Investor That Can See The Future

Chapter 402

Politicians once again engaged in a fierce battle over the supplementary budget and economic hearings. When the New Politics Party refused an economic hearing, the Liberal National Party declared an over-the-counter struggle.

Even in the same party, the calculation was complicated according to the constituency of each lawmaker.

Members of the Honam area raised their voices saying that Saemangeum development should be pursued quickly, but lawmakers in the metropolitan area and metropolitan cities were cautious, citing concerns about real estate price drop and population outflow.

Apart from the political situation, the Saemangeum development site, which had been stagnant, began to come to life. The Saemangeum Development Administration carried out the construction, which had been hesitant due to lack of budget, and companies that had entered into a occupancy contract rushed to construct buildings and factories on the site.

Usually, when a new city plan is announced, speculators flock to it and land prices rise vertically. However, Saemangeum was an exception.

Because there is no private land in the first place, no transaction can be made unless the government sells it. And now, the land is sold only to tenant companies.

Of course, this did not mean that speculation did not occur at all.

While the (?) speculators bitten by the 3rd new city protested in front of the OTK Company, other speculators quickly bought land in the surrounding areas adjacent to Saemangeum.

Real estate in the areas of Okso-myeon, Hoehyeon-myeon, Gimje-si, Gye-hwa-myeon, Buan-gun, which are expected to benefit from development, was booming, and planning real estate, which had been quiet for a while, also flourished.

However, the increase was not so great as there was a lot of land to be developed in Saemangeum.

* * *

I first contacted Akit’s president, Peter Kazuyo.

Hearing my explanation, he rejoiced.

[I have been interested in Saemangeum from a long time ago. The Saemangeum Seawall is also considered as a building worth seeing at least once.]

“There are already basic designs made by the government. I would like to proceed with detailed design for each paper here.”

Architecture is conservative compared to other industries, but a wind of change has recently blown here as well. A lot of related startups have been created, and investors have also actively invested in them.

It actively introduced new technologies such as modular construction methods, building robots, 3D printers, and laser cutting, and improved the construction process in its entirety.

The reason the architectural world suddenly changed is, as everyone guessed, thanks to the California restoration project. As always, technology evolves out of necessity.

Among them, Arkit is one of the most innovative companies.

Akit uses artificial intelligence software to conduct planning, design, design, construction, and manufacturing processes in a comprehensive and efficient manner, significantly reducing the time and cost of the entire construction process.

[I will proceed immediately.]

“I will not send the data separately.”

If it is necessary for urban design, Akit would be easier to obtain than me.

After talking with President Kazuyo, I thought about what to do next. For a city to succeed, the role of private capital is absolutely essential.

In other words, companies have to step in.

Even if OTK Company has a larger market cap, the company that exerts the greatest influence in Korea is still the Seosung Group. It is not for nothing that the term “Seoseong Republic” was coined.

The group’s market cap has already surpassed 700 trillion won.

Seoseong Electronics continued to break the record high while laughing at the controversy over its highs. This is because the demand for semiconductors continues to rise due to the spread of self-driving cars, and games are in the spotlight as the next-generation food. And the IBs, who were short selling by pouring out negative reports, ate up again.

I said to Taek-gyu.

“Are you still playing Lost Fantasy Online with Chairman Im Jin-yong these days?”

Taehyung nodded his head.

“then. Actually, it’s like I’m driving the bus. Is it ‘the president who raised you up’?”

“It’s fine. Please call the president who raised him.”

* * *

Chairman Im Jin-yong and President Lim Su-mi came to the company together.

The two people who entered the CEO’s office were surprised.

“What is this?”

A map of Saemangeum was spread out on a large desk, and model buildings that could be used for board games were placed one by one.

“I’ve always wanted to try it once, so Taek-gyu brought it to me.”

Taegyu said.

“Is this a real SimCity?”

I really do what I want to do.

For reference, one small building model posted over there costs tens of billions of won to actually make. A little bigger would be over 1 trillion won.

