Chapter 144: 's credibility skyrocketed!

The JR Group is undoubtedly the undisputed leader in Japan's railway industry.
Simply by privatizing railways, it rakes in trillions of yen in profits annually, making it incredibly wealthy.
In comparison, even with Kintetsu Group's relentless diversification efforts in the Kansai region, it can only look on in comparison to JR, not even worthy of carrying its shoes.
However, appearances can be deceiving. The JR Group is not a monolithic entity.
On the contrary, the company is internally divided, with several powerful families entrenched in their own territories.
On the surface, everyone maintains a facade of harmony and prosperity.
But what lies beneath?
They are all sharpening their knives, each plotting to devour the others and seize complete control of the group!
Kintetsu Group's leader, Takashi Kobayashi, is pursuing this very ambition.
As the saying goes, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits."
He was waiting for the major families to fight amongst themselves, until they were both battered and bruised, so he could seize the opportunity to pounce.
"Sigh..." A long sigh seemed to drain all of Kobayashi Takashi's strength.
Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes.
A sudden, massive earthquake shattered the Kintetsu Group's burning ambitions into pieces!
"Chairman!" The secretary's voice trembled.
"The report is out. Our factories under construction and planned residential areas, located right near the epicenter, have suffered devastating losses!"
Kobayashi Takashi felt his temples throbbing, as if they were about to explode:
"What about the railway? What's the situation there?"
"The railway... isn't much better!
Some of the tracks being connected are twisted together like pretzels;
Many sections are completely broken and damaged, with the steel and concrete exposed—a truly horrific sight!
It looks like a complete rework is necessary!"
The Kumamoto project!
That was a "sky-high gamble" for the Kintetsu Group, a gamble with their entire fortunes!
It was the key to the group's future "leap forward"!
Once these projects were completed, the Kintetsu Group's size would skyrocket. Then, those guys at JR wouldn't be able to treat him like a nobody anymore.
But just at this crucial moment, a massive earthquake shattered all his dreams, leaving not a trace!
"...Where do I even begin to clean up this mess?" Kobayashi Takashi muttered to himself, his vision blurring, feeling like the world was spinning.
However, he never imagined that the real "natural and man-made disaster" was only just beginning!
"Chairman! The Jiangjin Group...they say they're coming to visit soon!"
"Huh?!" Kobayashi Takashi nearly jumped out of his chair. "Those bastards from Jiangjin? What are they coming for?!"
The mere mention of the Jiangjin Group made Kobayashi Takashi's teeth itch with hatred!
Back then, in his quest for quick profits, he used one of his investment companies to aggressively short-sell Jiangjin Group's stock. And what was the result?
The "battery scandal" erupted, the stock price plummeted, and he lost everything!
Rumor has it that those old foxes from Jiangjin Group had dug a series of traps long ago, just waiting for these self-righteous "international speculators" to fall in.
But they ended up being treated like easy prey, getting ruthlessly fleeced, even their roots ripped off!
And now these opportunistic, kicking-the-wolf bastards actually have the nerve to come knocking?
What, suddenly have a change of heart, planning to come and apologize?
Bullshit! Even a fool like Kobayashi Takashi knows that those heartless bastards have no concept of "conscience" in their dictionary!
Like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—definitely up to no good!
"Chairman," the secretary swallowed hard, "those guys are holding a whopping 700 billion yen in short-term corporate bonds!"
"How...how much?!" Kobayashi Takashi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Seven hundred billion?! Wait, short-term corporate bonds...you mean, bonds issued by Kintetsu itself?!"
"Yes, yes, Chairman. And...they're about to mature!
Their actions are clearly timed perfectly, using their position as creditors to undermine us and put pressure on us!"
How did those damned bastards at Jiangjin Group manage to acquire so many Kintetsu bonds without anyone noticing?
This thought flashed through Kobayashi Takashi's mind, but he quickly forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and tried to steady his pounding emotions, his brain racing.
"What's the panic! It's just maturing bonds, right? Just issue a new batch, and it'll be solved!"
Robbing Peter to pay Paul—that's standard practice for large corporations in finance.
"No money to repay right now, or the money needs to be used wisely, then just issue some new debt to plug the hole in the old debt."
"What a small matter! As long as the company doesn't collapse, this game can go on forever."
"His Kintetsu Group is a large and powerful company; can it be brought down by this little storm?"
"But, but... the Financial Services Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, they, they actually—rejected our bond issuance application!"
"Wh-what?! Say that again?!"
Kobayashi Takashi really jumped up from his chair this time, his voice cracking.
This was a bolt from the blue!
"These bastards, they used to approve anything as soon as they got the money, what's wrong with them today?
Why are they suddenly turning their backs on us?!"
"Chairman, the financial world is in complete chaos right now, with all sorts of nasty rumors circulating!
Everyone's saying, everyone's saying our Kintetsu Group is about to go bankrupt and be liquidated!"
"Bullshit! Pure, utter fabrication!" Kobayashi Takashi roared, furious.
"The Financial Services Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange replied that we need to provide more detailed supplementary materials and undergo an extremely rigorous re-examination before any approval is possible.
It seems they think our group's current financial statements are completely unreliable!"
"Tell them to stop spouting nonsense! Tell them to approve it already!
Do you think Kintetsu Group is some random roadside stall?!"
Kobayashi Takashi roared, spitting as he spoke.
"Chairman, calm down. We'll supplement the materials, we'll go through the procedures again. Approval shouldn't be a problem."
"But Chairman, the biggest problem right now is that the bankruptcy rumors are spreading too fast and too widely, like a virus!
At this rate, even if the bond issuance is successful, I'm afraid, I'm afraid no one will dare to buy it!"
The officials at the Financial Services Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange can indeed use "risk assessment" as an excuse to delay the bond issuance.
But as long as Kintetsu Group is willing to invest money to "lobby," the issuance itself shouldn't be a dead end.
The real dead end is, who will buy it?
Right now, with all this unease, Kintetsu Group appears to be teetering on the brink of collapse, on the verge of bankruptcy.
First, they stubbornly poured money into building that Osaka Sky City project, accumulating a mountain of debt;
plus rumors of previous failed overseas stock investments.
Then they gambled everything on the Kumamoto project.
To this end, the group even issued one trillion yen in corporate bonds.
And the result? A major earthquake, and the Kumamoto project was completely ruined, yielding nothing.
Now, those rumors of "being on the verge of bankruptcy" seem almost officially verified, their credibility skyrocketing!
(My darlings, I've added an extra chapter today, making it four chapters in total. Just refresh the page to see them. Thank you everyone! Love you all!)