Compared with Tetsuya Ta, Uchida Yu's cultivation is undoubtedly more profound. In the face of Bai Tuchun's ridicule, he just smiled faintly and said: "Director Bai Tu, the report submitted by the marketing department also assessed the possible risks, and believed that China only had a relatively high probability of lagging behind Iketani Manufacturing, and did not think that there was no possibility of completing research and development ahead of schedule. In our report, we asked the company to invest more in technology research and development, and the directors of Baitu voted against it at that time. ”

"That's because you don't think the Chinese will surpass us. Bai Tu Chun said with a blank face.

In other words, the directors of White Clay are convinced of our report. ”

"Of course, you are the marketing department of the company, and of course you will be more professional than us directors. ”

"Since the directors of Baitu also admit that we are more professional, it is understandable that our judgment is wrong. If it were the director of Baitu to do this investigation, I'm afraid the mistake would be even more serious, right?"

"This ......"

The white clay is pure and dumb. In terms of lip service, how could he be the opponent of Yu Uchida, who was born in the market. Uchida's logic is very strong: I do things according to the rules, I am the company that understands the market best, and it is not my pot that makes me wrong, and it will be even worse if I am replaced by someone else.

He can be so tough because Bai Tuchun and others are not good birds. His last report was not without its flaws, and even raised some doubts, but the likes of Koji Takai and Jun Shirato selectively ignored the downside for the simple reason that the company needed positive news to boost its share price, and that directors wanted to continue paying dividends rather than giving up them for a potential threat.

Fortresses are always breached from within, and if everyone is not greedy, they will not ignore their opponents. The Art of War says that those who were good at fighting in the past were invincible first, and waited for the enemy to be victorious. You can't win against yourself, but you can win against the enemy. If you are always lucky, it doesn't matter if you feel that you have made a mistake, your opponent will definitely make a bigger mistake than you, then you will lose before you fight. This is exactly what happened to Iketani.

Koji Takai interrupted their argument, and it was over that there was a in saying this. He knocked on the table and said, "Okay, the resolution of the board of directors was made by everyone, and at this time, everyone needs to tide over the difficulties together, so there is no need to have such a senseless quarrel." Uchida-kun, from the perspective of the marketing department, what should we do now?"

Yu Uchida got out of trouble and felt relieved. He cleared his throat and said to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, the current difficulties of the company are the same as those faced by Japan as a whole. Our manufacturing industry has been strongly challenged by China, and Chinese has strong organizational capabilities and has given huge subsidies to the industry at the government level. However, Japan's competitiveness has declined due to the declining birthrate and aging population, and it is expected that the current situation will occur. ”

Koji Takai nodded in agreement: "Yes." A few years ago, our counterpart, Akima Kaisha, collapsed, but Iketani Manufacturing has been able to survive to this day, and it is still competitive to a certain extent, thanks to the efforts of all of you. Here, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you. ”

With that, he stood up and bowed to everyone. Everyone returned the salute one after another, and the conference room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Uchida continued: "From the information currently available, it is very likely that the Chinese have completed the development of a new generation of coal-to-liquid processes and are able to manufacture units for large-scale industrial production. The Chinese's device, at least from the data they disclosed, has better technical indicators than Iketani. If we launch our technology as originally planned, we will not be able to gain market acceptance. ”

Uchida said it very tactfully, but everyone understood what he really meant. No one said anything, and everyone went into a standby state, looking at the nose and nose, waiting for Uchida Yu to say the conclusion later.

Uchida didn't go around in circles, saying, "After the incident, the marketing department conducted sufficient research and came up with several options for the board to choose from. The first plan is to increase investment in current R&D projects, strive to obtain technology superior to the Chinese in two years, and then enter the international market to compete with the Chinese, and finally defeat the Chinese. ”

"May I ask Uchida-kun, what is the specific amount of investment you are talking about?" someone asked.

Uchida replied without blinking, "$3 billion, invested in the next two years." ”

Everyone pouted at the same time, what are you kidding, you have already thrown $500 million before, and you showed us such a result. Now throwing another 3 billion into it, almost putting everyone's family into it, what if we can't get famous? With the crazy energy of the Chinese, when we throw 3 billion, the other party may be able to throw 10 billion, can we fight?

Uchida Yu didn't intend for everyone to accept this plan, but he smiled and said, "It seems that everyone doesn't have much confidence in this plan. Then we have a second plan, that is, to abandon the current coal-to-liquid project, find a new direction, and strive to form a new growth point for us in two to three years. ”

"Uchida-kun, can you tell us what kind of new direction it is?" someone asked again.

