Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 148

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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148. He’s a major investor who’ll fill the Ministry of Finance’s coffers—I have to extend him that courtesy.

The next day at 1:10 PM, in the Chairman’s Office at Mapo Daeheung Group Headquarters.
Park Tae-hong sat with an anxious expression, drumming his fingertips against the armrest of the sofa while keeping his eyes fixed on the telephone before him.
His eldest son Park Jin-hyung, president of Daeheung Textiles, and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, seated on either side of him, made no effort to conceal their tension.
Park Tae-hong rolled up his sleeve to check his watch, then loosened his necktie knot with one hand as if suffocating, and spoke.

“The bidding results should have come in by now. Why haven’t we heard anything yet?”
“Depending on the situation at the site, the results might come in a bit later. Let’s wait a little longer.”

At Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho’s words, Park Tae-hong clicked his tongue and pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips as if trying to calm his impatient heart.
Seeing this, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho quickly lit his lighter and held the flame to it.
Park Tae-hong drew the white cigarette smoke deep into his lungs and exhaled it slowly.
As the nicotine penetrated his body, his restless mind felt somewhat more composed.
But only for a moment.
When the telephone on the table suddenly rang loudly, his heart began racing again.

“Hello.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho quickly picked up the receiver and spoke.
Unable to wait, Park Tae-hong stubbed out the cigarette between his fingers in the crystal ashtray and asked urgently.

“Is it President Min?”

Park Jin-hyung, who was with him, swallowed hard and watched Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho as he took the call.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho held the receiver out respectfully with both hands and spoke.
Park Tae-hong immediately took the receiver and asked loudly without preamble.

“What are the results?”
[We’ve successfully won the final bid for the Sampoong Department Store Site at 250 billion!]

Upon hearing the answer, Park Tae-hong gripped the receiver tightly in his hand, his face breaking into an expression of pure elation.

“We won the bid! Is that really true?”
[Yes. Lotte came in at 245 billion won—5 billion less than us—so we nearly lost the site by the narrowest of margins.]

Park Jin-hyung and Gil Seong-ho, who had been listening intently from the side, burst into cheers at the news of winning the bid.

“Excellent news!”
“Congratulations, Chairman.”

Meanwhile, Chairman Park Tae-hong felt his chest lighten with relief.
I had steeled myself to spend a hundred billion won more than the minimum bid, yet we’d only beaten second place by 5 billion won.

“I thought 250 billion would be enough. We nearly dodged a bullet—I would have regretted this for years.”
[Exactly. I was shocked when I confirmed the bids that Lotte and Utopia submitted.]
“It seems they both viewed this auction as the decisive battle for controlling the competition.”
[That’s correct.]

Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned back in his chair with a noticeably more relaxed demeanor.

“You and the acquisition team have worked remarkably hard. Make sure to handle the final details well and return.”
[I will, Chairman.]

As Chairman Park Tae-hong removed the receiver from his ear, Gil Seong-ho took it and placed it back in its cradle.

“We’ve finally surpassed Lotte and Utopia.”
“It’s all thanks to the Chairman’s decisive leadership.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong accepted their congratulations with a pleased smile.

“We won this time, fortunately, but Lotte and Utopia won’t simply accept defeat. They’ll surely purchase land elsewhere to compensate for losing the Sampoong Department Store Site, so we need to solidify our dominance in Gangnam before that happens.”

Both men were already aware that Lotte, a major distribution conglomerate, and Utopia, backed by the Saseong Group, would launch a counterattack.
Chairman Park Tae-hong observed the two nodding gravely, then spoke to Gil Seong-ho.

“President Min will likely handle things well on his own, but just to be safe, arrange a dinner meeting with Jo Bank President.”
“Understood.”

Having cleared the biggest hurdle, Chairman Park Tae-hong’s expression grew noticeably more relaxed.
And whenever his mood improved, his wallet naturally opened wide.

“We can’t let such a joyous day pass without celebration. Everyone’s been so busy waiting for the bidding results that they probably haven’t even had a proper lunch. Let’s reserve a nice restaurant to acknowledge their hard work during this time. And prepare generous bonuses for them.”
“I’ll make a reservation at Taewon Restaurant.”
“That place is quiet and comfortable for a group to enjoy food and drinks. Do that.”

Park Tae-hong spoke while looking at his eldest son, Park Jin-hyung.

“Once you take over the group, these employees will all be your responsibility, so you should come along as well.”
“Yes, sir.”

Leaning back into the plush sofa, Park Tae-hong burst into hearty laughter.

“Today is such a joyous day that I’ll have to drink some alcohol, even if my wife nags me about it.”

* * *

The White House West Wing in the United States.
Three men sat on the sofa in the Oval Office, the president’s office, with a view of the Rose Garden, the western garden of the White House, visible through the large windows.
President Philip Davidson, sitting in the center with one leg crossed, set down his gold-rimmed teacup and spoke.

“So you’re saying we should help the Japanese Government’s request to weaken the yen at this G7 Finance Ministers’ meeting in order to prevent the sharp slowdown in exports caused by domestic economic stagnation and super-strong yen?”

