America: My Time

Chapter 870 Laying out the future
Chapter 840 Laying Out the Future
On the third day, John received an answer from the Consul General: China would still provide full assistance. This relieved John, and without hesitation, knowing that time was of the essence, he immediately notified Ms. Mary Barra to lead a team to China to prepare for site selection. As for negotiations, that was not a problem, since everyone had cooperated very well before, and John would not fuss over trivial matters. He valued time, not petty gains.

After the split, the new parts company will still be a factory under the Bentley Motors Group and will not be directly spun off, but rather a preparation for the future. If it were to become independent now, it would put too much pressure on the factory. The Southeast Asian market has not yet been opened up, and the same goes for the North American market. These things take time. If things are rushed, it will only negatively impact the company itself.

No one noticed Mary Barra's itinerary, nor did anyone anticipate that Bentley Group had begun expanding into the Southeast Asian market and the mid-to-low-end market in North America. Even though everyone knew John had investments in Taiwan and was preparing to build a car factory—or rather, construction had already begun—no one expected Bentley to be targeting the Southeast Asian market, nor did they believe the Bentley Group had the capability. Moreover, Bentley's core business is luxury cars, catering to the wealthy Middle Eastern market. It can be said that after John took over Bentley, he revitalized the entire brand, transforming it into one of the largest luxury car groups in Europe, firmly occupying the top spots in luxury car sales, making other luxury car brands grit their teeth in envy.

Despite Bentley's acquisition of Jeep and the construction of a factory in Mexico, the factory's production capacity is too poor to meet the needs of the North American market, let alone compete for the South American market. Even South Korea, which has entered the North American market, has limited strength and will need more time to gain market share.

Under these circumstances, naturally no one paid attention to Mary Barra's itinerary, nor did they consider that Bentley Motors Group might have any new moves in China. Of course, this wasn't entirely due to their negligence; more so because everyone assumed that Bentley Motors Group was focused on luxury cars, and no one cared much about investments in other areas. Originally, the Japanese might have noticed, but they were caught up in the bubble crisis at this time. Moreover, their attention was now drawn by the emergence of a global navigation company, thinking about how to acquire products from them to improve their own luxury car brands; otherwise, they would have no way to compete with Bentley Motors Group for market share.

The Americans, on the other hand, didn't care much because Bentley Motors had almost no production plants in the US. So they didn't notice Mary Barra's trip to China, nor did they expect Bentley Motors to make a new round of crazy investments in China, or even prepare for a future breakup.

Many people only see Bentley's dominant position in the luxury car market, but fail to see its expansion in repair and parts sales. They have a presence in North America and Europe, and are expanding rapidly. They are even aggressively expanding into the car rental and used car sectors. If it weren't for the acquisition of a car dismantling company by a resource recycling company, they would also hold a significant position in the car dismantling industry. In the financial sector, needless to say, they have received full support from banks like Chengxin Bank and East West Bank. It's fair to say that Bentley has performed exceptionally well in the lower-tier markets.

When Ms. Mary Barra began her trip to China, Bentley Motors was about to undergo a transformation, and a major one at that, starting to pursue production capacity, competing with Japan for market share, competing with American car companies for market share, and competing for global market share.

To conceal Bentley Motors' investments and transformations and attract the attention of the old guard, the Mandarin Oriental Group also began to split up, directly separating its US restaurant business to form a separate restaurant conglomerate. This restructuring instantly created a restaurant giant, an industry leader with Subway as its core business.

Initially, this split did not cause much of an impact or shock, as similar splits had occurred twice before and were not considered a major event. Moreover, John had already reached a reconciliation with the old guys like Rockefeller, so most people believed that this split was simply a transfer of John's assets rather than targeting any specific individuals.

However, after the split, the market value of the new catering group increased rather than decreased. This is because the internet cafe alliance has large store profits, and such a split and integration can save costs, so the increase in market value is reasonable.

