Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 431 New Prey
"Chairman, Prime Minister Hashimoto hopes that you can attend his private dinner this Friday at 7 pm."

"A private banquet?"

Masato Takeshita was puzzled and couldn't understand why Ryutaro Hashimoto had come after him.

He was a staunch supporter of his party rival, Keizo Obuchi, and the two had a rather strained relationship.

"Yes, it was a private dinner hosted by the Prime Minister."

"Okay, I understand. Tell me..."

Just as Masato Takeshita was about to ask Miho Uchida to reply, he remembered the source of the call and swallowed his words, reorganizing his thoughts.

"Well, you can go down now. I'll call the Prime Minister back myself later."

"Yes, President!"

After Secretary Uchida left, Masato Takeshita tapped on the table, wondering why the Prime Minister had suddenly summoned him.

"Could it be that the Prime Minister wants to use me to improve relations with China?"

Although Prime Minister Hashimoto did some things that angered China during his tenure, he was generally rational in his approach to China.

He not only visited China frequently, but also provided the most loans to China during his tenure.

He was also the first Japanese prime minister during his term to visit the September 18th Incident Memorial Hall, advocating for friendly cooperation between the two countries.

But he soon rejected this conjecture himself.

"No, Prime Minister Hashimoto has countless ways to improve relations with China, and he doesn't need my help at all."

Afterwards, Masato Takeshita thought of countless possibilities, but he felt that they were all just a little bit off.

His feeling was correct; Prime Minister Hashimoto's situation was indeed quite different from his expectations.

"You want me to accept Changxin Bank?"

Takeshita Masato was dumbfounded, never expecting things to turn out this way.

Changxin Bank is currently the Fukuda family's private domain; not even Takeshita Masato, let alone other Japanese zaibatsu, has a chance.

"Yes, I hope that Xinghai Group can take over Changxin Bank and become a responsible large company."

Ryutaro Hashimoto hoped to leverage the power of the Seikai Group to initiate reforms in Japan's financial and banking sectors.

There's no way around it, even though Ichiro Haneda works overtime to the point of exhaustion every day because of the Ministry of Finance.

However, Ryutaro Hashimoto's reforms of the Japanese banking system have been all bark and no bite.

Unfortunately, before becoming prime minister, he was neither the party president nor a faction leader; he belonged to a political minority, and his power was naturally limited.

Therefore, it is difficult to achieve anything when it comes to matters involving interests.

“I have no problem with that, but I hope that Xinghai Group will investigate the matter thoroughly before we cooperate.”

The Bank of Japan's fraud was already an open secret in the capital markets.

He certainly didn't want to use his own money to cover the losses of Changxin Bank.

That's a huge sum of billions or even tens of billions of dollars, and the young man naturally didn't want to be the one to take the fall.

"No problem, we will definitely handle it thoroughly."

Ryutaro Hashimoto was confident because his base of support in the government was located in the Ministry of Finance.

Masato Takeshita, on the contrary, did not believe that Prime Minister Hashimoto could understand the intricacies of the Changxin Bank.

The accounts have been thoroughly investigated, but this means that the main management of Changxin Bank will be arrested in one fell swoop.

Even if it weren't for Ryutaro Hashimoto, who was naturally lacking in power, even Kakuei Tanaka, who once held everything, couldn't have done it.

Unless this hole becomes unmanageable, it's unlikely that the idea will become a reality.

But it's not that time yet, and Changxin Bank will certainly not accept Xinghai Group's acquisition offer.

That's what I thought, but I still had to be evasive in my words.

Masato Takeshita feigned excitement and said, "Thank you so much, Prime Minister Hashimoto. Only someone with such great vision as Prime Minister Hashimoto could save Japan from its economic predicament."

"This is nothing. We also hope that Xinghai Group can better develop Japan."

After the two exchanged exaggerated compliments, Prime Minister Hashimoto began to discuss the second matter of the private dinner.

"Your group is developing so well, I wonder if you would be willing to list your subsidiaries or sub-subsidiaries for a few years?"

"Going public, I have indeed considered that."

Takeshita Masato suddenly realized why the Xinghai Group was willing to release a bank to them. They wanted Xinghai Group's subsidiaries to go public, and then use that opportunity to stimulate the stock market.

But he wasn't the kind of person who would sacrifice himself for the benefit of others, so he continued to respond with a smile, keeping it tactful.

"However, the company's accounts and equity are currently in a rather chaotic state. Also, considering the hard work of the workers, it's unclear how many shares to allocate to them, which has ultimately caused delays."

