Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 383 It’s done!

If asked who has contributed the most to China's semiconductor industry?
Because of the large time span and the large number of heroic figures involved, it may be difficult for everyone to reach a consensus.

But if you ask who has made the greatest contribution since China entered the market era?
The same name will flash through the minds of anyone working in China's semiconductor industry.

Zhang Rujing!
However, Zhang Rujing is currently helping Texas Instruments build wafer fabs all over the world, and China's brilliant achievements in the semiconductor industry will not be realized until the 21st century.

This gave Masato Takeshita an opportunity, and he prepared to hire Richard Chang as the president of the newly established Second Wafer Company.

Despite being a newly established wafer fab, it actually has quite a lot of business.

We have three major clients in the United States alone, and as many as six or seven medium-sized clients.

This is still because Xinghai Wafer doesn't pay much attention to the US market; if they did, their scale could at least double.

The reason is simple: since Xinghai Software Company released the Xinghai Operating System, the computer-related industry has experienced explosive growth.

Whether it's upstream semiconductor materials, midstream chips and other components, or downstream advanced electronic products such as computers, there has been a frenzy of buying.

Computers, in particular, sold out as soon as they were released, marking the golden age for major computer companies.

Under such circumstances, the wafer foundry industry naturally grew and expanded as well.

The industry leader, Starsea Semiconductor, has secured most of its own orders, with the remainder being pre-ordered directly by semiconductor companies in Japan and the United States.

As a result, the semiconductor companies that managed to secure market share were extremely happy. Many other semiconductor companies couldn't get market share even if they offered money.

TSMC, the industry's second-largest player, is also doing quite well. The reason is similar to that of Xinghai Group: other companies are vying to place orders with them.

However, unlike Xinghai Wafer, TSMC's actions have aroused dissatisfaction among more than a dozen long-term customers.

Because of its limited scale, TSMC made the decision to abandon its old small and medium-sized customers and prioritize taking orders from large customers.

Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is precisely recognizing this point, which is why it is preparing to enter the wafer foundry industry.

The chosen method is the plan that Xinghai Wafer's subsidiary, United Wafer, is preparing to implement, which is a joint venture model to build and operate a factory with a medium-sized semiconductor company.

"Yes, we need to exercise restraint. It's not a bad idea for United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) to enter this industry."

Masato Takeshita does not intend to shut down UMC's wafer foundry business; he needs a company to compete with TSMC in Taiwan.

TSMC is a formidable competitor; we need to give it some trouble.

As he was thinking, Masato Takeshita suddenly realized that there were still people in the office.

He snapped out of his reverie and said apologetically, "Sorry, I was a little distracted."

"Chairman, you're thinking about the wafer company, right? That's perfectly normal."

"The performance was a bit over-the-top."

The young man made a sarcastic remark, then continued to explain, "I've thought of a very suitable candidate to be the president of the second wafer fab: Richard Chang of Texas Instruments."

"The chairman is wise; Zhang Sang's wafer fab construction capabilities are indeed top-notch."

Atsuyoshi Koike pays close attention to industry trends and is naturally familiar with this factory-building maniac, even somewhat envious of him.

Because the wafer fabs overseen by Zhang Rujing were not only built quickly and with high quality, but also had a much lower cost than Xinghai Wafer.

He had long wanted to poach them, but had never succeeded.

"Okay, it's settled then. At next week's high-level meeting, I will directly announce the adjustment and split of Xinghai Technology and Xinghai Wafer, and then we will go all out to poach Mr. Zhang Rujing."

"Yes, President!"

Atsuyoshi Koike was very excited, even though his rank hadn't improved, his heart was still filled with joy.

From then on, he no longer had to cater to Xinghai Technology's whims. The practice of contract manufacturing driving down prices would cease to exist.

In the future, Starsea Wafer's profit margin will be aligned with TSMC's, increasing directly from the current 20% to 50%.

Of course, this is the most optimistic idea and is basically impossible to achieve.

Because Starsea Wafer's labor costs are significantly higher than TSMC's current costs.

However, in this era of chip shortages, maintaining a gross profit margin above 40% is quite easy. With more meticulous management, 45% is also highly probable.

After all, the bulk of investment in the semiconductor industry always goes to various equipment, while employee salaries account for a relatively small percentage.

Zhang Rujing is currently in the United States, so naturally, he will need the help of the Xinghai Group's US representative to make the arrangements. Then, like Kalinsky, they will agree on a time and place to conduct mutual interviews.