Chairman Im Jin-yong looked at it as if curiously.

“You did a great job again. Saemangeum new town development. I never imagined it.”

“Anyway, I asked to see you because of that. I want the Seosung group to take the lead in development.”

Building a new city takes a lot of time and capital. And there is no guarantee that it will always succeed.

“In order to carry out all the urban development plans established by the government or local governments, even bringing in the US national budget would not have been enough. And by now, Korea must have become the country with the most skyscrapers in the world.”

While there are so many false plans, none of them have been properly implemented.

Chairman Im Jin-yong looked at me and asked.

“How do you see Saemangeum’s success potential?”

Yeji is not wrong.

“It will definitely succeed. I will do whatever it takes to make me successful.”

He smiled at my words.

“There is a saying that the best way to predict the future is to create it yourself. Then we should be together. They are doing large-scale construction work in Korea, because there is no reason to oppose it from a corporate standpoint.”

One of the things that Korean chaebol groups have in common is that they have a construction company as an affiliate.

This is because the presidents especially care and love the construction company. This is because no other industry is as easy to raise slush funds as construction companies.

In other industries, accounting and auditing are so well done, embezzlement is not easy. It is difficult to falsely state the price and quantity of core materials, and it is impossible to withdraw the salaries of researchers in cash without filing a tax return.

However, construction has a lot of day laborers, and it is easy to steal this and that. It is difficult to find out even if you state that you paid 200,000 won per day and actually give 150,000 won, or you write that you used 10 tons of cement and actually spend only 8 tons and steal the rest.

Here, Korea has a long history of growing as a civil engineering company. That is why even companies that have grown into other industries are going to have construction when they reach a certain size.

Then, there are cases where the entire group is smashed by an unreasonable argument. For example, the Ongjin group or the Geumoh group… … .

We sat down and talked.

I looked at President Im Soo-mi and asked.

“I want the Ceylon Hotel to build a complex resort in Saemangeum.”

He didn’t look very surprised as he knew such a story would come out.

“How big do you think it is?”

“As Marina Bay Sands comes to mind when we think of Singapore, I hope it is a landmark that comes to mind when we think of Saemangeum. It’s not like coming to Saemangeum and sleeping there, it’s a hotel that comes to Saemangeum because they want to sleep there.”

President Lim Su-mi touched the armrest with her fingers.

“Do you know how much money went into the construction of Marina Bay Sands?”

I’ve seen it in the data.

“It was about five billion dollars.”

“We need to invest an amount equal to or more than the company’s market cap in a single Saemangeum complex. If it fails, the entire Ceylon Hotel will stumble.”

Unlike Singapore, which was originally a world-class city, Saemangeum is now a wasteland. Of course, the risk is bound to be high.

“On the other hand, if successful, you can pay back your investment in a few years. Marina Bay Sands was also recovered after six years.”

Of course, this is thanks to the casino. In fact, the hotel industry is close to the equipment industry, so it takes quite a long time to recover the investment after construction. Therefore, it can be said that casinos are essential for complex resorts.

“There is also a theme park planned, so demand will not be a problem. Unlike building in a large city, the cost of purchasing the land can be greatly reduced, and if it is a Seoseong group, it will be possible to obtain the right to operate a casino. If you need any other help, I will be happy to help.”

Ceylon Hotel is famous as a luxury hotel in Korea. However, this is only domestically limited. The global recognition is not comparable to the Sands Group or the Marriott Group.

Contrary to its name, Ceylon Hotel’s main business is not a hotel, but duty-free shops, and in fact, most of its sales are generated from duty-free shops. However, President Su-mi Lim has ambitions to develop Ceylon Hotel into a global hotel chain.

No matter how much support there was at the group level, President Lim Su-mi’s individual ability to grow the hotel and duty-free shop business, which has nothing to do with the main business of the Seoseong Group, to this point is great. If given the opportunity, it will be possible to expand further.

“What will you do if I refuse?”