Then the young man sincerely assured Hashimoto Ryutaro.

"Prime Minister Hashimoto, please rest assured, we will go public as soon as everything is sorted out."

Of course, Xinghai Group's subsidiaries will go public, especially those internet companies.

If they don't take advantage of this bubble to make a fortune through IPO, they'll have to keep burning through their own money.

"There's already a plan, but I wonder when it will be?"

Ryutaro Hashimoto is not easily fooled; his words, though seemingly casual, get straight to the point.

If this continues, wouldn't it be a case of him having to step down as prime minister to achieve his goal?

"It won't be long, at most two years before the listing plan is launched."

1998 was the year that internet companies around the world began to boom.

If Xinghai Group's internet companies miss this wave, they will only be able to go public at a loss in the future.

At that time, the amount of money raised will shrink significantly, and may not even be as much as the company's normal valuation.

"I see. Can you go a little faster?"

"I'll go back and ask. I don't know much about these things either."

Masato Takeshita's procrastination is the truth.

There are too many intricacies in the financial field; he simply can't understand them.

It doesn't matter, there are professionals to handle these things, he just needs to keep an eye on the stock valuation and listing price.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Takeshita-san."

"It's okay, it's all trivial."

Besides financing, the two also discussed a series of political reforms in Japan.

What could Masato Takeshita say? He could only nod in agreement.

Soon after, Ryutaro Hashimoto, full of vigor, announced another momentous event that would influence Japan for decades to come.

"Our talks with the United States went very smoothly, and the Futenma military base will be withdrawn soon."

"Oh, is this true?"

Futenma Air Station in Okinawa is a thorn in the side of the Japanese people.

Countless politicians want to solve this problem themselves.

Ryutaro Hashimoto and Clinton were almost in agreement on this matter, and both became very excited.

"Of course, we must be tough on the United States."

Ryutaro Hashimoto is a master diplomat. He achieved considerable success in the Japan-US negotiations a few years ago.

This time, it can be considered another major event that has influenced the morale of the Japanese people.

"As expected of Prime Minister Hashimoto, he is even more adept at diplomacy than Prime Minister Tanaka."

The two then chatted about many other things until after 11 p.m. before ending the meeting.

"It seems I should keep in touch with this prime minister more often. He's terrible at handling domestic affairs, but absolutely first-rate abroad." Although the Futenma military base ended up being a complete mess, it was a perfect example of the incompetence of later Japanese politicians.

If it were Prime Minister Hashimoto, or his successor Obuchi, there wouldn't be so much trouble.

Ryutaro Hashimoto's opinion was not entirely believed by Masato Takeshita.

The next morning, he called his senior, Yokota Fumio, the vice president of Changyin, from his office.

"Good morning, Yokota-senpai. This is Takeshita Masato. I'm so sorry to call you so early."

Upon hearing his junior say this, Yokota Fumio quickly responded with a smile on the other end of the phone.

"Junior Takeshita, you're too kind. This is my working time right now, there's no question of disturbing you."

"Tell me, what do you need my help with?"

Yokota Fumio was straightforward, so the young man stopped beating around the bush.

He first responded with gratitude, "Thank you, Yokota-senpai."

He then briefly explained that Prime Minister Hashimoto had approached him, wanting him to take over the Long Silver Company.

"Taking over Changyin, I wonder what your true thoughts are, junior?"

Yokota Fumio was naturally willing for the Xinghai Group to take over Changyin, so that he would have a strong backer in the future.

Who knows, maybe in the future, I could become the president of Changyin Bank.

But the most important thing in this matter is the junior's own opinion; as the person directly involved, he shouldn't say too much.

"Of course I'd like to, it just so happens that Xinghai Group doesn't have a bank right now."

"That's it."

Faced with the young man's straightforward response, Yokota Fumio pondered for a moment before speaking sincerely.

"Junior, have you been following any news about Changyin lately?"

"I know a little about it. I've heard that Changyin Bank has a very serious problem with non-performing assets."

Masato Takeshita not only knew, but he was even more aware of Nagagami's current situation than Fumio Yokota himself.

Since the bursting of the economic bubble, Changyin Bank has been betting on the real estate-related industry like a madman, gambling on a real estate recovery.

As a result, Japanese housing prices have repeatedly fallen, and Changyin Bank's own non-performing assets have also skyrocketed.

Following an investigation by the Ministry of Finance, it was determined that of the more than 20 trillion yuan in loans issued by Changyin Bank, more than 3 trillion yuan were non-performing assets.

