Tiancheng Industrial, China's 9th largest company, has gone bankrupt.
Starting as a small general trading company, Tiancheng Industrial expanded its business in an octopus-like fashion, riding on the wave of China's export growth and real estate development boom, and branched out into logistics, mining, automobiles, and ports.
While the company's size grew rapidly, it was in a state where it was making almost no profit, and as the global recession overlapped, its overseas investment losses snowballed.
Tiancheng Industrial, which had hidden this with accounting fraud, had its true face revealed due to this crisis. The scale of the insolvency revealed so far was over $7 billion.
As Tiancheng Industrial was a de facto state-owned enterprise with the local and central governments holding a 61 percent stake, it was believed that the government would provide support as it had always done.
But the Chinese government gave up on support, and Tiancheng Industrial went through the bankruptcy process. As a result of this bankruptcy, two banks that could not recover their loans also went bankrupt.
This showed the problems of the Chinese economy as they were.
Even if liquidity was supplied due to excessive facility investment, corporate performance continued to worsen, and when companies that had reached their limits went bankrupt, the banks that had lent them money also went bankrupt.
As the chain of bankruptcies became a reality, a rumor spread that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) might go bankrupt.
This was practically the collapse of the Chinese financial system.
The Chinese financial authorities, while cracking down on the media and the internet, also declared their determination to prevent bank failures no matter what, but no one believed them.
***
The serial bankruptcies of Chinese companies and banks following the Philippines' declaration of a moratorium were enough to bring back memories of the Asian financial crisis.
South Korea was also hit by the fear of an IMF crisis, and the KOSPI and KOSDAQ plunged by 7 percent and a whopping 12 percent, respectively, and a sidecar was triggered.
As dollars flowed out like an ebbing tide, a state of emergency was declared for companies and the country to secure dollars.
I received a call from Henry. He had gone through China and Europe and was back at the Golden Gate headquarters on Wall Street.
[The speculative capitals that have left the Philippines are all moving to China at once. An attack on the yuan will begin soon.]
"What do you think their target is?"
[They will devalue it by at least 30 percent from the current level.]
The yuan had already fallen by about 20 percent from its peak. And they were going to attack the foreign exchange market to drop it another 30 percent?
In a way, it's not that speculative forces are artificially devaluing the yuan. They are just taking advantage of the situation.
The currency values of countries such as Turkey and Argentina, which have already declared default, have plummeted by more than half. There is no law that says the same won't happen to China.
The problem is that China has the second largest economy after the US. A halving of the yuan meant that all of China's assets, from stocks, bonds, to real estate, would become half as cheap.
Conversely, for the Chinese people, it meant that the prices of all foreign-made products would double.
If the yuan plummets, emerging market currencies will also fall in tandem.
As the credit ratings of companies and banks fall, financing costs increase, and dollar-denominated debt balloons in an instant. This will further accelerate the bankruptcy of companies and banks, and lead the global economy into a slump.
In the process, speculative forces will reap astronomical profits, and then they will scoop up the assets that have become cheap. And in return for lending money to countries that need it, they will demand the opening of financial markets.
Things that sounded like conspiracy theories were now happening in reality. To buy time, someone had to step in and stop it.
After hearing my words, Taek-gyu nodded.
"And that someone is us, right?"
***
A new product launch event was held at the OTK Company headquarters.
Kang Jin-hoo and Professor Kim Ho-min were scheduled to appear together. Although the product was not revealed in advance, domestic and foreign reporters flocked in like clouds.
Kang Jin-hoo looked around at the reporters and said.
"The reason we have gathered you here today is to announce a new product."
Then, Professor Kim Ho-min appeared, and by displaying a PPT, he revealed the principles and performance of the JN Battery.
The reporters were horrified.
According to the presentation, this was a new technology that would change the world. But when it was said that the main raw material was Geratinium, the atmosphere reversed.
As it was a gathering of IT and battery expert reporters, most of them had a rough idea of what Geratinium was, and the reporters who didn't quickly searched for information.
"Seosung SB is currently preparing for production. We will start selling as soon as the production line is ready."
As soon as the presentation was over, the reporters all raised their hands and asked questions.
"Isn't Geratinium currently more than 4 times more expensive than gold? It's over $200 per gram. Are you really going to make batteries with this?"
"Leaving aside the issue of economic viability, where are you going to get the Geratinium?"
"Is mass production really possible?"
Kang Jin-hoo answered, as if he had expected this reaction.
"Someone else will answer that question."
As soon as he finished speaking, one more person appeared at the presentation. He was the CEO of SpaceX.
Allen Eberhardt said to the surprised reporters.
"We are going to mine Geratinium from the moon and bring it to Earth."
At those words, the reporters were all at a loss for words.
But Allen Eberhardt continued his explanation seriously. As he talked about his specific plan to send a robot capable of exploration and mining on the Fat Phoenix, the reporters' expressions gradually changed.
In front of the half-doubting reporters, Kang Jin-hoo said with a confident expression.
"The JN Battery will change the world in the future. We will start selling it immediately from the moment the Geratinium mine on the moon is confirmed."
***
[OTK Company Announces JN Battery!]
[Allen Eberhardt Makes a Surprise Appearance at the Presentation]
[Professor Kim Ho-min Succeeds in Developing the JN Battery Following the OTK Battery!]
[Kang Jin-hoo, 'The JN Battery is the New Technology of the Future']
[SpaceX to Launch Fat Phoenix Next Month]
[What is the Specific Implementation Method of the 'Moon Mining Project'?]
The announcement of the JN Battery mass production plan was enough to shake the world.
