Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 350

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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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350. He says he has no intention of investing since it’s as good as throwing money away.

Westchester County, New York, USA.
George Hamilton, seated at the dining table with a simple breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns, furrowed his brow upon reading an interview article with Syed Malaysian Prime Minister published in the Wall Street Journal.

[… To counter the predatory actions of the villainous George Hamilton and Jewish hedge funds, we may restrict all foreign exchange transactions within Malaysia except for trade settlements.]

“Tsk.”

George Hamilton, his appetite spoiled by yet another public attack from Syed Malaysian Prime Minister, set down his fork and wiped around his mouth with a napkin.

“You’ve finished already?”
“I’ve lost my appetite.”

George Hamilton rose from his seat and headed straight to the study room.
Ayla, watching her husband’s retreating figure with concern as he left the kitchen before she could stop him, picked up the newspaper he had left behind.

“Ah….”

Upon reading the article mentioning her husband’s name, Ayla shook her head with a bitter expression.
Seated at a spacious mahogany desk in the study room, George Hamilton spoke with an irritated tone.

“This should be enough already, yet he keeps clinging to me like a leech. Truly vexing.”

George Hamilton clicked his tongue and moved the computer mouse to check the Malaysian ringgit exchange rate.

[MYR : 5.59 (▼0.37)]

Since Syed Prime Minister advocated for strict regulations or a complete ban on foreign exchange transactions, the Malaysian ringgit had plummeted dramatically and remained mired at the bottom.
While Syed Prime Minister’s actions that kept needling him were irritating, what frustrated him even more was that the Quantum Fund had realized its profits, and just days later, the ringgit crashed again significantly.

“No doubt everyone is gleefully tearing into me, saying my instincts have dulled.”

George Hamilton muttered with a disgruntled expression.
Unlike himself, who had liquidated his position too early and missed the opportunity to increase profits further, the Eldorado Fund had continued to hold its position and struck it rich, leaving him behind once again.
George Hamilton’s pride was deeply wounded, and he clenched his lower lip tightly.

“If things go this way, I’ll thoroughly destroy Hong Kong and show that I’m still in the game.”

George Hamilton had no intention of being overtaken by anyone just yet.

“Before that, I need to shut up Syed’s mouth—he keeps spouting nonsense.”

George Hamilton reached out and picked up the receiver.
After the dial tone sounded and his personal secretary Janet answered, George Hamilton spoke in a slightly subdued voice.

“Janet. You mentioned a few days ago that the New York Times requested an interview, didn’t you?”
[Yes. I declined because you said you weren’t interested.]
“Call them back and tell them I’ll do it.”
[Pardon?]

Since George Hamilton didn’t particularly enjoy media exposure, Janet showed a slightly surprised reaction.

“You don’t have any other schedules tomorrow afternoon, do you?”
[No, sir.]
“Then arrange a suitable time and set up the interview.”
[Understood.]

After ending the call, George Hamilton leaned his arms on the desk and muttered softly.

“Let’s see how you like a taste of your own medicine.”

* * *

Seok-won, dressed in a pale sky-blue silk dress shirt and a Gucci tie, sat at his desk in the President’s Office, closely monitoring the exchange rates and stock market conditions of Southeast Asian countries—Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and others—which changed by the second.
Then, suddenly rolling up his sleeve to check his watch, he murmured to himself.

“The service was supposed to launch at 1 PM today, wasn’t it?”

Seok-won moved his mouse and opened an internet browser.
He typed the address into the address bar and pressed Enter, and the homepage of Hanmail.net, the nation’s first web mail service, loaded.
Rather than a homepage with the familiar four harmonious colors, it had a somewhat plain text-based appearance, but that was natural for an early version.

“It’s unfortunate that one of the founders, who passed away early, was apparently a promising photographer. Compared to American websites, their homepage is certainly user-friendly and cleanly designed.”

I was delighted that people in the Domestic Market could now use email conveniently, so I immediately signed up and browsed around the homepage.
While there were certainly areas that needed improvement, knowing what the advanced future version would look like, these rough edges actually seemed more welcoming and refreshing to my eyes.
Just then, my secretary Na Seong-mi knocked and entered, speaking.

“Yun Ki-hun is here.”

I immediately released my hand from the mouse and straightened my posture.

“Have him come in.”

As Na Seong-mi stepped aside, Executive Director Yun Ki-hun entered with Department Head Yu Hyun-seok.
Rising from my seat, I gestured toward the sofa.

“Please, sit.”
“Thank you.”

Executive Director Yun Ki-hun bowed respectfully and sat on the right sofa beside Department Head Yu Hyun-seok.
As I came around the desk and took the center seat, Na Seong-mi asked.

“What would you like to drink?”
“Coffee for me.”
“We’ll have the same, thank you.”

Na Seong-mi nodded and left. I leaned back against the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and asked.

“Did the contract go through smoothly?”
“Yes.”

As he answered, Executive Director Yun Ki-hun gestured to Department Head Yu Hyun-seok beside him.
Department Head Yu Hyun-seok then respectfully presented the folder with both hands.

“As discussed, we invested 3 billion won and acquired a 20% stake in Daum Communications.”

