Chapter 545: Towards the South
Affected by the impact of the bubble, Japan's physical industry has gradually begun to show signs of fatigue.
As those small and medium-sized enterprises laid off employees, many large companies were slowly entering this situation.
For example, the electronics, semiconductor and even automobile industries have entered a period of depression.
Nissan, which once occupied the second largest market share in Japan's automobiles, has not had a good time recently.
The 901 campaign launched a few years ago ultimately came to nothing due to funding constraints.
Nissan is even preparing to lay off the entire 901 Sports Research Laboratory because it cannot afford to support so many researchers.
Upon learning the news, Subaru bought Nissan's research team without blinking an eye.
Because Nissan previously held shares in Subaru, the two companies have cooperated very early on.
Nissan's technical team came to Subaru and was able to quickly adapt to the latter's development pace.
Subaru, which mainly sells mid-to-high-end cars, has seen a decline in its domestic business due to the bubble.
But it turns out that the rich have a strong desire to consume in any era, even the so-called Great Depression.
Moreover, Subaru's business in overseas markets is also growing year by year.
So all in all, the bubble not only did not affect Subaru's development, but even made it stronger.
Subaru was closed down as early as the year before last, leaving Fuji Heavy Industries with a loss of nearly 100 billion.
Last year, the company made a profit of over 70 billion yen, and this year it is expected to reach the 100 billion mark.
Baichuan Holdings' previous investment in it is now slowly recovered, and it is expected that all the original investment will be fully recovered in another five years.
After more than three years of operations and absorption, Shirakawa Holdings has completed its absolute control over Subaru.
After all investments are recovered, Subaru will now be making a net profit.
Of course, in order to complete its controlling stake in Subaru, Shirakawa Holdings later invested more than 200 billion yen.
Isn’t it incredible to think about it? In order to acquire 30% of Subaru’s shares, Shirakawa Kaede paid more than 900 billion yen.
But now, the shares are still equal to the original ones, but the price is less than one-third of the first time.
In fact, there is nothing strange about it. The first time was at the peak of the bubble, and the market value of all Japanese companies generally expanded greatly.
Take NTT for example. At its peak, its market value was 25 trillion yen, making it the number one company in Japan.
What does 25 trillion mean?
Around the same time in North America, the total market value of AT&T, IBM, Exxon, General Electric, and General Motors was greater than the combined market value of these companies.
This was the stock market during the neon bubble period, which is simply unimaginable to later generations.
So spending more than $9 billion to buy one-third of Subaru's shares was not an outrageous thing at that time.
Although Subaru's current market value is only more than 2 trillion yen, Shirakawa Kaede does not feel that he has lost money.
Investment is about returns and future prospects.
Judging from Subaru's current situation, it is only a matter of time before the investment is recovered, and it will continue to create wealth in the future.
At the same time, it also makes the asset distribution of Shirakawa Holdings more reasonable and has an invisible bonus in political influence.
Besides, once the bubble subsides, Subaru's market value will return to normal levels.
Now, affected by the Great Depression, its market value has been greatly underestimated.
Shirakawa Electric suffered the same fate. At its peak, its market value once exceeded 10 trillion yuan.
Now, only less than 60% are left.
This is the case with Sony, Panasonic, etc. No one in this situation can remain immune.
Haven’t you noticed that even Nissan has started laying off employees and is preparing to launch targeted financing?
Looking at the fat piece of meat of Nissan, Shirakawa Holdings is eager to make a move.
However, due to legal constraints, Shirakawa Holdings can no longer hold a controlling stake in Nissan after acquiring Subaru.
But getting a few percent of the shares is not bad as an investment.
But that's all in the future. Japan's economic turmoil and industrial consolidation will continue at least until around the millennium.
During this long period of time, Baichuan Holdings has plenty of time to make plans.
For now, we just need to take advantage of the ready-made meat and recruit professional talents from major companies.
Tsk, while other companies were laying off employees, Shirakawa Holdings was hiring. This was one of the great wonders of the Great Depression.
…
"Dosan, don't you want me anymore?"
"How could that be? Dad just hopes that you can find your own way in the future."
Shirakawa Feng pulled Yokohisa in front of him and carefully wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"You have the blood of the Shirakawa family in your veins, and that will never change."
"But why do you want me to change my last name to Tozawa? My name is Shirakawa Yokohisa, not Tozawa Yokohisa."
At a young age, Yokojiu didn't understand why his father wanted him to change his surname.
Without the Shirakawa surname, will his father still love him, and will his mother still want him?
Confused and frightened, Hengjiu's tears streamed down his face.
Seeing Yokohisa's tearful face, Baichuan Feng comforted him in a gentle voice.
"My dear, mom and dad have always loved you and hope that you can become a man of integrity.
Do you remember what you once said you admired most about your father?
"To become a great man like Dad, to make everyone know his name."
Although Hengjiu looked aggrieved and his eyes were blurred with tears, he did not forget his biggest "dream".
"Okay, I'll remember your words." Baichuan Feng patted the little guy's shoulder with satisfaction.
"But changing your last name is only the first step. You still have to take the entrance exam to the University of Tokyo, and you have to be someone that everyone knows your name."
"But... wuwuwu~" Yokohuseum still didn't understand what the connection was.
He was so sad that he threw himself into Keiko Matsusaka's arms and cried.
