NOVEL WEB Chapter 29: Unable to Dream Here
Due to the automation of a part of the waste disposal process, the proceeds at MCTBH have apparently been dramatically increasing.
One day, at a management meeting, Ishida approached Hiroki to “consult about the company’s future plans”.
[Do you remember when I mentioned how there were cooperation proposals from trading companies and chemical companies?]
[You did mention something like that.]
The company was wondering back then about how they could deepen their relationship with such large customers when they started business in the field of liquid waste treatment.
Hiroki remembers how one of the methods discussed was in the form of a partnership with other companies or accepting investments.
[What’s going on now?]
[The President of those companies expressed their difficulty in investing in the company, so we settled on a long-term contract.However…… There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction on their side.]
[Are they asking for a change in the way things are done now?]
[Yes. The volume of processing our company does have become so large that the client’s business could be at risk if the contract is terminated. The client’s management probably wants to invest in the company to reduce management risk and to have some voting rights or some control over the company.]
This is a natural request, as the client wouldn’t want to take the risk of suddenly being told that the price of waste processing that has been outsourced to them for 10 years would be tripled the following year.
Hiroki had no intention to do such a thing because he isn’t in it for the money in the first place, but the client company isn’t going to just believe him for his words.
Even so, troublesome things are troublesome.
[I don’t like the idea of having my shares held by people I don’t even know, but that’s also troublesome……]
With Hiroki owning 100% of MCTBH’s shares, the hole can be kept secret, and he is allowed to have his strange habits like setting up a nap room next to the hole.
If other people were to come in, someone might find fault in Hiroki’s irrational behavior, or Hiroki would at least need to give out some explanation.
Thinking of all this, Hiroki found it a real hassle.
[Also, it’s not just one or two companies that are coming to us saying that.]
[I see…… However, isn’t this something that can’t be helped? Do you have a countermeasure in mind?]
[Yes. That’s what I came to consult with you. I was thinking that we should just buy their trading or chemical company.]
[Eh? Are you talking about corporate takeover?]
Hiroki had seen this word in economic novels and news, something about M&A.
(T/N: Mergers & Acquisition)
[Yes. We would buy the entire company for distribution and plant processing equipment, internalize the process and monopolize the profits ourselves. That way, we don’t have to let those companies make money from us and we can keep the company’s secrets. From an accounting perspective, we would increase fixed costs and decrease variable costs. From a business perspective, the larger the size of the company, the more profitable it is. In other words, we are steering the company towards a greater size. I believe this is in line with the original purpose you had when you started the business, which was not to accept interference from yakuza or local government.]
Hearing Ishida’s words, Hiroki remembered that when Ishida was still a university researcher, the purpose of his consultation with him was “to make the company bigger so that no troublesome matters would come near him”.
For Ishida to still remember that…… Hiroki himself had forgotten all about it until Ishida mentioned it.
However, Ishida’s proposal may sound reasonable, but it seems like it would also have its own problems.
[That sounds like a very reasonable proposal, but putting aside how profitable the company is, do we have enough funds to buy the company in the first place?]
[We have a lot of people coming to invest or lend money. There are even more of them than those who request partnerships. That’s part of the reason why I’m consulting you about this.]
[Are we really getting that many inquiries?]
[To the extent that we would need to hold explanatory meetings.]
[How in the world did they sniff us out when the company isn’t even listed on the stock exchange?]
“Money hyenas sure are scary”, or so Hiroki thought.
[People are troubled because they have no place to invest money. China’s real estate bubble has burst, and bitcoin, which led the cryptocurrency boom, isn’t doing so well. People say that India would be the next superpower, but their caste system is dragging the country down, and their industries other than IT aren’t developing at all…… Ahh, our company is also mining cryptocurrency with our surplus power. Waste disposal without making use of any power is just unnatural.]
[Huhh……]
[People in Europe are in an uproar, you know? They went to the trouble of setting up a clean technology business to compete with the US, China and Japan, but now, some random company appeared in Japan that had reduced everything to zero. They will have to rethink their industrial strategy at the national strategic level.]
[The topic getting that far is too big for me, so I don’t really understand.]
Hiroki blurted out.
Even when people say that MCTBH’s business of processing any kind of waste at a very low cost will affect the world situation, it doesn’t make any sense to Hiroki at all.
Hiroki just wants to stay by the hole and keep throwing as much waste into the hole as possible.
What was more shocking to him though were Ishida’s subsequent words.
[And that’s why, we’re going to hold an explanatory meeting for investors at a hotel in Tokyo.]
[Eh?]
[In three months, we would like President to speak in Tokyo.]
[Ehhhh……]
It seems like Hiroki would need to pull out his suit, which he hadn’t worn since the previous interview.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
As for where and at what hotel will the investors’ meeting be held……
The selection of such a hotel is said to be strongly influenced by the coordinating company’s brokerage firm.
Since Hiroki’s company is an amateur in this area of management, they paid a commission to outsource this work.
This time, the explanatory meeting was to be held in a hall of a 5-star international hotel in Tokyo because of the high interest of investors from overseas.
In the hall, there were a lot of hyenas in high-end suits sitting in a row, all of them wearing custom-made suits.
All of them were probably wearing suits that were specially made for them and watches that cost more than their cars.
Hiroki thought that his suit might be the cheapest one in that room.
When the seats were 80% filled, it was time for the event to start, and MCTBH’s investor presentation began.
Although English is the preferred language for presentations like this, the investors were already told that Hiroki was unable to speak Business English, so he had to explain things in Japanese through an interpreter.
[And so, our strategy is to take the number one global market share in the growth of the global green business sector. Specifically, we aim to reduce the value-added costs of the entire value chain by establishing a low-cost global supply chain of waste materials, starting from CO2 and various waste emitters in the petrochemical industry, which is the upstream sector of the industry, to consumer goods, which is the downstream sector of the industry……]
Unnn. Even though Hiroki was speaking in Japanese, he himself couldn’t understand what was being said because of the many foreign words involved.
The interpreter was actually given an English translation of the draft beforehand, so regardless of the content, the participants should have heard a beautifully pronounced and well-written English presentation.
Ishida had reassuringly told him “President has a powerful physique, so please look ahead and speak confidently. We will take care of the rest”, so even though it lasted only 20 minutes, Hiroki managed to complete the presentation.
After the management finished explaining the business, applause simultaneously rang out in the hall and it was time for the question-and-answer session.
An Anglo-Saxon-looking white man stood up and spoke in rapid English.
Hiroki had no clue what he was saying though.
[I will answer your question.]
Lightly nodding his head, he left it to Ishida to deal with it.
Subsequent Q&A sessions were between Ishida and the foreigners.
Similar exchanges took place with a Chinese-looking old man, a Japanese-looking old man and a Hispanic-looking old man, all of which were answered by Ishida.
Just like that, the investor meeting ended peacefully.
After the meeting, there was a light dinner party, where Hiroki was asked to speak to some people, but he just left it to the interpreter and Ishida, and concentrated only on his meal.
The company is paying for this meal after all…… so he had to make up for their money’s worth.
That night, the company personnel stayed at the international hotel.
Perhaps, because of the generous hall rental fee, they were offered a suite room with some kind of service.
[Good grief. I’m more tired than when I’m disposing 100-ton shovels of garbage down the hole.]
The spacious room, the soft bed and the night view of Tokyo from the hotel window were all somewhat tasteless for one person.
The only desire he had in mind was to go back to that bleak room near the hole as soon as possible…… for Hiroki doesn’t think that he would be able to have a good dream here.