America: My Time

Chapter 872 Seizing the Market
Chapter 842 Seizing the Market

"I don't understand why you prioritize heavy industries like automobiles, shipbuilding, steel, and petrochemicals, instead of investing in electronics and semiconductors?" Soon, Samsung's eldest daughter asked the question that had been nagging at her for a long time. Given that South Korea has talented people, why didn't John invest in semiconductors and electronics, but instead chose heavy industries as the focus of development?

Lee Boo-jin believes that South Korea still has the potential to develop electronics and semiconductors, and Samsung is a good example of this. However, in John's eyes, Samsung's real development was due to the talent it acquired from Japan. Without Japanese talent, it's hard to say whether South Korea would have any chance. Now, John is ready to steal the opportunity and won't give South Korea a chance.

As for Japan, although its potential still exists, the economic bubble has had a huge impact on them. Even though they shifted their production to China and Southeast Asia, they made a series of wrong moves in technology, so they all failed in the development of electronic technology and directly gave up market share.

In John's plan, the development of electronics and semiconductors should be in Taiwan and China, not South Korea. In comparison, China has a huge market, which is the most important factor for a company. With a huge market, there is not much to worry about in terms of research and development. As long as the wrong technology is chosen, there will be no major problems. With the information John has about the future, how could he possibly choose the wrong technology? Therefore, investing in electronics and semiconductors in South Korea is unnecessary. On the contrary, investing funds and energy in a market that is not very large will only disperse the power of Taiwan.

"Because it's unnecessary. The investments from Taiwan and China are already enough for me. I have the foundation for research and development, as well as a huge market. There's no need to continue diversifying my investments. After all, high technology is different from heavy industry!"

Although she wasn't entirely satisfied with John's explanation, feeling it underestimated South Korea, Lee Boo-jin understood that South Korea indeed lacked a large enough market, and that South Korea lagged behind Taiwan in electronics and semiconductors. Despite Samsung's impressive performance, compared to John's investment in Taiwan and the market share he controlled, there was a significant gap.

John didn't plan to stay in South Korea for too long. After all, South Korea only had so many industries. He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no problems with the automobile and shipbuilding projects. Before acquiring the Daewoo Group's assets, his work at the South Korean shipyard was crucial for the construction of natural gas transport ships, and there couldn't be any issues. Putting everything else aside, John acknowledged that South Korea had considerable shipbuilding capabilities.

John didn't pay much attention to the development of entertainment in South Korea because he didn't have that much time, and besides, South Korean entertainment wasn't very profitable at the moment, far less so than in Japan and Hong Kong. At most, it was just for publicity for their own companies and to prepare for the future; now was not the time to reap the rewards.

At this moment, Lee Boo-jin sighed softly. Her father wanted to collaborate with Nvidia, and even more so with Bell Labs, as those were true industry giants possessing absolute technology in semiconductor chips, mobile phone manufacturing, and many other high-tech fields. Such a collaboration would be extremely beneficial to Samsung. However, judging from John's behavior, it was clear he had no intention of collaborating with Samsung. This made sense; obtaining a technology license from Bell Labs was simply impossible.

"Don't think too much about it. The situation here in South Korea isn't suitable for roundabout approaches. The emergence of an electronics and semiconductor giant would affect Samsung's development. You don't think Samsung's technology can compare with Nvidia or ASUS from Taiwan. It's still far behind, and we're not even in the same direction. Once things are settled here, you'll come with me to China. That's where the focus is. You also need to do research and preparation for the retail layout."

John wasn't just talking casually about his global retail strategy. Only by controlling the retail market could he ensure his food companies achieved greater success. Currently, Wellcome dominates both the retail and food sectors in Asia. As for building apparel and cosmetic brands, that takes time; after all, it's not something that can be accomplished quickly.

A few days later, John and Lee Boo-jin arrived in China. By then, Mary Barra had completed negotiations with China. Bentley Motors would increase its investment in Chinese parts factories and was preparing for a new round of expansion, as the existing factories could no longer satisfy Bentley's market appetite.

