In the afternoon, he played ball with several chaebol bosses, and in the evening, there was a reception for hundreds of people.
Leading figures in South Korea's political, media, entertainment, technology and other fields were carefully selected, and a number of chaebol bosses also attended again. However, among the more than 600 guests, in addition to the chaebol bosses who have pledged their services, what Simon cares about most are the pawns that have continued to fall in various political and business circles in South Korea over the past year or two.
Cui Yanxu, Zheng Shoudong, Zong Zhenghao, Zheng Xiangyuan, Guan Siyuan, Quan Zhengting, Shin Zailun, Lin Kuixian and so on.
These talents are the foundation for Simon to control all aspects of South Korea's politics and economy, because the foundation of the Westeros system in South Korea is not absolutely stable. In order to avoid potential targeting of these people after being marked, we do not plan to meet them one by one this time. They just got together and deliberately made the scene bigger to cover up.
In fact, there is no need to talk too much.
Simon has set the general direction. As long as the chess pieces perform their duties, South Korea's political and economic lifeline will not escape the control of the Westeros system. Therefore, such a grand drinking party, with beatings, rewards, comforts, etc., is more about Simon showing his potential control over the country.
When Lin Guili held her arm, Lin Guixian, her father, who was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance, and walked through the crowd to find a certain man, Simon was also listening to people around him discussing the development of the shipbuilding and shipping industries.
After a final explanation in a soft voice, the father and daughter stepped forward. The person speaking was Zheng Sang-won, who had undergone many tests of ability and loyalty in the past year and was finally assigned by Simon to join Hyundai Heavy Industries in charge of the shipbuilding business. The Westeros system has not taken over Hyundai's core automotive business. However, in the past year, Simon has not only taken away Hyundai's electronics business, but has also locked in heavy industry, construction, shipping, etc. in advance. Hyundai chaebols have been taken over by Westeros. System penetration.
Lin Kuixian originally served as the president of Halla Shipbuilding under another Korean consortium, Halla. After the collapse of Halla, Halla's shipbuilding business was eventually absorbed by Hanjin Consortium, which is also a concern of Lin Kuixian.
Through his daughter's relationship, Lin Kuixian also knows more.
Not only the top five giants such as Hyundai and Samsung, but also second-tier chaebols such as Hanjin and Sammi, have also been more or less absorbed by the Westeros system in the wave of integration over the past year.
In short, it can be imagined that Simon Westeros attaches great importance to the fields of shipbuilding and shipping.
It happened that everyone was discussing related topics at this time, which was even more exciting for Lin Kuixian. This middle-aged man in his fifties had previously been nervous at the thought of meeting a young super tycoon tonight. He was worried about gains and losses, and worried about how to deal with it. If not, his position as deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance will be removed.
Now, since I have been talking about shipbuilding for most of my life, at least the topic will not get stuck here.
The other thing is, keep in mind what my daughter just reminded me.
Talk about China.
Simon Westeros is very, very optimistic about China, and if he talks more about it, he will definitely not be wrong.
Seeing Lin Guili and her daughter approaching, a certain girl was considered to be a popular figure in the circle this year. Everyone paused the conversation and introduced each other.
Father Lin looked very spineless when shaking hands with Simon. He bent down and lowered his head, his forehead almost touching the back of their hands. He looked at his daughter, who was a little helpless. Fortunately, at least the people around her didn't look strange on the surface, and they even secretly sighed. Perhaps this is why Lin Kuixian suddenly climbed to a high position in the Ministry of Finance and Economics, and even the daughter of the Lin family can achieve her current status.
In today's South Korea, no matter how hard it tries to please Simon Westeros, it won't work.
Simon smiled politely, waited for Lin Kuixian to let go of him, looked at the other person and said, "Mr. Lin, you happened to be in charge of Halla's shipbuilding affairs before. What do you think of the current industrial status?"
Simon spoke in English, and Lin Kuixian could only say hello briefly. Fortunately, his daughter beside him translated immediately. After thinking about what he heard when he approached, he sorted it out and said: "I am very optimistic about the development prospects of the shipbuilding industry. The United States In the context of promoting globalization, the division of labor in the global economy is an inevitable trend, which means the continued increase in global shipping throughput. However, I have reservations about President Zheng’s counter-cyclical investment strategy just now."