Zhang Rujing did not refuse Xinghai Group's sincere visit.

"I'm free at 7 pm on Monday, is that okay?"

He wanted to visit his parents during his break and discuss the matter with them.

When talking about Zhang Rujing returning to China to establish SMIC, one cannot help but mention his parents.

Both of them were staunch patriots.

It was under their influence that Zhang Rujing gave up his comfortable life and enormous wealth to return to China.

Of course, Zhang Rujing himself was also a true patriot.

If he himself is heartless and indifferent, it won't matter how patriotic his parents are.

"No problem, everything will be done according to Mr. Zhang's requirements."

This time, it was the chairman who specifically requested it, so naturally no one would be foolish enough to say no. The North American head of Xinghai Group eagerly nodded in agreement.

Masato Takeshita was in a good mood upon receiving the news from the United States.

"That's right, the timing is just after the high-level meeting."

Although it doesn't matter if the agreed time is before the Xinghai Group's senior management meeting, it's still a good thing that we don't have to adjust the meeting time, as it avoids so much trouble.

The meeting time arrived quickly, and the young man, too lazy for pleasantries, promptly began today's meeting content.

"After discussions between myself, Scalison, and Koike-san, starting today, Starsea Wafer will be separated from Starsea Technology and will operate independently."

Because Scully and Koike Junji were not big talkers, many senior leaders were somewhat shocked when their chairman announced the split of Xinghai Technology.

However, I wasn't so surprised to hear that it was Xinghai Wafer that was split off.

Xinghai Wafer's business scale is in the middle of Xinghai Technology's, with a value of less than 30 billion US dollars, which does not affect Xinghai Technology's number one position.

However, this is the data before the split.

After the split, even without expansion, Starsea Components' annual output value will easily exceed US$4 billion, which is equivalent to 40 times TSMC's annual output value.

However, in Masato Takeshita's view, Xinghai Group's wafer fabs were still insufficient, which is why he thought of poaching Zhang Rujing.

He gave everyone about a minute to think before continuing.

"Xinghai Wafer will operate independently after the spin-off, but the company level will remain unchanged."

"In addition, Xinghai Wafer will also undergo internal adjustments, dividing itself into a first wafer company that mainly manufactures chips within the main company, a second wafer company that mainly operates in markets outside the main company, and a joint wafer company that focuses on win-win cooperation."

He then reiterated the concept of joint wafer fabrication, making it easier to understand when combined with the paper documents in everyone's hands.

After announcing the results of the split, the next step was naturally for the new company president to accept his position.

"At the moment, Atsuyoshi Koike will serve as the president of First Wafer Company, and there will be no change in the short term."

"For the second wafer company, I plan to poach a capable person from outside."

"As for the president of United Wafer Company, he will be the vice president of Starsea Wafer Company, Maehara Yukimichi."

With one veteran president concurrently serving, one externally recruited talent, and one promoted from within the company, this is arguably the most reasonable strategy. It both brings in the strong talent the company needs from outside to enhance its competitiveness and gives existing employees hope for promotion.

Simply perfect!
"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll let everyone know if there are any changes."

After swiftly and decisively completing the new layout of Xinghai Wafer, Masato Takeshita abruptly ended the discussion.

Although some authoritarianism is not conducive to the company's future operations, Xinghai Group is indeed best suited to this model at present.

As for healthier management methods, it's not too late for him to make changes before he retires.

It's still early, there's plenty of time.

"Now, Rogers-san."

After speaking, Masato Takeshita looked at Rogers, signaling him to speak second.

"What I want to say is very simple, it's just..."

As time went on, it was soon Jia Benlong's turn to talk about some recent developments at Xinghai Investment.

He first talked about some of the things Xinghai Investment had done recently, and then looked solemnly at Takeshita Masato.

"President, Xinghai Fund still has half of its investment profits remaining from last year. Is there no need to make new investments?"

Even with a whole host of miscellaneous collaborative donation projects, the Star Ocean Foundation still had a surplus of nearly $200 billion last year.

With so much money, it feels like a waste not to invest it.

"Well, let me think about it."

The young man tapped his head, then made up his mind and said, "Invest a quarter of the funds in Hong Kong, a quarter in the United States, and leave the rest untouched."

Xinghai Group currently lacks sufficient working capital and needs to set aside some for emergencies. This way, it can cope with unforeseen circumstances with ease.

