1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 467 Digging a hole
"50 billion! US dollars?!"

On the way back, Ye Yijian was driving his boss when Ye Yijian was so startled by a few casual words from him that he almost threw off the steering wheel.

US$50 billion, nearly HK$400 billion, NT$1500 billion...

This number is clearly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Ye Yijian felt that even if you combined all the luxury cars, mansions, beautiful women, and other high-end luxuries, it wouldn't even amount to a fraction of the total cost.

"Yes, TSMC provides the money, and Yanjing City provides the land and personnel. If this $50 billion is really poured in, Nanjing City will be able to trample Huangpu City tomorrow."

Zhai Yuan spoke with a smile, leaning lazily against the cushion, his eyes narrowed as if he were lost in thought.

"And what about you, Mr. Zhai?" Ye Yijian asked, then answered to himself, "Yes, Shenshan Semiconductor holds the most crucial orders and technology. This business deal involving the three regions is a true alliance of strength... Damn it, spending so much money on technology, will they even be able to make a profit?"

TSMC is facing a shortage of orders and technology, much like Tsai Sung-lin and others are facing a shortage of wafers.

No one could have imagined that Zhai Yuan would act as a bridge between the two seemingly unrelated industries of film and semiconductors.

In fact, from a technical standpoint, TSMC could have refined the technology given time. This was a time of widespread support and high enthusiasm across the island; otherwise, there wouldn't have been the later "Protective Mountain of the Island."

However, securing orders is proving quite difficult.

Zhai Yuan's Shenshan has been established for two years and has spent hundreds of millions of US dollars to finally achieve a meager profit and have the leverage to negotiate with Samsung Group.

In contrast, Morris Sun, the key figure behind TSMC, had just been invited to Taiwan to establish the company and was still discussing with Robert Tsao, the founder of UMC, whether to implement the wafer foundry business model.

During the short two-year hiatus, Intel, Sony, Samsung, and even Texas Instruments, the former employer of Morris Sun, began to contact and cooperate with Shenshan Semiconductor. Even though TSMC caught up with the technology at this time, it was still difficult to obtain orders. After all, the biggest concern of such large companies is the leakage of design drawings. In Tao Zongyi's words, even if a second foundry appears on the market now, its customer base will mainly consist of small and medium-sized IC design companies. The large companies that they have on hand will never easily hand over their drawings to a second company, which would only increase the risk.

There's not even a need for a price war. The costs and profits in this industry are closely guarded secrets between the manufacturers and their clients, making them perhaps the most transparent sector.

"I only had a brief meeting with Sun Zhongmou today."

Zhai Yuan tapped his finger on the car window and casually said, "As for the specific details, this Dean Sun invited me to go to Yanjing City after the New Year to sit down and discuss things in detail with influential people there."

Ye Yijian nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

A deal of this magnitude cannot be settled overnight. The other party has hinted at their intentions today, but the real focus will still be on the mainland.

"Then..." Ye Yijian glanced at Zhai Yuan and tentatively asked, "Should I go back and report this?"

Zhai Yuan countered, "Brother Jian, you've been in Taiwan for so long, do you think TSMC has the capability to come up with a $50 billion investment?"

Ye Yijian paused for two seconds, then frowned and said uncertainly, "It's probably impossible. That park doesn't seem to have much business, it doesn't look like a company that can make money."

Zhai Yuan continued, "What if we add investment from UMC and Formosa Plastics?"

This time, Yeh Yi-chien did not hesitate and immediately said, "That's about right. I'm not very familiar with UMC, but their stock has always been good. In addition, Wang Yung-ching of Formosa Plastics is known as the richest man in Taiwan. When it comes to money, he may not lose to Li Ka-shing."

"So, TSMC is capable of raising this money?"

Zhai Yuan asked a question, and before Ye Yijian could answer, he ran his hands through his hair and pulled it back, revealing a troublesome expression.

He hissed, "This is getting a bit troublesome..."

…………

The following morning, the September 1st Daily News in Taiwan published an exclusive news story on its front page.

President Zhai Yuan visits Formosa Science Park and meets with Research Institute Director Sun Chung-mou.

Apart from a photo of Zhai Yuan and Sun Zhongmou, the text content occupied the entire page.

Reported by Ye Yijian, editor-in-chief of the September 1st Daily News

With the further advancement of reform and opening up in mainland China, foreign economic cooperation is ushering in a new chapter. Yesterday, Mr. Zhai Yuan, then Chairman of Kuaibo Technology, Jiu Yi Entertainment, and Shenshan Semiconductor Group, visited the Formosa Science Park and met cordially with Sun Zhongmou, the president of the research institute.

