America: My Time

Chapter 67: One stone stirs up a thousand waves
Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Stone Stirs Up a Thousand Waves
The Hong Kong tycoons thought John's counterattack was too impulsive and somewhat youthful, but these were just their own thoughts and feelings. John, however, didn't see it that way. He believed HSBC was at its weakest point, under immense pressure due to the sluggish real estate market. If they didn't dare confront HSBC now, what right did they have to maintain their foothold in Hong Kong? If they could use HSBC to enhance their reputation, that was a result John was willing to accept, even if it meant some losses, as it would save him a lot of trouble in the future.

When Phoenix Group took action, the tycoons in the entertainment industry were extremely worried. The boss of Phoenix Group could ignore HSBC and target HSBC-affiliated companies, but they dared not. However, many of them were under pressure from HSBC to take sides, which was a lot of pressure for them.

Phoenix Media Group is now increasing its investment in television broadcasting, and Phoenix Pictures is expanding in all directions, setting up cinema chains throughout Asia, which has had a tremendous impact on the Hong Kong film industry.

The changes in the media industry shocked other Hong Kong tycoons as well. No one expected John's counterattack to be so clean and efficient. This also made many people interested in understanding how powerful Phoenix Group was. However, time was limited, and the information they could obtain was also very limited. But the more they knew, the greater the pressure they faced.

"Old Huo, what do you think of this outsider? How can someone so young have such amazing abilities, daring to go against HSBC and slap HSBC in the face in Hong Kong?"

"Old Bao, I don't know much either. Although he visited me, it was just a polite exchange, and my understanding of him is limited. Everyone is basically aware of the situation in Hong Kong. This conflict was caused by the emergence of Pacific Investment, which disrupted HSBC's plans. However, Sir Michael Sandberg and HSBC's reaction was somewhat excessive, which led to this conflict."

"Yes, with this conflict, HSBC is putting pressure on many of us to deliver a fatal blow to Pacific Investment. This is troublesome for us, a huge trouble. We can't feel at ease until we figure out the strength of this outsider. After all, we don't want to get involved in their conflict."

"Old Dong, perhaps we should ask Shao Laoliu. After all, they are rivals and it's impossible that they know nothing about this outsider."

“That’s true. Since this outsider has established himself in Hong Kong, it’s impossible that Shao Laoliu wouldn’t know anything about him. It’s just that I’m afraid Shao Laoliu’s knowledge is limited, after all, the other party comes from the United States!”

"I don't know much about the situation in the United States, but he has a high reputation in Japan, and the investments he's making now don't conflict much with ours. We don't need to offend him. HSBC doesn't belong to Sir Michael Sandberg alone, and we don't need to get involved in their conflicts!"

"I don't want to get involved in their struggle, but we can't be completely ignorant. The more prepared we are, the more secure we are. After all, everyone is having a hard time right now, and this kind of outsider is a pressure for us!"

"I do know a little about this person. I don't know much about him in the US, only that he owns a game company with an astonishing market value and has close ties with Japan, where he is highly regarded by all parties. To put it simply, his credit in Japan is top-notch. He just secured a minimum loan of two billion US dollars from the Bank of Japan and also smoothed things over with various parties in Japan to acquire TV Tokyo. As you know, the situation in Japan is different from that in Hong Kong. Media companies like TV stations are not so easy to acquire, even if he is American, it is not an easy thing!"

As a tycoon, he is well aware of the importance of the media. How could someone who can manage various forces in Japan and obtain a loan of two billion yen from the Bank of Japan be simple? Without sufficient assets and capabilities, it would be impossible to obtain such strong support—that's two billion US dollars!

"Let's wait for HSBC's reaction. There's nothing we can do right now. Since HSBC dared to take action, they must have a countermeasure. It's best for us to wait and see!"