However, those scoundrels on Wall Street all thought this split might be preparation for an IPO. After the split, the market share of those fast-food companies was increasing, so even if they were preparing for an IPO now, there wouldn't be any problem. Unfortunately, that's not the case. It's too early to talk about an IPO now. John can continue to wait; there's no need to go public too soon. After all, they still need to expand, acquiring new restaurant brands. John has his eye on the West Coast's Black Angus beef pie restaurant, as well as other specialty restaurants, to further expand his presence in the restaurant industry.

As expansion continues and acquisitions begin, many people see the current restaurant groups as a bit too reckless, their expansion seemingly irrational. That's their perspective, but John sees nothing of the sort. Seemingly insignificant restaurants and fast food businesses will soon experience significant growth, generating substantial profits. With enough profitable locations, small gains add up, and the problem won't be solved. Another important reason is that John owns his own farm and is rapidly expanding its operations, a shrewd investment. John knows how profitable those restaurant giants will be in the future; not seizing such a golden opportunity would be foolish. This is just the beginning. Even more astonishing plans and acquisitions are to come, along with even more dramatic expansion, not only in the US but also overseas. Japan, Taiwan, and China are all John's targets; at least for now, this is the best time to develop the restaurant industry.

Actually, there's another reason: land prices are still very cheap now, so you can get the property you want at the lowest cost. That's the most crucial point. Just imagine how amazing the value will be when the US real estate market enters the crazy bubble period that Japan experienced.

This is why the Mandarin Oriental Group is accelerating its investments in shopping malls, commercial real estate, and other areas. Land prices were cheap in the 1990s, but the largest investment was in China, since land was incredibly cheap at that time.

"Are you sure that little fox John has left the US and gone to Japan? This is no joke. Doesn't he care at all that the previous turmoil might resurface, or that the Japanese are plotting against him? Japan is already in economic collapse, what is there for him to care about?"

When Morgan learned that John had left the United States and San Francisco again, he was extremely puzzled. The Global Navigation Company was still ongoing, and construction in Oregon was underway. It seemed a bit crazy for John to leave at this time. It made people wonder if John really wanted to take control of Oregon. Otherwise, why would he be so calm and go to Japan at this time?

What were they going to do? Naturally, they were going to make money and attract talent. If they didn't thoroughly investigate the Japanese market and understand its current situation, how could they seize and capitalize on the opportunity? However, the information those guys received was false; John wasn't going to Japan, but to South Korea. John was still very cautious about this matter, after all, war had already broken out in the Middle East, and who knew when they might launch a devastating attack.

John dared not underestimate those guys. In fact, only Hitomi Kuroki went to Japan. Two planes took off from the private airport. By the time those guys realized what was happening, John had already arrived in South Korea.

“I don’t know. I don’t see any value in Japan. With the economic collapse, many companies are facing bankruptcy, and banks will have more bad debts. Some small banks may even go bankrupt. I don’t think John has any opportunities. Even if he wants to buy at the bottom, it’s too early now.” Jimmy was also puzzled by John’s actions.

"Forget it, let's not worry about what this guy is up to. Once he makes a move, we'll gradually see through everything. For now, we just need to wait and see, and finish our work. John, that little fox, has so many companies preparing to go public; we can't hold them back. We must be extremely careful and ensure there are no problems, or things will get complicated. You know how crazy those bastards on Wall Street are; they've been waiting for us to make a mistake. Even the slightest error will be magnified. If there are problems with the company's IPO and fundraising, our cooperation with John will be strained, and the consequences will be too severe. It will not only affect Morgan's reputation but also damage our interests!"

Jimmy was fully aware of Morgan's current situation. Those scoundrels on Wall Street would seize any opportunity to sabotage them, even ruin their plans. Therefore, they had to be extremely cautious and ensure everything went perfectly. If problems arose, it would be difficult to obtain the qualifications to go public and raise funds in other companies. John seemed unconcerned about the previous failed acquisition, but it hadn't been entirely without impact on Morgan; another problem could have unimaginable consequences. Therefore, Jimmy didn't see anything wrong with his boss's warning, perhaps even perceiving it as a lack of trust.

(End of this chapter)