Throughout the 1990s, global shipping throughput increased rapidly, and accordingly, various types of cargo ships from major shipping giants continued to be launched like dumplings.
This growth momentum did not stop abruptly until the economic crisis broke out last year. It also shrank significantly.
Against this background, Jung Sang-won, who was assigned by Simon to be in charge of Hyundai Shipbuilding Business, proposed a counter-cyclical investment plan. In fact, it is exactly the same as Samsung's famous counter-cyclical investment in semiconductors. Taking advantage of the current downturn in the shipbuilding and shipping industries, he made substantial investments to Take the initiative when the industry recovers.
This is actually a plan with considerable basis.
Let’s talk about shipbuilding. If you invest now, not only is the price the lowest, but the construction period of a large cargo ship is two to three years. By the time it is launched, the industry is likely to enter a downturn. This will not only affect the layout of the Westeros system. The shipbuilding field has continued to grow through orders, and the shipping industry has also been able to gain first-mover advantages while saving a lot of costs.
You know, this is a critical period for the replacement of large cargo ships.
For example, in 1996, after the first sixth-generation container ship with a capacity of 8,000 TEUs developed by a Japanese manufacturer was successfully launched, Hyundai also successfully launched a container ship with a capacity of 10,000 TEUs.
Not to mention the small container ships of about 1,000 boxes that are still in use in large numbers, but only the fifth-generation container ships of 3,000 to 5,000 boxes. In comparison, the average cost per box will be saved by 40% to 50% for sixth-generation containers. Even if the 10,000-container sixth-generation cargo ship also involves the construction of supporting deep-water seaports, just looking at this cost comparison, it is not difficult to imagine what advantages the relevant companies will gain if it is truly implemented.
Everyone just agreed with Zheng Sang-won’s counter-cyclical investment plan. In fact, including Simon, they had already known about it and had approved its implementation. The three giants of Hyundai, Samsung, and Hanjin Shipbuilding controlled by the Westeros system had just received the total amount some time ago. There are orders for 15 sixth-generation container ships with a total investment of nearly US$700 million.
In addition, in the next few years, the Westeros system will invest heavily in building supporting deep-water berths in major seaports in Asia, North America and Europe.
Hearing that Lin Kuixian had different opinions, the expressions of Zheng Xiangyuan and several people in charge of related fields changed slightly, but Simon remained calm and asked with a smile: "Mr. Lin, tell me your reasons."
Because of his professional background, Lin Kuixian has always paid attention to the trends in the industry even when he entered the government department. When he spoke, he also noticed the attitudes of other people. He could even imagine the mentality of everyone. Seeing that Simon Westeros did not Unhappy because his views were revealed, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said: "Mainly, I don't agree with President Zheng's view on the cyclicality of the shipping industry. The downturn in the industry that started last year was only affected by the general environment, and mainly It involves the field of shipbuilding. Everyone is worried about excess tonnage and has cut back shipbuilding plans. However, the throughput of global shipping has not decreased. Not only that, but only in Asia, due to the general depreciation of currencies in various countries, according to the first three quarters Data shows that this year’s shipping throughput has increased significantly by about 15%, while last year’s figure was only 9%.”
Everyone in this circle knows the relevant data. When Lin Kuixian said this, everyone nodded. Zheng Xiangyuan said: "Secretary Lin, you are only talking about some market areas. In the global shipping field, compared with last year, this year's growth It’s still weak. And the shrinkage of the shipbuilding industry is even more obvious. Isn’t this considered a cycle?”
"I just said that this is just a short-term downturn," Lin Kuixian faced Zheng Xiangyuan, but he was not afraid. He smiled and talked: "President Zheng, maybe you misunderstood me. I have nothing against the shipbuilding and shipping fields." On the contrary, I am very optimistic. I cannot judge in the longer term, but in my opinion, at least in the next twenty years, the shipbuilding and shipping industries will grow rapidly, and there will be no downturn cycle."
Lin Kuixian explained this, and the expressions of the people around him relaxed. However, Zheng Xiangyuan still asked: "Secretary Lin, I didn't expect you to be so optimistic. Is there any basis for it?"
