Chapter 229
Chapter 229
[Who is the richest person in the world?]Not long ago, Forbes published the world’s richest list.
Bill Gates, who took first place, was pushed to second place, and AMZ CEO Jake Byron took his place. What is even more surprising is that Kang Jin-hoo rose to third place.
It is the first time in history that a Korean has made it into the top 10 richest people in the world.
Jinhoo Kang is the CEO of OTK Company and a major shareholder with an 80% stake. Therefore, all of his assets are owned by the OTK Company.
(syncopation)
… … Even if exchanged for the current stock price of Suseong Electronics, Karos is worth at least $200 billion. With this alone, Jinhoo Kang is already the richest man in the world.
In addition, OTK Company’s subsidiaries are growing at a tremendous rate every year, and they are expected to take the lead in the electric vehicle market in the future by developing OTK batteries.
McKinsey economist Jeffra Palmer is of the view that within a few years the OTK Company could overtake NPL and become the world’s largest company.
Taek-gyu said after reading an article in the Financial Times.
“Look at this. You say you’re number 1 too. Shall we make a complaint call to Forbes to change our ranking?”
“Why? It’s not like I’m giving you a prize for being first.
“It feels good.”
Seeing this, it seems that people like to line up.
Obviously, it would be easier to understand how rich people are in the world rather than how rich they are.
But since he is the richest man in the world, he doesn’t have much money to spend. Excluding the value of the stake, the cash in my hand right now is only tens of billions (?).
Well, it’s the same with other chaebols.
With the announcement of the OTK battery, the stock prices of Seosung Electronics and Seosung SB soared, and the value of OTK Company also jumped.
The total market cap of Seosung Group has now exceeded 500 trillion won.
Over the past few years, it has grown by more than 30 percent, and the value of Chairman Im Jin-yong’s stake has also increased. However, in this case, the total share of the owner’s family is less than 5%, so personal wealth is not comparable to ours.
Taek-gyu was amazed again.
“I have made a lot of money over the years. It seems like yesterday that we cooked ramen together in my bedroom.”
“That’s it.”
I remembered Taek-gyu’s living room, which was cluttered with games and comic books. Now, the house is so big that it would be impossible to clutter that much.
“It was really fun back then.”
“Yeah.”
Looking back, it is a good memory.
Of course, this is because it has been successful to some extent. It would have been a different story if I had still been cooking and eating ramen in my own room.
“What are you going to do next?”
I don’t have much greed for money. I can live doing whatever I want to do with the tens of billions I have now.
But there are other desires.
“First, we need to dominate the global automobile market.”
The key keywords for future automobiles are autonomous driving and eco-friendliness. If autonomous driving is software, the battery is hardware.
We got both of them. Now all that remains is to move towards the future.
Taek-gyu nodded his head and asked.
“After that?”
“Well.”
I said with a smile.
“Let’s go think about it then.”
* * *
The aftermath of the OTK battery announcement continued.
The whole world paid attention to the mass production process, and academic journals such as Nature and Science carefully covered it.
Professor Ho-Min Kim was busy with the influx of interview requests, and OTK Company also received calls from all directions.
Sangyeop senior moved around instead of me, so it was hard to see his face at work.
I received a call from Professor Myung-Jun Kim.
[congratulations. I finally did it.]“Professor Homin Kim did it.”
[You, who recognized the possibility and scouted, are also amazing. He also looks like a business administration student.]All thanks to Yeji.
“How is the atmosphere in Korea University?”
[The chemistry department is in a mess. Business school kids are happy too. As a commemoration, they said that the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Business are meeting.]“… … .”
What does this have to do with meetings?
It’s a college student’s instinct to have a meeting when there’s a lot of things going on. But, since they are both male classes, isn’t there a shortage of women?
[Actually, Korea University is in a situation where you can neither laugh nor cry.]“Why?”
Professor Homin Kim was a graduate of Hankuk University and until recently was a tenured professor at Hankuk University. Because of this, the prestige of Korea University has increased.
[If it was developed in a university research institute as a tenured professor, the university would have made a lot of money. So now the president is hitting the ground and regretting it.]I burst out laughing.
“I might as well do it.”
From the standpoint of Korea University, the opportunity to earn several trillion won was blown away.
But if it were, Professor Homin Kim would not have made much money. Not to mention other researchers.
It’s unfortunate for Hankuk University, but it’s a good thing for me and Professor Homin Kim.
[Come to school once. I’ll buy you rice.]“What do you mean? I have to buy it.”
Professor Myung-Jun Kim said it like a joke.
[No. Don’t you know the anti-graft law? If you quit teaching later, buy a lot of expensive stuff.]“If you want to shoot properly, you need to save some money from now on.”
* * *
While Seoseong SB was preparing for mass production of OTK batteries, interesting news came in.
Eli came over and said,
“Did you hear the news? Bailey Hausmann is coming to Korea.”
Taehyung closed his eyes.
“Who is that?”
“I’m the CEO of Iber.”
As we all know, Iver is a ride-sharing service that connects drivers and passengers, and is currently in service in more than 100 countries, including the United States.
“Is this your first visit to Korea?”
“Yes. So it seems like there is a lot of talk about it.”
After the CEO’s visit to Korea, rumors circulated that Iver was trying to launch in Korea again, and the taxi union immediately issued a statement of condemnation and foretold a protest.
‘It is clearly illegal to transport passengers without a license, and it is a serious problem that wipes out the taxi industry and infringes on the right to live for taxi workers! If the government succumbs to corporate pressure and pushes for the legalization of ride-sharing, 1 million taxi families will have no choice but to fight on the streets!”