Daum Communications would become the top portal service in the Domestic Market after the IMF crisis and ride the dot-com bubble wave to become a KOSDAQ blue-chip stock, so I had specifically instructed the investment, just as I had with Digital Wave, which manufactured MP3 players.
After reviewing the contract, I set down the folder with a satisfied expression.

“You mentioned they would use all the investment funds for server expansion and operational costs.”

Yun Ki-hun, who had been addressed, answered immediately.

“That’s what I’ve heard. As you know, they’re planning to double the existing server capacity in preparation for the surge in email service users starting today.”
“To capture the market, we need to secure as many users as possible before competitors emerge. If server capacity can’t keep up and causes traffic issues that inconvenience users, that would be problematic.”
“From what I understand, they’ve secured quite a bit of server capacity and can handle over 200,000 users without issue. But doubling the capacity expansion without even testing the market response yet seems rather hasty, don’t you think?”

Yun Ki-hun and the other executives had opposed the Daum Communications investment, so they still harbored skepticism.
However, I knew all too well how massive a success Hanmail would become, and I spoke with a smile playing at my lips.

“The potential of email services as an internet platform has already been proven in the United States, so there’s no need to elaborate further.”
“….”
“If you consider Hotmail’s success, the servers we have now won’t last even a few months, let alone half a year. Just wait and see.”

Though still skeptical about whether it would truly unfold that way, Yun Ki-hun had already invested a considerable sum, so Daum Communications’ success was crucial for the Park Group’s returns as well. He chose not to argue further and let the matter drop.
Just then, Na Seong-mi entered and placed a cup of coffee with a rich aroma of roasted beans before each of us, then left.

“While we’re on the subject, have all the employees sign up for Hanmail and use it actively in their work.”
“I’ll see to it.”

I picked up my teacup and took a sip of coffee before setting it down, and Yun Ki-hun naturally shifted the conversation.

“We’ve received an investment proposal from Millennium Group.”

Upon hearing this, I furrowed my brow and looked up.

“Millennium Group? Is this related to the City Phone business?”
“Yes. They received the City Phone business rights last year and are preparing for official service launch this year. They’re asking if we’d be interested in participating in a 160 billion won capital increase.”

City Phone referred to outgoing-only mobile phones that could make calls but not receive them.
Calls were only possible near public phone booths where relay stations were installed.
Despite these inherent limitations, it had been enjoying explosive popularity since commercial service began in the Seoul Metropolitan Area a few months ago, thanks to its lower price and call rates compared to regular mobile phones.

‘But it’s merely a fleeting glory that won’t last long.’

Once you stepped beyond a 100-meter radius of the public phone booth with the relay station, the call would drop, and unlike regular mobile phones, it wouldn’t connect to nearby City Phone relay stations when out of range.

‘To maintain an uninterrupted call, you’d have to stand right next to the public phone booth. It’s nothing but a mobile phone in name only.’

By the latter half of this year, when PCS phones with cheaper rates and two-way transmission capabilities began appearing, it would immediately lose its competitiveness and fade into history.

“It seems they’re planning a paid-in capital increase to secure funding for installing relay stations for nationwide service.”
“That’s correct.”

Executive Director Yun Ki-hun, who answered, leaned forward in his seat.

“Since telecommunications is a sector with growth prospects as bright as the internet, I believe it represents a quite attractive investment opportunity.”

Department Head Yu Hyun-seok, seated beside him, nodded in agreement as well.
However, Seok-won displayed an indifferent attitude without even inquiring about the specific investment terms or amounts.

“City Phone can never succeed as a business.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you mean by that?”

The two men couldn’t hide their bewilderment at the blunt response and pressed for clarification.

“Everyone is under a misconception. City Phone, which can only make calls but not receive them, was originally designed as a device to complement pagers, which could only receive signals.”
“….”
“Yet everyone is mistakenly treating City Phone as if it were an expensive mobile phone substitute.”

This situation arose largely because City Phone operators packaged and exaggerated their advertising, making people believe it was an inexpensive mobile phone.

“Its only advantage is the low price and affordable rates, allowing you to make calls outside like a mobile phone. But once PCS service launches in the second half of the year—a service so affordable it’s barely an exaggeration to call it a true budget mobile phone—City Phone will be immediately eliminated from the market.”
“B-but even if PCS comes out, couldn’t City Phone survive by maintaining its own separate consumer base, like pagers have?”
“With PCS available at similar prices, capable of both sending and receiving, and even allowing text messages. Do you really think City Phone could survive?”

Department Head Yu Hyun-seok hesitated and couldn’t respond immediately.

“Mark my words—within a few years, both City Phone and pagers will disappear from the market entirely and become difficult to find.”

Executive Director Yun Ki-hun and Department Head Yu Hyun-seok thought it unlikely to reach such an extreme, considering that most of the public was using pagers. However, they couldn’t refute the fact that, as Seok-won pointed out, City Phone’s business viability would decline once PCS arrived.
So they offered no counterargument.

“Investing in City Phone is the same as throwing money away. Make it clear that I have no intention of participating in the paid-in capital increase.”

Despite Seok-won’s firm stance leaving him with some lingering regret, Executive Director Yun Ki-hun couldn’t bring himself to say anything more and bowed his head.

“…Yes. I understand.”

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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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