Companies scrambled to inquire with OTK Company, and both the media and the internet talked about the JN Battery all day long.
- What's a JN Battery? Before, they named it OTK Battery after the company name. This time, I guess they named it after his name.
- Didn't you watch the presentation properly? It says the main raw material is Geratinium. The element symbol for Geratinium is Jn, so it's JN Battery.
- Wow! This is really crazy! They're using Geratinium instead of lithium-ion?
- LOL, the battery price alone to make one car is over 10 billion won. What kind of crazy person would buy this?
- That's when you load the same amount as a conventional battery. Even if you load just a tenth of that, you can drive 2,000 kilometers.
- Still, it's over 1 billion won.
- That's at the current market price. If they mine Geratinium from the lunar surface and bring it to Earth, won't the price drop significantly?
- LOL, you're not thinking about the cost of bringing it from the moon to Earth? That would be more expensive.
- Since the price is what it is, it will be used in fields like aviation, space, and medicine before electric cars, and then it will become popular as the price drops~
- If that performance is true, we won't have to worry about batteries in the future. Smartphones and laptops will be able to last for a month with a single charge.
- In the future, subways, trains, ships, and airplanes will all run on batteries. This one battery solves everything.
- Isn't that only if they mine Geratinium from the lunar surface?
- How much is that technology worth?
- If what Kang Jin-hoo says is true, isn't it worth more than the value of OTK Company so far?
***
The announcement of the JN Battery brought about a huge aftermath.
All the media outlets covered it as their main news, and a debate raged everywhere about the feasibility of this new technology.
With the emergence of new technology and expectations for space development, the world stock market also temporarily rebounded. But it didn't take a few days for this atmosphere to reverse.
Experts on TV all expressed negative opinions.
"The Geratinium used in the JN Battery has a purity of 99.99 percent. Even if you bring Geratinium from the moon to Earth for free, it's not economically viable just with the refining cost alone."
"Technology isn't the end of it just because it's created. It can only be commercialized if everything, from the supply of Geratinium, the yield, to the price, all align."
"It's true that there are rare resources, including rare earth elements, on the moon. But where is it buried, and how are you going to mine it? The surface area of the moon is 37.93 million square kilometers, about 1/13 of the Earth's surface area. It will take at least several decades to explore it all. Even now, new oil fields and gold mines are being discovered somewhere on Earth. Why don't you just look for it on Earth, how are you going to find it on the moon?"
"Lunar resource mining is nonsense. Theoretically, anything is possible. It has already been proven through experiments that humans can be sent to Mars. It is also sufficiently possible to build a settlement on Mars. So why isn't NASA doing it? It's because they don't know what problems will arise when they actually do it. If it was something that was always possible, why haven't they done it until now?"
"It would be more realistic to say that you're going to make a battery with mithril."
***
[JN Battery, Performance and Stability Not Yet Properly Proven]
[Commercialization Uncertain]
[Geratinium Purity is the Key]
[Jim Ranners, a Master of Resource Investment, Says Lunar Resource Mining is Impossible Within the Next 30 Years]
[An Unrealistic Plan with No Feasibility! What is Kang Jin-hoo's Purpose?]
[Former NASA Administrator Tom Calvin Says a Thorough Study of the Impact on Earth is Needed Before Lunar Resource Mining...]
[Lunar Resources are the Asset of Humankind. An International Consensus Must be Reached...]
- LOL, of course. I knew it when they started talking about the moon.
- I thought he was crazy when I saw the presentation, and he was indeed crazy.
- It's amazing that there are people who believe that.
- He's just selling a story~ You can say anything with words.
- Allen Eberhardt, who wants to build a settlement on Mars, and Kang Jin-hoo, who wants to mine resources from the moon. They're all the same.
- They talk like that to attract a lot of investment, and then they'll run off with the money.
- A scammer's nature doesn't go away.
- Anyway, this time, even Kang Jin-hoo won't be able to do it~
Taek-gyu clicked his tongue as he read the articles and comments.
"Did Rothschild have a hand in this too?"
The mainstream media all continued to report that it was impossible, and the excitement that had built up after the presentation quickly died down.
"That's part of it, but when a new technology comes out, negative public opinion is usually dominant."
This was also the case when the car or the smartphone first came out. It's certainly hard to believe just from words.
In any case, they're waging a public opinion war, so we can't just stand by.
If you believe a lie, it becomes the truth. Conversely, if no one believes the truth, it becomes a lie.
We also poured money into a large-scale advertising campaign for the launch of the JN Battery. The PR team leader, Jung Gi-hong, was running around frantically.
It doesn't matter if the mainstream media doesn't write proper articles. There are many other ways to promote besides the media.
We sequentially uploaded interview videos of Professor Kim Ho-min, Allen Eberhardt, and Chairman Im Jin-yong related to the JN Battery to A-Tube, Facenote, and portal sites. As people's interest exploded, the number of views quickly exceeded 10 million.
I couldn't be left out of this.
I finished my makeup and stood in front of the prepared camera.
"Do I have to do this too?"
Taek-gyu nodded his head firmly.
"Other companies make such a fuss when they release a smartphone with one more camera and a slightly better battery performance, so we have to do something too. If the JN Battery is really good and you're confident in making it, shouldn't the CEO personally appeal to the whole world? This battery is the JN Battery. The JN Battery is the best. Why can't you say it?"
Let's just say that's that.
Ellie, who was next to me, asked.
"But why am I filming with you?"
Taek-gyu said, as if it was a matter of course.
"Wouldn't that get more views?"
"..."
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