After so many years of development, expansion is not too difficult for the Bentley Group. As long as the equipment keeps up, it will not be a problem. The Bentley Motors Group has long been prepared in this regard. If it wants to compete for market share, it naturally needs to make many preparations in advance.

John's increased investment in China once again demonstrates his immense financial strength. He's aggressively expanding across all sectors, particularly in food processing and apparel. With a large market share overseas, especially in North America, and having secured retail dominance, the export of his own brands has been phenomenal. Who wouldn't love high-quality, affordable goods?

Just as John had told the Consul General in San Francisco, John not only didn't want to abandon the high returns of his investments in China, but he continued to increase them. Many people thought this was a bit crazy, after all, China was still developing and strong, and investing such a large amount of money was risky. But John saw it as a highly profitable investment. When the Mandarin Oriental Group went all out, it was incredibly astonishing. Its enormous financial advantage was immediately apparent; there was no financial pressure whatsoever. Its huge revenues in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were more than enough to support the Mandarin Oriental Group's continued expansion.

As John continued to invest in China, the old guys in the US were furious, feeling they had been played by him. They realized that John wasn't actually going to Japan, but was instead laying the groundwork for a deal between South Korea and China. At this point, they suddenly discovered that the newly split Southern Group was developing even faster and becoming even more formidable. Its presence in Asia and in China was expanding at an alarming rate, completely unaffected by its previous actions.

The split of Southern Group unleashed its capabilities, as did the same for Forever Group, and quite surprisingly so. At least its investments in China surprised many, but no one seemed to see anything wrong with them. China is John's largest production base, and both food processing and apparel and footwear are developing rapidly.

John quickly entered the shipping company process without any resistance, and soon a shipping company appeared. Next, John acquired a shipyard in Dengzhou, Jiaodong, and began to renovate the shipyard and expand the dock to prepare for the upcoming split with Russia. After all, Russia had shipyards waiting for him to acquire, and the transfer of talent was necessary, since Russia was not a good guy and could not be trusted.

The acquisition of the shipyard faced no resistance, as it was not a major shipyard in China. Moreover, John's acquisition was for upgrading and renovation to meet the shipping company's orders. In John's plan, this would become an important shipbuilding base for him, given that labor costs in China were low, Quantum Mining controlled iron ore and steel mills, and had technical support from South Korea. Once the dock renovation was completed, it would enter the production phase.

As for engines, that's not a problem either. John controls two major engine companies, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, and once the acquisition of Daewoo is completed, that will be even less of a problem.

"Boss, John, that madman, really wants to expand into shipping and shipbuilding. He's made such an investment; it's absolutely insane! Isn't he afraid of wasting such a huge investment? That's China!"

"I don't know. This guy has an inexplicable confidence in China. His series of crazy investments are dazzling and a bit crazy. None of his investments have failed. Moreover, he has reached an agreement with China that he will not only not take profits from China's investments, but will also increase his investments. Such investments will take several years, or even longer, to recoup. I don't know what he's thinking. He's playing bigger and bigger games, and he's getting crazier and crazier."

In the eyes of Morgan, this was a bit too crazy. John could have gradually recouped his costs, but he didn't do that. Instead of recouping his costs, he increased his investment. This decision shocked Morgan.

Americans don't consider China a prime investment destination; they prefer Southeast Asia to relocate their production facilities. But John hasn't done that. He's focusing on China, and now he's even investing in shipbuilding. This crazy approach is beyond their comprehension.

Whether others understand or not is unimportant, but John doesn't see it as a major problem, at least not for him. He believes his current investment will yield returns several times, even dozens of times, in the future. With technology and cost advantages, there's no reason why it shouldn't develop. Unfortunately, not everyone shares John's vision and can see things so clearly. They only see China's current economy, unaware that it won't be long before it takes off. At that point, even if John speaks eloquently, no one will believe him. But John doesn't need others' approval; he only needs to accelerate his own strategic planning!

Seizing the initiative and dominating the market—that's John's strategy, and he's been consistently pushing forward with it, especially in the automotive industry where he's taking steady steps to accelerate his expansion, fearing that being a step behind will allow those Japanese companies to seize the market, impacting his plans and interests.

(End of this chapter)