Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 422

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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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422. This is completely beyond my expectations.

Bright sunlight streamed through the expansive floor-to-ceiling window on one side, flooding the spacious President’s Office with luminous warmth.
Seated at the L-shaped desk, Seok-won gazed intently at multiple monitors displaying various charts, observing the movements of global financial markets with penetrating focus.
Then, accompanied by a knock, his secretary Na Seong-mi entered the room.

“President. I’ve brought the faxes that arrived from Japan, organized and ready.”

Seeing the rather thick stack of documents in Na Seong-mi’s arms, Seok-won spoke.

“Please set them here.”
“Yes, sir.”

After placing the documents on one side of the desk, Na Seong-mi tilted her head slightly and asked.

“Would you like me to bring you some tea?”
“Coffee would be perfect, thank you.”
“Understood.”

As Na Seong-mi left, Seok-won straightened in his chair and reached for the documents.
The papers were neatly organized with company names and figures—precisely the list of bonds held by the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, which had ultimately gone bankrupt exactly as Landon Shore had informed me.
Being one of Japan’s largest banks, the volume of bonds it held was vast.
Even though the Eldorado Fund’s Japan branch had sent only the first batch of screened selections, the quantity was substantial.

“Let’s see just how much treasure is hidden in here.”

With anticipation gleaming in my eyes, I began meticulously examining each company listed in the portfolio.
Since the bank had been established to provide long-term credit to Japanese enterprises, the variety of companies holding bonds was remarkably diverse.
However, as expected, the bonds offered in bulk sales—where multiple non-performing assets were bundled together and dumped at fire-sale prices—conspicuously lacked any of the well-known companies with solid fundamentals.

“Even in chaos, Japanese banks aren’t foolish enough to sell premium bonds at bargain prices.”

However, with time running short to accurately classify the numerous bonds, mistakes were inevitable.
Beyond that, there were cases where bonds destined to become golden treasures were unknowingly discarded into the trash heap.
My task was to sift through that garbage and extract the hidden gold that would generate substantial wealth.
I focused intently on the list, my eyes gleaming with purpose.
In the meantime, Na Seong-mi, who had brought coffee, quietly set the cup on my desk and left upon seeing my concentration.

“Huh?”

As I turned the page, I discovered an unexpected name on the list and furrowed my brow in confusion.

“Rockefeller Center? Why is this here?”

Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller purchased 22 acres of land between 48th and 51st Streets in the heart of Manhattan, New York in 1939.
The 19 buildings he constructed on this site were collectively known as Rockefeller Center.
By 1987, it was registered as a historic landmark of the United States and stood as one of the most iconic symbols of New York.
Later, during the bubble economy era, it was sold to a Japanese corporation, becoming a prime example of Japanese capital’s invasion of America.

“The company that purchased Rockefeller Center back then was probably Mitsubishi.”

However, with the bubble’s collapse and the subsequent real estate downturn in America, the acquisition of Rockefeller Center resulted in massive losses.

“Normally, the operating company should have gone bankrupt from the losses and been sold to another real estate developer. But seeing that collateral bonds still remain means the sale never went through.”

It seemed the effects of my actions since returning were manifesting in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

“Wait. This is an opportunity.”

My eyes sparkled with excitement.
Though it remained a troublesome burden in the current economic downturn, once the dot-com bubble arrived and real estate prices skyrocketed, the situation would transform completely.

“Moreover, a landmark with such symbolic significance as Rockefeller Center is an extremely rare property that cannot be purchased anywhere, no matter how much money one has.”

The valuation showed only 800 million dollars, yet Mitsubishi had purchased it for 1.5 billion—meaning the price had been cut in half.
Like discovering a rare item in a treasure chest while playing a game, I felt my mood brighten instinctively.
I immediately marked it with my Montblanc fountain pen and murmured with a slight smile.

“This feels promising from the start.”

As I continued turning pages and reviewing the list, I spotted another familiar company name and narrowed my eyes.

“Speed Retailing… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.”

Seok-won tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, searching his memory, before his eyes widened and he spoke.

“That’s right! It’s Uniqlo’s parent company.”

Uniqlo was a Japanese SPA (fast fashion) brand so renowned it hardly needed explanation.

“Come to think of it, Uniqlo hadn’t become famous as a global clothing brand yet.”

If my memory served correctly, it was still a small to mid-sized apparel company in the Kansai region, and would only launch fleece next year, achieve massive success, and establish itself as a nationwide enterprise.
Unlike the Rockefeller Center loan I’d found earlier, Speed Retailing was still modest in scale but was a solid company steadily continuing its growth trajectory.

“But no one could have dreamed that a small regional clothing company would explosively grow into a global fashion brand worth over 10 trillion yen in less than a decade.”

That’s why they must have thoughtlessly tossed the debt they’d lent to Speed Retailing into the bulk sale basket.
Seok-won’s mind raced quickly, and soon one corner of his mouth curled upward.

“If things go well, I could practically get Uniqlo shares for free.”