Professor Frank, who had recently been appointed as the new Finance Minister, answered calmly under President Davidson’s gaze.

“That is correct.”

Then Huxley, the Chief Secretary sitting across from him, showed a dismissive attitude.

“Japan’s situation is certainly difficult with the great earthquake combined with the strong yen, but I question whether we need to step in and help them.”
“I share that sentiment. We’ve been in continuous negotiations with Japan over automobile exports because our trade deficit with them has been severe. If the yen continues to strengthen, import prices will only become more expensive. Isn’t that actually beneficial for us?”

Chief Secretary Huxley nodded, agreeing with the sentiment.
In response to the skeptical reaction, Minister Frank leaned forward and spoke.

“It may seem that way at first glance, but looking deeper, a strong yen is not actually beneficial for us either.”
“Why is that?”
“As I mentioned before, we need a strong dollar to control the inflation that has become a problem.”

President Davidson, with his arms crossed, looked at Minister Frank as if inviting him to continue.

“Since last year, the Federal Reserve has been rapidly raising its benchmark rate to 6%, successfully controlling inflation, but the side effects have been quite severe.”
“You mean economic growth is slowing?”
“Exactly. Setting aside the Mexico crisis we patched up with emergency bailouts, the high interest rates are cooling domestic economic activity in the United States.”

Watching President Davidson’s expression stiffen slightly, Professor Frank continued.

“You can see just how bad the economy has become by looking at the recent unemployment figures. If this continues, we may have to worry about stagflation on top of inflation.”
“Hmm.”

As President Davidson exhaled a low murmur and his expression grew grave, Chief Secretary Huxley countered.

“Isn’t the Federal Reserve already lowering its benchmark rate again to prevent that?”
“Rate cuts might prevent economic recession, but they can only worsen inflation.”

Chief Secretary Huxley possessed enough economic knowledge to understand this, so he couldn’t immediately respond.

“Is a strong dollar the solution to inflation?”

At President Davidson’s question, Professor Frank nodded with confident conviction.

“Precisely. A strong dollar will lower import prices, naturally reducing prices and suppressing inflation.”
“….”
“Furthermore, when the dollar strengthens, global liquidity will flow into the United States. When that money pours into the stock market, stock prices will rise, fattening the wallets of citizens invested in equities while improving corporate finances, reigniting the cooling economy.”

Glancing subtly at President Davidson, Professor Frank added his final, irrefutable point.

“If the economy improves and the Dow and NASDAQ rise, it will have a positive impact on your reelection next year.”

As expected, the moment Professor Frank mentioned it would be a plus factor for reelection, President Davidson’s eyes lit up.

“That’s not a bad idea.”

President Davidson showed a positive response, stroking his chin with one hand.
Chief Secretary Huxley also knew the political maxim that good economics and stock markets in an election year lead to victory at the ballot box, so he didn’t oppose pursuing a strong dollar.
Yet sensing there was still something that didn’t sit right with him, Chief Secretary Huxley looked at Professor Frank and spoke.

“I understand we need a strong dollar to control inflation, but do we really need to artificially weaken the yen?”

As if anticipating such a question, Professor Frank’s lips curved into a meaningful smile.

“To stimulate the economy, we have no choice but to employ expansionary fiscal policy. To do that, we must issue government bonds in massive quantities to secure the necessary funds.”

As a chronically deficit-ridden nation, the United States issued enormous quantities of bonds each year to cover its budgetary shortfalls.
Despite running chronic twin deficits in both trade and finance, the nation avoided default and remained solvent precisely because it was the hegemonic power that issued the world’s reserve currency.

“However, if we print bonds in massive quantities, we cannot create a strong dollar.”

An increase in government bond issuance meant that much more currency flooded the market, so a decline in the dollar’s value was inevitable.

“But what if a particular nation were to purchase bonds issued by us in large quantities and consistently?”

President Davidson’s eyes gleamed as he posed the question.

“Are you saying Japan would play that role?”
“Precisely.”

Professor Frank gave a small nod.

“When Japan purchases large quantities of American government bonds, they’re essentially releasing yen to buy dollars, which allows the Japanese Government to weaken the yen as much as they wish. Meanwhile, we secure the capital necessary for economic stimulus while simultaneously absorbing the liquidity to maintain dollar strength. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement for both nations, wouldn’t you say?”
“Indeed. Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case.”

After hearing the explanation, President Davidson’s face broke into a smile.

“I must say, it seems like a favorable deal.”

Huxley, who had shown reluctance from the start, pondered the matter carefully before subtly shifting his stance.

“We’ve been struggling with the debt problem anyway, so this would resolve it quite simply.”
“In exchange, since Japan is making significant concessions, there must be reciprocal give-and-take. We’ll likely need to make some concessions in the automobile negotiations.”

Under ordinary circumstances, the President—mindful of votes from the Rust Belt region where automobile manufacturers clustered—would have flatly refused. But having secured something far greater, he readily accepted.

“A major buyer filling the Treasury’s coffers with government bonds deserves at least that much consideration.”

Delighted with the solution Professor Frank had presented, President Davidson burst into hearty laughter.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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