"It's still what I just said, globalization," Lin Kuixian said: "The continued advancement of economic globalization means that, like domestic roads, railways, and airports in various countries, the maritime industry will also be included in the important list of major economic countries. In the field of infrastructure, even if there is no clear plan, countries will do this subconsciously. The result is that in the context of globalization, in order to ensure that various countries can successfully import and export goods worth hundreds of trillions or even gigabytes of Korean won, everyone has to pay attention to maritime transportation. Investment in this field must be excessive, because compared with the import and export volume of hundreds of trillions of won, even if we lose tens of billions of won in the shipping industry, it doesn't matter."
After Lin Kuixian said this, everyone was silent.
After a little consideration, Lin Kuixian's argument is indeed consistent with the facts. The most powerful evidence happens to be the explosive growth of global ocean shipping capacity in the past few years. Even though last year's crisis caused countless shipping companies to scale back their expansion, a large number of completed shipping ships are still being launched.
And, Lim Kui-heon’s views on the inclusion of the maritime industry as important infrastructure.
Compared with the huge throughput of import and export goods, it is indeed better to have a shortage than an excess. Even if there is some loss in this area, it can be easily compensated by the massive import and export output value.
After listening to Lin Kuixian's explanation, Simon agreed with it based on the not much relevant information in his memory. Although, he was a little confused about Lin Kuixian's monetary unit of hundreds of trillions to tens of trillions of Korean won.
South Korea is just too big.
He complained a little in his heart and saw that everyone was quite high-spirited because of Lin Kuixian's words. Simon said: "Mr. Lin's words are very reasonable. You can digest them carefully in private. However, what I want to say is that I am a Business people, whether it’s shipbuilding or shipping, I need to see profits instead of making sacrifices for the greater good, and you also need to understand this.”
The middle-aged people around him who were generally one or two rounds older than Simon heard Simon's serious tone and quickly calmed down their expressions and nodded in agreement.
Everyone chatted for a few more words, and when Lin Kuixian remembered his daughter's reminder to turn the topic slightly to China, which Simon Westeros loved to see, a certain young tycoon had already walked towards the couple Choi Taiyuan and his wife, the head of the SK Choi family, who were approaching.
I can only give up.
However, despite some slight regrets, Lin Kuixian was quite satisfied with his performance just now.
After all, it counts as showing his face in front of Simon Westeros.
What's more, compared to others, Lin Kuixian knew that he had other advantages. My daughter can still more or less enjoy the pillow style next to that man. Perhaps it is not impossible for the next government to move up a level and challenge the Minister of Finance and Economics.
Of course, Lin Kuixian does not expect to go further.
That location is too conspicuous.
This cocktail party started at seven o'clock in the evening and lasted until twelve o'clock in the morning. It was five hours, which seemed like a long time, but with more than 600 guests, everyone was socializing with each other, building relationships, and unknowingly, time It goes by so fast.
Five hours is simply not enough.
As a result, many people stayed until after 12 o'clock and the service team began to clean up the scene, and then reluctantly left.
Simon also waited patiently for five hours.
Again, if you don’t want to be ignored, you must do it yourself in terms of personal connections. Otherwise, the result is likely to be that there are many hilltop vassal towns in the system, doing their own thing. Simon seems to have everything, but in fact he is reduced to a high-handed person. Wooden idol.
Including the service team of 200 people, more than 800 people have been bustling and bustling in the mountain manor. There are many loose ends to clean up. There is even no guarantee that someone will hide secretly and not leave, causing unnecessary security problems, so Simon is also there. I left after 12 o'clock and went to another property in the mountains in the southern part of Jiangnan District.
The mansion, which covers an area of less than 1 acre, is much smaller than the manor in the Gyeonggi Mountains on the outskirts of Seoul. Of course, this is only relative.
After taking a shower, I walked out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe and went to sit on the sofa in a small living room on the second floor of the villa. The view here was not very good. I could only see the lights of Seoul City overflowing upward under the shadow of the trees. .
It's past one o'clock in the morning.
Jin Somin, who had just served Simon to take a bath with Lin Guili, also walked in wearing a bathrobe. It was just a thin silk bathrobe that showed off her figure. The girl also held a tablet computer in her hand. He knelt down on the carpet at his feet and put the open tablet on the man's lap: "Boss, do you want to pick a girl and send it over?"
The tablet computer in front of me is naturally not Tinker Bayer’s black and white iPad series.
Simon looked at the portrait of a beautiful Korean girl on the screen. He casually clicked on it and came to the main file. There was even a category for girls and young women. He smiled and admired it casually while saying: "I always feel a little strange."