John had no idea how the Hong Kong tycoon viewed his conflict with HSBC, nor did he have time to concern himself with it. Currently, John was accelerating the expansion of the Phoenix Group and its Asian footprint, and HSBC's obstruction had put him on high alert. He couldn't afford to reveal any more secrets at this time, or it would ruin his plans. Since HSBC had jumped in to block him, he would temporarily suspend his real estate investments and wait for a further decline in property prices. No matter what HSBC's schemes or ideas were, they would be powerless against the prevailing trend. When the tide turned, even the most arrogant HSBC would have no choice but to back down.

While investments in Hong Kong are important to me, investments in Taiwan cannot be underestimated. I cannot afford to waste my precious time on the struggle between Hong Kong and HSBC.

Although he still had many unresolved matters in Hong Kong, upon receiving information from Taiwan, John set aside his plans for Hong Kong and traveled to Taiwan to begin negotiations for semiconductor investment. The Hong Kong investment could be postponed, but the Taiwan semiconductor investment could not; time was of the essence, and he couldn't afford to delay any longer, as it concerned the future development plans of Nvidia and Dreamworld.

Without its own semiconductor factory, it is easy to be controlled by others. Nowadays, the game industry can be outsourced to Japan, but this situation cannot continue indefinitely. Before the development of a new game console is successful, it is necessary to control some production capacity, at least to avoid being controlled by others for key chips. Taiwan is where it began to step into the semiconductor industry!
A semiconductor company requires long-term and continuous investment. Although he has only invested in a foundry now, this is just the beginning. In the future, it will not be just a foundry. John needs to be cautious about such an investment. If he cannot reach an agreement with the other party, he will have to reconsider his strategy.

High-tech industries like semiconductors are highly valued everywhere, especially now in the 1980s. In addition, John's American identity and his status as a media mogul have made Taiwan pay even more attention to them.

The negotiations proceeded smoothly, with Taiwan giving the green light at every turn. However, when John requested a television license in Taiwan, he encountered resistance. At that time, Taiwan remained quite conservative regarding the media industry, and even though John was American, obtaining a television license was difficult!
John hadn't initially intended to make such a request. However, after the HSBC charity gala incident in Hong Kong, his thinking changed. He realized he couldn't wait for the right opportunity; often, he needed to create it himself. Without discussion, nothing would come of it, but discussion offered a glimmer of hope. If Phoenix Media could enter the Taiwanese television market ahead of schedule, it would accelerate its expansion in Asia, improve its television network, speed up Phoenix Media's development, and simultaneously provide support to other industries!

After repeated negotiations and exchanges, when John promised that the Taiwanese semiconductor factory would become his main production base, and that the factory would be continuously upgraded, Taiwan compromised. While the television license was important, the investment in a semiconductor factory was even more crucial, as it could bring substantial profits to Taiwan. If the Taiwanese semiconductor factory could handle a small portion of the game world's production in the future, it would be a tremendous benefit to Taiwan.

The acquisition of the television license caused quite a stir in Taiwan, as it was the first television license held by foreign capital and set a precedent, prompting many to have their own thoughts.

John didn't care about what others in Taiwan thought. Once he got the license, he immediately contacted Huang Xizhao in Hong Kong and asked him to speed up the recruitment of talent. At the same time, he began to prepare for the establishment of Phoenix TV in Taiwan, using the talent in Hong Kong to accelerate the preparation work of Phoenix TV in Taiwan.

The acquisition by TV Tokyo alone caused a huge stir. While it was a shock to Hong Kong's media industry, it was still within their tolerance. However, the news that Phoenix TV had obtained a television license from Taiwan sent shockwaves through the entire Hong Kong media industry. Once Phoenix TV in Taiwan started broadcasting, the pressure on RTV would completely disappear. The three major television stations could then achieve mutual benefit and share resources. At that time, RTV's influence would completely surpass that of TVB!

With TVB sharing resources with TV Tokyo, RTV, and Phoenix TV, the pressure on TVB is staggering. After all, the two are not on the same level in terms of size, and the resources of the three TV stations far exceed those of TVB. This dramatic change has put pressure on Mr. Shaw.

If TVB cannot find a breakthrough in the limited time, it will not be long before it is overtaken by RTV. However, TVB cannot find a way to break the deadlock, after all, they do not have the capital to exchange benefits.

(End of this chapter)