Uchida shook his head and said, "At present, the technical department and the marketing department are still screening such directions, and I must frankly say that such directions are relatively difficult to find." If we want to enter the high-end market, we will inevitably have to compete with Europe and the United States, and if we want to enter the low-end market, we will face competition from China. The Chinese are now ambitious and want to seize all our markets, and no matter what we do, it is impossible to avoid conflict with the Chinese. ”

The crowd was silent. A few years ago, everyone might have said that we were afraid of China's competition, and our technology would be worse than that of the Chinese? But this incident has already taught them a lesson, China is far from Wuxia Amun, they dare to invest a lot of money in research and development, and they are far more energetic than the Japanese, and it will be very unwise to compete with the Chinese.

Bai Tujun snorted twice and said, "Uchida-kun, you can also tell the other plans so that we can compare." ”

Uchida Yu nodded and said, "We have a third plan, please stay calm after listening to it." Our plan is to find another company and merge with Iketani Manufacturing so that we can revitalize it with its strength. ”

Although he said something first, as soon as this remark came out, the venue still exploded, and everyone asked in amazement:

"What? Find another business?"

"What does it mean to merge?"

"Uchida-kun, did you mean that you want to sell Iketani Works?"

"Have we come this far?"

Uchida Yu lowered his head, turned a deaf ear to other people's questions, and just waited for Koji Takai to speak. He has long known that this plan is definitely going to collapse everyone, but he also knows very well that in the end, what everyone can accept must be this plan. Without any other reason, in the absence of a future, the shareholders will definitely choose to abandon Iketani Manufacturing, and no one will want to pay for it.

In the early years, the directors still had some feelings for Iketani Manufacturing, and the rise and fall of the company would move these directors. But over the years, the directors have come to see Iketani Manufacturing more and more as an ATM, and the only thing everyone thinks about is to pay dividends from the company, and the more they share, the better, as for whether the company wants to develop and whether the technology can stay ahead, everyone will pay attention to one or two sentences, but in fact they don't care.

Now that this ATM is no longer able to withdraw money, and everyone has to pay for it to be repaired, can you agree?

Sure enough, after everyone was clamoring for a while, Koji Takai stopped these discussions and asked Yu Uchida, "Uchida-kun, can you tell us in detail about your last plan, which company you plan to find to merge with Iketani Manufacturing, and what are the conditions for the merger?"

"I met with His Excellency Michihiko Kobayashi, President of Sanritsu Steelworks, some time ago, and he expressed his interest in Iketani's technology and production capabilities. If possible, Sanritsu Steel may be willing to buy shares in Iketani and offer a more suitable price. Uchida said.

"It turns out that Uchida-kun has already been in contact with Sanli Steel, is it possible that everything today is also caused by Uchida-kun on purpose?" asked Bai Tujun staring at Uchida's face.

Yu Uchida smiled coldly and said, "Director Shiraku's imagination is really too rich. I contacted Sanli Steel for the benefit of the directors. If Sanritsu Steel Co., Ltd. wants to merge with Iketani Works, it will inevitably acquire the shares in your hands, and you can get a better redemption price. If we reject Sanli Steel, there may not be any other companies in Japan willing to accept us, and I think everyone knows what the capital market can give you in return, right?"

"I see!" some of the directors reacted. It turned out that Uchida Yu had long known that Iketani Manufacturing was going to plant a heel, and if this heel was planted, it was estimated that it would be difficult to turn over. The start of the coal-to-liquid project in China has not attracted much attention in Japan, and many people have not linked the matter to Iketani Manufacturing, so Iketani's stock will be able to maintain in the short term. But once the public knows the true situation of Iketani, Iketani's stock is afraid that it will fall to the bottom. A company that may go bankrupt, and you can't find a buyer if you want to sell your stocks, and at that time, all the money that everyone has worked hard to save for decades will be in vain.

In contrast, if Sanli Steel is willing to take over, in order to get the controlling stake as soon as possible, and for the company to be able to hand over smoothly, Sanli is completely likely to buy the shares in everyone's hands at a premium, and everyone can get back some residuals.

"Chairman Takai, I think Uchida-kun's proposal is something to consider!"

"Yes, now that the chemical equipment market is in a downturn, it's time for Iketani to withdraw from the industry!"

Everyone talked about it, and finally a thousand words were gathered into one sentence:

"Sell it!"