Seok-won made a check mark next to Speed Retailing with his fountain pen.
Then he turned the page, examining the list even more meticulously, one item at a time.
After considerable time had passed reviewing the entire bulk sale list, Seok-won couldn’t hide the astonishment written across his face.

“This is practically a treasure trove.”

Among over fifty loan debts, I’d thought finding just four or five worth money would be a jackpot.
But more than half were loans where principal recovery was at least somewhat possible even if it took time, and above all, I’d discovered multiple jackpots like Rockefeller Center and Speed Retailing, so calling it a treasure trove was well-deserved.
No matter how unprecedented this bulk sale was for Japanese financial institutions, there were suspiciously many premium-quality debts included.

“Some debts look completely unrecoverable, but even accounting for those, this is so good it’s almost suspicious.”

Seok-won crossed his arms and pondered briefly before picking up his mobile phone from the desk and calling John Porter, the Japan branch manager.

Hello?
“It’s me.”
Oh. Is that you, boss?

Porter, the branch manager who answered in fluent Japanese, immediately switched to English and expressed his pleasure.

“Did you see the bulk sale list I sent you?”
“That’s actually why I called.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Not exactly a problem, but there’s something that doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Hmm? Please tell me what it is.”

Seok-won held the phone to his ear, studying the bulk sale list spread before him as he spoke.

“There are quite a few loans mixed in where the principal could be recovered sufficiently to call them non-performing. I wondered if there might be some kind of error.”
“Ah, I actually thought the same thing when I reviewed the loan details.”

Hearing Porter’s amused response, he felt reassured.

“From your reaction, it doesn’t seem like there’s a trap hidden here.”
“It’s not a trap, but there is a hidden intention.”

Seok-won’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“What is it?”
“It seems the bank wants to use this bulk sale to dispose of non-performing loans that would be problematic if exposed from the bank’s perspective.”

A thought flashed through his mind, and Seok-won gripped the phone tighter as he spoke.

“Are you talking about illegal loans connected to politicians or the yakuza?”
“You catch on quickly, as expected.”

Porter lowered his voice slightly and continued with a serious tone.

“Non-performing loans themselves are loans the bank wouldn’t want exposed to the world. Especially during the bubble period, when loans were handed out indiscriminately, there were plenty of shady dealings involving politicians and yakuza. That much is certain.”
“So they’re planning to throw all those stinking deals into the garbage and get rid of them in one go.”
“Exactly right. To receive government bailout funds, they must undergo due diligence. In that process, all their dirty laundry would inevitably be exposed, so they’re trying to clean it up beforehand.”
“Since both parties typically sign confidentiality agreements during a bulk sale, they can bury the non-performing loans cleanly without any complications.”

The suspicious pieces finally fell into place.

“If they handle it that way, they can undergo due diligence without anything to be criticized for. Plus, they can even appeal that they worked hard to normalize the bank by quickly disposing of non-performing loans. From the bank’s perspective, there’s nothing better than this.”
“That’s true.”
“But if they only threw in suspicious, unprofitable non-performing loans, no one would touch them. That’s why they mixed in loans where the principal could be sufficiently recovered.”

With his doubts completely resolved, Seok-won wore a bitter smile.

“Since there are awkward things hidden away, they’ve stuffed in a ton of profitable bonds to make sure the buyer won’t raise any issues later. It’s hush money, essentially.”
[Exactly.]

Porter continued speaking.

[It’s something the Japanese people would be furious about if they knew, but since we’re doing a bulk sale anyway, we’ll just negotiate the purchase price down. It’s an unexpected windfall for us.]
“It’s certainly a good opportunity, but the real question is whether we can actually acquire these non-performing loans through the bulk sale.”
[I don’t think that will be a concern.]
“Why is that?”
[Since it’s the first bulk sale, hardly anyone else seems interested. It looks like we’ll essentially have a sole bid.]
“Interesting. Is that so?”

That was music to my ears.

[Since these loans were executed when the bubble was inflated, they’ve judged there’s almost nothing to recover even if they buy them, so they’re not interested at all. Honestly, if it weren’t for the boss, we wouldn’t have touched this either.]
“It’s fortunate there’s no competition.”

Seok-won chuckled.

[But once word gets out that there are real gems in here, competition will intensify next time.]
“That’s probably inevitable. Let’s sweep up as many bonds as we can before that happens.”
[Understood.]
“And in this bid, let’s drive the price down as much as possible. Since they’ve hidden those foul-smelling loans inside, they’ll want to process it quickly without reopening the bidding, even with a low offer.”
[Ha ha ha. I’ll do exactly as you say.]

Porter responded with confidence, as if to say he had it handled.

“Oh, and there were bonds related to Rockefeller Center in New York. After we acquire those bonds, let’s negotiate with Mitsubishi to have us take over the buildings entirely.”
[Understood.]

After giving a few more instructions and ending the call, Seok-won leaned back in his chair and broke into a wide smile, his expression one of complete satisfaction.

“This is turning out far better than I expected.”

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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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