Then, Minister Kwon Mi-hyeon of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport came forward and said that there was no discussion about the ride-sharing service, and the situation evolved.
No government can ignore the 1 million votes.
Across the river, we watched the situation as if in disbelief, and suddenly sparks flew towards us.
[Bailey Hausman wants to visit OTK Company][Possibility of meeting Bailey Hausman and Jinhoo Kang?][OTK Company and Iver to enter the ride-sharing market?][What impact will the strategic alliance have on the industry?]At first I thought it was a rumor, but Iver received an official meeting request.
When the article was published, taxi drivers gathered in front of the OTK Building and held a protest.
“OTK Company Awakened!”
“Stop the tyranny of large corporations!”
“Withdraw the meeting with Iver!”
“Guarantee the right to survival of the taxi industry!”
What is absurd is that, at the news of the taxi union’s large-scale demonstration, even Park Si-hyung’s supporters are gathering together to protest against it.
The enemy of this enemy is not a friend… … .
“Release President Park Si-hyung!”
“Arrest Kang Jin-hoo!”
“Disband the OTK Company!”
It is difficult to understand what they are saying when both sides are shouting slogans at the same time.
Sometimes they are confused even among themselves, so they shouted false slogans such as ‘Guarantee Kang Jin-hoo’s right to live’, ‘President Park Si-hyung Awakened’, and ‘Dismantle the taxi industry’.
No matter what happens, there is no quiet day. The front door was closed for fear of a possible collision, and the staff sneaked through the back door.
Taek-gyu said as if he was embarrassed.
“No, what did we do? You haven’t done anything yet.”
I sighed as I heard slogans from both sides.
“It would be very crazy.”
* * *
Iver’s subscription value is about $80 billion. It was the largest privately held company until recently (though it is now reversed by Carlos).
It is also predicted that the IPO will exceed $100 billion.
That doesn’t mean they’re making a huge profit, but on the contrary, they’re suffering from a loss. It is a tradition (?) of startups to focus on market expansion by forgetting investment rather than immediate profits. Then, when you run out of money, you attract another investment.
This is also true of us.
Even Faceit, which was making a profit, spent all the money it earned to expand the service and develop VR porn, and received more investment by acquiring an adult product company.
The idea is that once you dominate the market, you can make money after that. That’s why everyone is investing heavily.
Iver’s founding story is quite famous.
Bailey Hausman, who was trying to catch a taxi in New York, was repeatedly denied boarding and had to stand sweating profusely in the heat for 30 minutes.
He thought as he looked at the multitude of cars that filled the road, in a situation of growing annoyance.
‘If there was a car going in the same direction, I would be happy to pay for it.’
So, they created a company that can call a vehicle with a single click of a smartphone, and all drivers can act as a taxi with their vehicle.
Taek-gyu heard my explanation and said.
“You started a business because you were upset about refusing to take a taxi.
“right.”
“Then it’s worth starting a business.”
Anyone who has ever caught a taxi after work on a rainy day would agree.
As soon as it was released, Iver took over the market at an incredible rate.
It is good for passengers because it is cheaper and more convenient to use than taxis, and it is good for drivers who have vehicles to earn money. And Iver relayed both sides and took the commission.
The advent of ride-sharing services was a big threat to the taxi industry, and it was also illegal. However, convenience and low price were great weapons.
Most countries, swayed by consumer opinion, have allowed ride-sharing services, including Iver.
But in Korea, it was the other way around. The government, conscious of the taxi industry’s vote, started cracking down and punishing, and Iver withdrew from the Korean market.
“Services used all over the world are banned only in Korea.”
“Where would that be Iver?”
75% of the world’s top 100 startups are illegal in Korea. What would you do if you were only talking about the 4th industry and youth entrepreneurship?
This isn’t about tying up your hands and feet and then fighting to your heart’s content.
When we heard that we had arrived, we went down to the first floor. There stood a white man in his early 40s wearing glasses.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
“nice to meet you. Bailey Houseman.”
“You have worked hard to come a long way. This is Jinhoo Kang.”
“Hello, I’m Taek-gyu Oh.”
Hausman said with a smile.
“Thanks to you, we were able to avoid the crisis. I should have thanked you earlier, but now I have come to see you.”
Iver was also headquartered in San Francisco. As with other companies, employees were evacuated before Big One came, and now the headquarters has been moved to Orange County.
Many companies have survived thanks to me.
We went up to the conference room.
“How amazing. When I was in college, I studied Iver as a business success story.”
Hausmann asked with delight at my words.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. To be precise, it was a group assignment that replaced the final exam in the first semester of my freshman year, and I took the lead.”
“So what happened?”
“Most of the members got A grades. I got an A plus.”
Only one member of the crew, whose name was omitted, received an F, but there is no need to talk about that now, right?
We drank coffee and chatted.
He slowly brought up the subject.
“I want Iver and Karos to form a partnership.”
I was expecting something like this to come out. You probably wouldn’t have come all the way to Korea to say thank you.
I put on a look of surprise.
“Affiliate?”
“Karos manufactures cars, and we do ride-sharing services. I think holding hands will be a great help to each other.”
“In what way?”
“I would like to exchange my 30% stake in Iver for a stake in Karos.”
I tilted my head.
“You don’t have that much stake, do you?”
Hausman said as if waiting.
“I am thinking of doing a capital increase.”
Are you planning to issue new shares through a three-party allocation method?
“Stakeholders will object.”
When new shares are issued, the share of existing shareholders decreases. For this reason, most of the cases are not welcome.
“We are negotiating with major shareholders.”
That being said, I agree to some extent.
Did you decide that it is necessary to secure a stake in Karos even at the risk of a decrease in the stake?
I looked at the house and asked.
“What are the conditions?”