“Then we should leave it to the Sands Group, SJM Holdings, Paras Hotel, and Rite Hotel.”

President Lim Su-mi, who seemed to have been thinking for a while, smiled and said.

“CEO Kang Jin-hoo gives me a good opportunity. Let’s make the world’s best hotel beyond Marina Bay Sands.”

Taehyung snapped his fingers.

“Five! I love that confidence!”

Then he immediately placed the resort model on the map. That one is about $5 trillion.

“We got confirmation from both Disney and Universal. However, they wanted to cooperate with local companies to advance into Korea due to investment and operation issues.”

Large companies usually plan their business for several years. However, since Saemangeum was suddenly involved in this plan, there is not much room to worry about it.

The most famous theme parks in Korea are Neverland and Leeteworld. As they have been in business for decades, the two groups have know-how in theme park operation.

“Universal is contacting Liteworld, and Disney is also looking for partners.”

The site where the theme park will be built is only 2% of the total area of ​​Saemangeum. However, the economic effect is enormous. One research institute analyzed that since the opening of Shanghai Disneyland, an economic effect of 100 billion yuan has been generated every year.

“It may be off-topic, but if you say you want to work with Disney, I would like to make an offer.”

Chairman Im Jin-yong said with a smile.

“You can say whatever you want.”

“How about handing over the theme park management rights owned by Seoseong C&T to the Ceylon Hotel?”

The theme park and the resort complex are interconnected businesses, and can be said to be the core of Saemangeum tourism and leisure. It would be better for President Lim Su-mi to manage it all at once rather than the already busy Chairman Im Jin-yong.

Chairman Im Jin-yong and President Lim Su-mi looked at each other for a moment.

Power is not shared by blood.

However, with Chairman Im Jin-yong taking full control of his group and receiving the support of shareholders, there is no need to continue running a resort business that has little to do with his main business and does not generate large profits.

Taek-gyu added a word from his side.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)

“Senior must have a lot of work to do separately from us.”

Chairman Im Jin-yong nodded his head.

“I think it would be better for management efficiency.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Complex resorts and theme parks may be left to President Lim Su-mi in the future.

“What are you going to do with the politicians? If the National Assembly continues to hold back, the plan will be severely disrupted. Opposition to the government’s supplementary budget bill is also high within the ruling party. As you know, the supplementary budget is shared among constituencies. The Liberal Kuomintang is also a Liberal National Party, but the members of other constituencies whose existing development plans have failed will not stand still.”

Taxes are blind money, and there’s nothing better than taking advantage of other people’s money.

Therefore, in the process of deliberation on the supplementary budget, each member of the House of Representatives sends out countless messages of complaints from the constituency in order to earn even a penny more. A lot of people will not like it.

“Politics is for politicians to do, and I just do what I do.”

Chairman Im Jin-yong agreed with me.

“Well, if companies move first, the politicians will also be under pressure.”

I said, leaning my back on the chair.

“So, by the way, please gather some companies that are interested in Saemangeum.”

* * *

Namsan Ceylon Hotel Emerald Hall.

Large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including the top 10 domestic groups, gathered here. It is the first time that so many business leaders have gathered together since the previous meeting due to Japan’s export restrictions.

Outside, a large number of reporters lined up and competed for coverage against businessmen entering the building.

Since when did everyone become so interested in Saemangeum?

When I appeared at the entrance, reporters ran and held out their microphones.

“Are you really going to develop Saemangeum?”

“What do you think about the point of collusion between politics and business?”

“There are suspicions that they are just buying land cheaply and eating out.”

“Are you willing to attend the economic hearing?”

In order to proceed with the development as planned, there are a number of things that need to be done from the supplementary budget to the introduction of related laws. If I don’t go out, will I continue to force myself by boycotting the supplementary budget review and the National Assembly schedule?

Even if you start right away, you don’t know when it will end.

I said looking at the camera.

“of course. If necessary, I will gladly attend as a citizen.”