That pitiful look made Keiko Matsusaka's eyes wet.
Seeing the sad look on the mother and son's faces, Baichuan Feng couldn't help but sigh.
But considering the future of the family, perhaps this is the best arrangement.
With so many children, it is absolutely impossible to divide the family.
But for them, Baichuan Feng didn't want to confine everyone within Baichuan Holdings.
The closed environment will turn them into greenhouse flowers, and after a few generations, Baichuan Holdings will also decay.
Therefore, try to send your capable and talented children out and provide them with necessary support. Perhaps they will shine differently.
Hengjiu's personality has been much more stable than Qingkong's since he was a child. Business may not be suitable for him, but other aspects may not be the case.
The Todai Chimen clan is the place of development chosen by Baichuan Feng for him. Now with the additional layer of the Chinese clan's cloak, many things will be much easier.
He also didn't want his child to change his surname, but who can blame Japan for being so particular about this?
The more closed the upper class is, the more traditional it is and the more difficult it is to intervene, so he also needs to abide by the necessary rules.
After comforting him for a while, Heng Jiu finally went back to his room to rest.
Watching the small figure walking away, Keiko Matsusaka wanted to wipe away her tears again.
"Okay, it's just a change of last name, not leaving him."
It would have been better if Shirakawa Kaede didn't say anything. As soon as he opened his mouth, Matsusaka Keiko couldn't hold back her tears.
"Eh?" Baichuan Feng was puzzled and could only hug her in his arms.
"Even though Yokohisa is still with us, I just feel sad~"
Baichuan Feng patted her on the back. He knew that she felt a little aggrieved.
"Well, there are other ways."
"Hey." Keiko Matsusaka raised her head and looked at him with tearful eyes.
"How about having another child?" Bai Chuanfeng asked tentatively.
" Pa" Keiko Matsusaka slapped him on the arm, "You are really too much~"
"Hai~ Hai~" Shirakawa Feng turned off the lights and started working.
…
For the sake of his offspring, Baichuan Feng also took great pains.
The descendants of Tanaka Yuko will probably focus on Yingqing, while the children of Matsusaka Keiko will go to the University of Tokyo, and the children of Xiaohuya will go to Meiji.
Look, the rain and dew are evenly distributed, and Baichuan Feng holds the bowl steadily.
In the future, when they grow up, these will all be their connections.
By then, if they have any ideas and Baichuan Feng gives them some help, the Baichuan family will become more prosperous.
In this way, in a few decades, we will be able to deeply cultivate Japan and play our role in all walks of life.
By then, the Shirakawa family will probably be able to achieve a deep bond with Japan, and it may not be impossible to say that they will grow old together with the country.
However, when talking about his own children, Baichuan Feng's thoughts unconsciously drifted further south.
…
In September 1994, Shirakawa Kaede flew to Kyushu on a private plane.
Accompanying him was Michiyoshi Mazuka of Fujitsu. Their trip was for business, and of course, there might have been some personal matters as well.
With the arrival of the Great Depression, there was also the United States' continued semiconductor sanctions against Japan.
This semiconductor battle that lasted nearly eight years has slowly come to an end.
The result is naturally self-evident. Just look at the sad look on the face of Jianzhong Daoyi beside him and you will know that Neon has been defeated miserably.
Of course, the United States has not necessarily won, as Japanese companies' share of the semiconductor market has dropped significantly.
These spitted-out markets did not return to their arms as the American capitalists had expected.
Cheaper stick products have emerged.
Although their products are not as reliable as those of Japan, they are cheaper.
To be honest, in Baichuan Feng's opinion, it is completely unnecessary to use a chip for twenty or thirty years.
Electronic products are updated so quickly that I don’t know how many generations have gone through in this time.
In pursuit of reliability and quality, excessive manufacturing costs are invested, which is obviously not suitable for the semiconductor industry.
The Koreans are very smart. If they don’t have the technical capabilities, they will produce chips with a lifespan of 5 to 10 years.
I know this myself, but my price is only one-third of yours. What can you use to compete with me?
Capital is profit-seeking, and faced with cheaper Korean chips, everyone has no hesitation in abandoning the more reliable and more expensive neon chips.
The design life of their products is less than 30 years, so buying chips from Neon is a sheer waste.
This has led to the current situation, where Japan's semiconductor companies are losing ground.
Now Fujitsu has to close down its own wafer factory in Kyushu.
The economy was already in recession, and we had lost more than half of our overseas markets.
Japan's semiconductor manufacturers are now drastically cutting their R&D investment in semiconductor technology.
The scene that Shirakawa Kaede had discussed with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry about the decline in industry investment enthusiasm has finally happened in Neon.
He knew that the only thing that awaited Japanese semiconductor manufacturers in the future was failure, and even now they were actually at the end of their rope.
As Japan's main semiconductor production base, Kyushu accounts for 40% of Japan's wafer processing plants.
This time, Fujitsu approached Shirakawa Kaede because it wanted to sell a wafer factory in Kyushu to SIC.
They are no longer able to support the huge expenditure on equipment. After all, each new generation of process requires an investment of nearly US$1 billion, which is too expensive.
Looking at the land beneath his feet where the sea and the mountains complement each other, Baichuan Feng also sighed with inexplicable emotion.
Jiuzhou, we finally meet.
