation.

After discussing Keyence, a hidden champion whose future market value will surpass that of Nintendo, Sony, and a host of other well-known companies, Jia Benlong is now introducing the second vertical industry giant, Nikon.

"Speaking of Nikon, Chairman, you should know more about it than I do."

Takeshita Masato quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no, I only have a superficial understanding."

Masato Takeshita doesn't understand optical technology; he only knows that Nikon's lithography technology is currently the best in the world.

Canon, Starlight Lithography, and ASML are in the second tier.

Yes, after several years of development, Starsea Lithography has reached the second tier.

Of course, it barely stays in the second tier, on par with ASML, but still can't beat Canon.

As for Nikon, it is the technological leader in the lithography machine industry, and no other company can catch up with it.

However, the lithography machine industry is currently approaching a technological bottleneck, and a new path is needed to break through. This road to the future is already in the hands of Xinghai Group.

Nikon and Canon's lithography machine businesses are destined to decline.

As for ASML, this company will not fail, no matter how much it declines.

It is a key step for the United States and Europe to break free from Japan's semiconductor industry and will receive support from most countries outside of Japan.

Masato Takeshita was well aware of the situation he would face, so he began research and development on extreme ultraviolet light technology early on.

Because Lin Benjian's water refraction technology can only maintain its advantage temporarily, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines are the next technological bottleneck in the lithography machine industry.

In the future, Starsea Lithography may lag slightly behind the US-led ASML system, but it cannot be completely blocked by the other side.

That's right, it's commonly known as being held hostage.

It wasn't just China; the United States also did something to Japan.

ASML, a European company, has investments from Intel (USA), TSMC (Taiwan), and Samsung (South Korea), but no Japanese companies, and has consistently excluded Japanese companies from its portfolio.

The complete collapse of Japan's semiconductor industry was partly due to the US blockade.

Jia Benlongzheng, a quick-witted man, smiled and said, "They're all the same, just scratching the surface, but it's enough for the investment field."

"Alright, no need to be so cautious. Tell me why you're optimistic about Nikon."

"Ok."

Jia Benlong sat up straight and began to explain his reasons for wanting to invest.

"Sales of semiconductor chips are increasing year by year. Flash memory chips, which have been around for less than 10 years, have already exceeded $30 billion in global sales and are still growing at an even faster rate."

"As part of the semiconductor industry, Nikon's lithography machines will only have a brighter future."

"I plan to invest in Nikon first, and then invest in all related industries."

Jiaben Longzheng had grand ambitions, and its philosophy was quite similar to that of later financial companies that invested in Apple's supply chain.

"Do not……"

Just as Masato Takeshita was about to refuse, he suddenly realized that the next few years would be a period of explosive growth for the US stock market.

Xinghai Capital is already a large company and should not earn excessively high profits. It would be better to use some of its funds to support the domestic semiconductor industry.

At the same time, Xinghai Capital's large-scale investment in China can revitalize the stagnant domestic market. It will also increase financial support for the semiconductor and electronics sector.

After all, Xinghai Group's competitors do not want to fall too far behind.

As for why Samsung wouldn't have the same effect, it's because Samsung is a foreign company, so it wouldn't have a significant impact on people.

In addition, this strategy is also conducive to improving the employment rate of highly educated talents in Japan.

He certainly doesn't want a large number of future Japanese people to refuse further education at universities.

"Okay, get ready, we'll invest in similar companies in the second half of the year."

Kamoto Takamasa thought his chairman was going to refuse, but unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn.

He immediately assured him, "Understood, I will be fully prepared before taking any action."

(End of this chapter)