Anyway, Xinghai Investment's money is all kept in the Cayman Islands, so there are no taxes to pay, and the amount won't decrease if it's kept there.

As for missing out on the major boom periods in US and Hong Kong stocks, there's nothing that can be done about it.

Besides, Xinghai Investment's various funds have already bought enough stocks; if you're too greedy, they might not want to play with you anymore.

Wall Street and the bald eagle are masters of labeling and accusations.

"Yes, President."

Although he didn't achieve the best result, he was already satisfied with getting half of the balls out.

His initial estimate was only one-third of what it should be.

……

After the meeting, Masato Takeshita rested briefly for one night before flying to the United States with Atsuyoshi Koike.

Zhang Rujing disliked luxury, so the meeting place they agreed to meet was an ordinary coffee shop that he liked very much.

If it were his old rival Zhang Zhongmou, he would have gone for the most extravagant things possible.

To show respect, Masato Takeshita and his entourage arrived at the coffee shop early to wait. They also went to the entrance to greet Zhang Rujing the moment he arrived.

"Hello Mr. Zhang, I am Masato Takeshita from Xinghai Group."

"Hello, President Takeshita, it's a pleasure to meet you here."

Zhang Rujing was very pleased, never expecting to be treated so humbly by the head of a world-class giant company.

In the United States, Masato Takeshita is a top contender for the title of the world's richest man. Many even say that his wealth is at least several times that of Bill Gates, the current world's richest man.

Americans only put him second because of face-saving.

Whether Zhang Rujing's story is true or false is unknown, but even if it is false, his total wealth would still be astonishing.

Such important figures are usually hard to even get a few words of conversation with.

However, after thinking about it, he realized that Xinghai Group needed his help, so it was normal.

After exchanging greetings, Zhang Rujing couldn't help but sigh.

"Chairman Takeshita's Mandarin is so good that it makes me feel a little ashamed that I am Chinese."

Although Zhang Rujing was an American citizen, all his subsequent actions justified this statement.

No matter where you are, as long as you have a patriotic heart, you are Chinese.

The young man agreed with this statement, so he genuinely considered Zhang Rujing to be Chinese.

Therefore, he humbly replied, "Not at all, Mr. Zhang's Mandarin is actually quite similar to mine. It's just that my accent is more northern, so it sounds more standard. I'm sure that once Mr. Zhang returns to his homeland, his Mandarin will soon surpass mine."

"Well, I hope so."

Zhang Rujing's eyes were filled with anticipation, hoping to return to the land that his parents longed for.

"There is definitely hope. Our company has plans to build an advanced wafer fab in China."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course, we have already trained a group of qualified Chinese employees."

Seeing that there was a chance, Masato Takeshita quickly took out the investment plan for the second wafer company in China that he had prepared beforehand.

This plan will be implemented next year, with a total investment of over $10 billion.

“Great, that’s great. I’m willing to join Xinghai Group’s second wafer fab.”

Zhang Rujing knew the young man's words were true once he saw the number of Chinese wafer industry engineers trained.

If there were no plans to invest in building a factory, this effort would not have been wasted.

This suited his taste perfectly, so he readily agreed.

"Really? That's great."

Zhang Rujing's decisiveness surprised Takeshita Masato, who then abandoned any further empty promises and simply began to introduce the benefits and compensation package.

First, Xinghai Group directly covered the entire retirement pension owed to Texas Instruments employees.

Secondly, regarding housing, they will directly gift a villa in Tokyo and two villas in Shanghai.

Among them, the two villas in Shanghai were allocated to his parents and himself, fulfilling Zhang Rujing's mother's wish to return to her roots.

This elderly woman, who cherished her motherland dearly, was someone who would rather be buried in her homeland than be buried alongside her husband.

Next is the issue of children's education. Xinghai Group can provide high-quality jobs and schools globally, if desired.

Finally, there's the salary and bonus, which are top-tier benefits, comparable to those of his immediate superior, Junyoshi Koike, president of Seikan Semiconductor.

In short, Xinghai Group can help Zhang Rujing resolve all his worries.

Even if I were to revert to Chinese citizenship, it would be perfectly fine.

Although Zhang Rujing knew that Xinghai Group offered very good benefits, he was still somewhat surprised by how much he received.

However, he didn't show it on his face, but secretly decided to sell his more than 100 pounds of flesh to Xinghai Group first.

As for dedicating one's entire life to a single job, that's impossible.

His ultimate goal has always been to help the motherland he admires build a wafer foundry company.

(End of this chapter)