It is reported that Shenshan Semiconductor plans to engage in in-depth cooperation with TSMC, with an initial estimated investment of US$50 billion, to launch an integrated circuit industry cluster in Nanjing, mainland China.

This plan marks the first time since the opening up of cross-strait relations that economic and trade exchanges have been initiated. According to Mr. Zhai Yuan, the initial development area is approximately 30 square kilometers, specifically for the construction of wafer manufacturing plants, packaging and testing plants, IC design centers, and supporting enterprises for electronic materials and equipment. The area will engage in industrial cooperation with Hsinchu Science Park and Shenshan Semiconductor, guiding overseas enterprises to settle in mainland China through various means such as setting up factories, joint ventures, and technological cooperation.

In my opinion, the establishment of the Jinling City Investment Zone not only demonstrates the sincerity of cross-strait cooperation, but also showcases the mainland's firm confidence in deepening reform and opening up in economic development...

"The wording and sentence structure of this report are completely unlike Ye Yijian's usual style."

What is his usual style?

"I've read a few of his romantic and poetic pieces, and they're not much different from those in Hong Kong's entertainment tabloids."

In an office in the Hsinchu Science Park, filled with smoke, two middle-aged men sat down. One was Sun Chung-mou, who had met with Zhai Yuan the day before, and the other was a slightly younger man in his early forties, dressed in work clothes, who was Tsao Hsing-cheng, one of the founders of United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).

As the first semiconductor manufacturing company in Taiwan, UMC mainly undertakes IC design and memory business in Taiwan. Several years ago, before Shenshan Semiconductor was established, Tsao Hsing-cheng went overseas to discuss the idea of ​​wafer foundry with Sun Chung-mou, trying to break through the single electronics market of Taiwan.

However, at that time, Sun Chung-mou did not agree with this idea, and Tsao Hsing-cheng could not get the support of ITRI. After several years of twists and turns, UMC finally set foot on Taiwan, established TSMC and served as chairman of UMC. Shenshan Semiconductor has already seized most of the foundry market.

“Most people in Hong Kong are restless and impatient, speculating on real estate and stocks. It’s rare to find someone like Zhai Yuan who has emerged from this situation.”

After reading the newspaper in his hand, Sun Zhongmou said with a smile, "But young people are still young people. They always want to be the first and take the credit. They can't keep their composure."

Cao Xingcheng breathed a sigh of relief: "With his report, we're 80% sure about investing in and building a factory in Nanjing. Dean Sun, you rejected my suggestion to do wafer foundry four years ago. We have to seize this opportunity."

Sun Zhongmou looked up at him and asked with a smile, "Is it my fault?" "No, not at all." Cao Xingcheng smiled and shrugged, then said with some regret, "It's just that we took some detours along the way. I hope we can make up for it this time."

"The fact that Zhai Yuan was willing to publish this report at least shows that he approves of this matter."

Sun Zhongmou pointed to the headline in the newspaper and said, "But as far as I know, this young man has always been close to the mainland. When I went to Beijing last week, those influential people there also praised him."

Cao Xingcheng nodded in agreement and asked, "Is there something wrong with it?"

Sun Zhongmou frowned and said, "The problem now is the $50 billion that the God of Wealth of Formosa Plastics. Wang Yung-ching is elusive and doesn't show up in Beijing. If there's a problem with any link on that side and they refuse to cooperate, given Zhai Yuan's relationship with the mainland, he will definitely have to withdraw."

"Don't worry." Cao Xingcheng smiled and said, "Dean Sun, you've just arrived in Taiwan and don't know the situation yet. Wang Yung-ching is a typical speculative businessman. Right now, there's a power struggle between the new and old factions on the island. He went to America to find some peace and quiet. He'll naturally come back when the situation becomes clearer."

Sun Zhongmou said noncommittally, "As far as I know, Wang Yongqing's backer is the head of the cabinet, Li Huan."

Tsao Hsing-cheng pointed a finger to the sky, winked, and laughed, "Even if the Executive Yuan holds a high position and great power, is it higher than the sky?"

…………

“I believe that everyone should be loyal to the country, regardless of their position, but I will never accept independence under any circumstances. This is my conscience. Currently, I am coordinating quite well with the successor island lord and Dean Li Huan, and they all agree with this viewpoint…”

On television, Hau Pei-tsun, the acting Minister of National Defense who was promoted by the new island leader, spoke eloquently to the camera, praising the island leader for recognizing and employing talent.

If Zhai Yuan hadn't known that the two later nearly came to blows and bloodshed in the streets, he would probably have thought it was a story of a talent scout and a promising individual.