This is the current situation of Changyin Bank; it faces the risk of bankruptcy at any time.

Of course, the Changyin Bank does not acknowledge the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Finance.

Initially, they only acknowledged having over 1000 billion yen in non-performing assets, but later, unable to sustain it any longer, they increased the figure to over 7000 billion yen.

However, such claims can only fool a small number of simple-minded people and foreign companies unfamiliar with the situation in Japan.

Masato Takeshita did not believe the data released by Nagagami at all, nor did he believe the data from the Ministry of Finance.

Yokota Fumio, of course, was unaware of his junior's ulterior motives.

He sincerely advised, "If you want to buy Changyin, you must thoroughly investigate all its internal accounts."

"I think Changyin has a lot of problems now, and it's not as simple as it seems on the surface."

Yokota Fumio wasn't part of Changyin's core management team, but he was still the vice president. He had some vague knowledge of what was going on within the company.

If it weren't for his junior classmate's plan to acquire Changxin Bank, he would have kept it a secret for life.

"Don't worry, even if we acquire Changyin, I will make sure the government divests some of the non-performing assets ahead of time."

Changyin Bank is currently in a relatively good position, and it has many bad debts that can be taken over. Therefore, Masato Takeshita has set a price of over 10 billion US dollars for Changyin Bank.

When Japan faces a financial crisis in the next year or two, the terms will become a symbolic acquisition of 10 billion yen.

At the same time, the government will also have to shoulder more of the debt burden.

Unfortunately, during a financial crisis, not only will the value of one's own assets plummet again, but non-performing assets will also increase and become unsellable.

Even billions of dollars couldn't stop it, whether it's inside or outside the country.

"That's good. Junior, you must do your due diligence at several companies. You might accidentally fall into a trap."

"Yes, thank you for your concern, senior."

Masashi Takeshita felt a warmth in his heart, and his tone became even gentler.

He then suggested, "Senior, how about we have dinner tonight and chat while we eat?"

"No problem, your company is now our number one customer and our most important customer."

Yokota Fumio values ​​the business of the Seikai Group highly, as it is his guarantee of securing his position as vice president.

And this business is of very high quality, unlike the real estate business which is often a rip-off.

When it comes to real estate, Yokota Fumio is furious.

The current predicament of Changyin is caused by the real estate sector.

What bank has seven out of its top ten clients in the real estate industry?

The key issue is that many of these real estate companies are of very poor quality, and some don't even have decent collateral.

Especially that so-called EIE International, which was able to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in loans without collateral.

When Yokota Fumio heard the news, he was almost speechless with shock.

He naturally strongly opposed it, but it was to no avail; the chairman and president of Changyin chose to give their full support.

"Not at all, we're just looking out for each other. Without your help, we wouldn't have been able to develop so quickly."

"Junior is too modest. We only played a tiny role in the development of Xinghai Group."

Even though it was through a phone, Yokota Fumio couldn't help but shake his head, then added with another sigh.

"Xinghai Group is a high-quality asset; accepting our loan is already a great favor to us."

Yokota Fumio is now extremely grateful to Xinghai Group. Without Xinghai Group's numerous huge loans, Changyin's non-performing assets would probably have increased significantly.

He personally was in the same boat; without Xinghai Group, he would probably have held a senior management position until retirement.

Of course, it is also possible to be promoted in name only but demoted in reality.

He rose to the position of vice president, but he didn't have any management responsibilities.

The two complimented each other over the phone for a few minutes, until Takeshita Masato finally gave in.

He doesn't shower Yokota Fumio with compliments as much as someone who has worked in sales.

After hanging up his phone, Masato Takeshita picked up the phone in the China Unicom secretary's office.

"I'm going to visit Yokota, the vice president of Cho-Gin, at 7 p.m. tonight. Please write down the address."

"Yes, that's right, this is the place."

"OK, go ahead and make the arrangements."

After arranging for his secretary to handle all the matters related to the visit, Masato Takeshita asked her for some information about the long silver.

He wanted to take another look at the various reports about Changyin.

Perhaps one of the news stories holds a deeper secret that allows him to cut back on spending.

Of course, he was just making preparations.

The Xinghai Group's acquisition of Changyin will face enormous resistance, and Prime Minister Hashimoto may not be able to withstand it.

Unless the two find Takeshita Noboru and gain his approval.

"Yes, it's been a while since I visited Takeshita-senpai. I'll find some time to pay him a visit."

Young people prefer to acquire Changxin Bank sooner rather than later; if they wait another two years, Changxin Bank will become an empty shell.

(End of this chapter)