At this time, Masao Iwasato had not yet revealed his wolfish ambitions and had completely outmaneuvered his former KMT subordinates. By the time they realized that the other party was actually an independence faction, his power had already been reduced to less than one-tenth.

"If I hadn't had some understanding of the situation on Taiwan, I would have been led by the nose by Sun Yat-sen and his men this time as well."

Zhai Yuan exhaled a breath of stale air, and the "Jinling City Plan" that had sounded so exciting yesterday resurfaced in his mind. He shook his head with a sneer.

Hau Pei-tsun is a well-known counter-offensive figure, and Iwasato Masao doesn't dare to play his cards openly now. Appointing him is to get through a period of stability.

If Herbert takes power and allows TSMC to invest $50 billion, Zhai Yuan will commit suicide by swallowing feces.

If Iwasato Masao were to step in again to smooth things over, using both sweet words and harsh measures, the funds would be withdrawn back to the island in no time. At that time, what would be left standing there, besides the mess in Nanjing, would also be the customers and technology that TSMC had cultivated through its cooperation with Shenshan Semiconductor.

There isn't a single good person among them!

"The difficulty lies in the fact that our influential figures truly believe that the other party will invest 50 billion to build a factory."

Zhai Yuan lay on the sofa and rubbed his temples, a troublesome expression returning to his face.

Actually, TSMC dug this hole and played this trick of substituting one thing for another. After leaving the Hsinchu Science Park yesterday, he figured out most of it.

But just because he is a prophet doesn't mean others can understand him; after all, everyone still thinks Iwasato Masao is a person.

Therefore, the only option was to have Ye Yijian publish news of the cooperation in the newspapers to show a normal attitude to both sides, and to deal with other matters separately when they returned to Hong Kong.

There was no other way; US$50 billion represented more than half of Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves since 49, and it was a Taiwanese company that was keen to cooperate with them.

To put it simply, even if Zhai Yuan were to come up with 50 billion yuan to go back and manage things himself, influential figures would still prefer to cooperate with Taiwan. This involves much more than just money.

"Mr. Zhai."

There was a knock on the door, and Shi Nansheng glanced at the boss inside who was sighing and groaning with a strange look.

Shi Nansheng had seen the news about the $50 billion deal early this morning. All his colleagues who accompanied him were shocked by the figure and developed a deep respect for their boss. The news even spread back to Hong Kong, and the stock of 997 rose significantly at the opening of trading today.

Logically speaking, given that Mr. Zhai has secured such a large deal, he should be showing off and going out for a stroll.

Why haven't I seen anyone all day, and why do you always look so gloomy?

"What is it, Sister Nan?" Zhai Yuan rubbed his face and turned to look at Shi Nansheng with a smile on his face again: "Did Manyu and Zuxian want to see me?"

Shi Nansheng nodded secretly. This was the familiar Boss Zhai!
"My flight back to Hong Kong is at 2 PM, so I have a few hours to go. I'm here to ask if there's anything you need to prepare."

Shi Nansheng said with a smile, "As for Manyu and Zuxian, after seeing the figure of 50 billion in the news, no one dares to bother you now."

"What does it matter if it's tens of billions? I'm just an ordinary person. Let them not feel too much pressure."

Zhai Yuan casually joked, then stood up with a smile: "It's kind of you, Sister Nan, to stay in Taiwan for a few more days. In the past, Taiwan talked about the five major film companies, but I felt that the competition wasn't fierce enough. Besides Cai Songlin and Chen Anjin, could you help me find six more capable ones to make a total of eight film companies?"

What's the significance of the eight?

"No, I'm more used to this name. The eight major film companies sound more prestigious."

"..." Shi Nansheng was speechless for a moment, then nodded and said, "Eight is fine too. There will be checks and balances among them, and any disobedient ones can be replaced at any time."

With a casual remark, the two directors of 91 Entertainment laid the foundation for the title of "Taiwan's Eight Major Film Companies".

“Then I’ll go back a few days later, and we can find all the actors on your list together here with Zeng Zhiwei.”

Shi Nansheng continued, "That's right. After Cai Songlin agreed to join the Film Association, Zhu Yanping naturally followed suit. He and Tan Jiaming have just finished a script and plan to launch it in Taiwan. Mr. Zhai, would you like to give some advice?"

"Whatever." Zhai Yuan yawned and said, "Isn't Zhu Yanping known for producing films the fastest? I'll have him come back to Hong Kong with me this time. I need this guy."

Shi Nansheng nodded: "Then I'll have them come over now."

(End of this chapter)