Chapter 261: Brewing a Storm

"Chairman Su, the Japanese have finally pulled the trigger."
In the conference room of Fang Huan Investment, the air seemed to freeze for a second or two.
The shoe that everyone feared most finally dropped with a "thud."
The Japanese side brazenly announced a "supply cut-off" export control on three core materials for China's semiconductor industry!
This was no longer a minor skirmish; it was a battle for national destiny fought openly.
Su Hao understood perfectly; this was entirely the script he had expected.
They could use semiconductors to strangle us, but we couldn't conjure up a comparable "weapon of mass destruction" to retaliate.
In game terms, this was a losing start.
"What about Jiang Jin and Xia Lian? They both have semiconductor industries; can they hold on?"
"Reporting to Chairman Su, I heard those two reacted quite quickly.
As soon as the rumors started, they contacted our subsidiary, Fanghuan Shipping, and urgently activated their global backup supply chain.
But the problem is, Japan's market share in those core materials is ridiculously high; completely bypassing them is quite difficult.
So right now, they can only scrape together stockpiles from around the world to barely stay afloat."
Fortunately, Fanghuan Shipping's connection was established quickly enough to give them a breather.
"Also, there's another piece of news.
Jiang Jin and Xia Lian, the two major conglomerates, seem to have foreseen this. They previously invested in building new materials R&D centers and wafer fabs in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, reportedly simultaneously developing domestic alternatives.
If they're lucky, they might be able to turn the tide!"
That's what they say, but everyone knows that this battle will inevitably involve losses.
"As long as Japan shuts off the valve, China's semiconductor production lines will be strangled."
"This is the latest stock market report," another assistant handed over a tablet.
"Affected by the semiconductor incident, the domestic stock market has plummeted, and related concept stocks have generally fallen sharply.
The most critical thing is that those foreign bastards are reacting extremely sensitively and are fleeing like crazy!"
"Are they so sure we're doomed?" Su Hao scoffed.
"Chairman Su. The latest analysis report from Wall Street believes that Japan holds the advantage in both the short and long term.
As long as Japan continues to stab us with the semiconductor knife, we'll have to compromise sooner or later and make huge concessions at the negotiating table."
In stark contrast to the sharp drop in the domestic stock market, the Japanese stock market saw a slight increase.
This feeling is fucking frustrating!
At this moment, the researcher handed Su Hao a thick report:
"Also, Chairman Su, this is the analysis report on major listed companies in Japan that you requested earlier."
Although the Japanese stock market has risen slightly, most stocks, once bought, would only yield a pittance.
Trying to create a major upheaval here is pure fantasy.
"Japan's YCC, or 'yield curve control policy,' acts like a giant iron cage, firmly suppressing their interest rates near zero.
This directly results in a lifeless market, without even a decent fluctuation, like a stagnant pool."
Japan is a peculiar country that has taken zero interest rates to the extreme.
The US once tried to emulate this, but it backfired and is now struggling to raise interest rates.
However, Japan's situation is completely different. If they dared to raise interest rates, the debt bubble and economic system built up over decades would explode overnight.
Therefore, the Yen Currency Conversion Policy (YCC) is their lifeline, using administrative power to forcibly suppress interest rates while maintaining the false stability of the yen.
The so-called "Beta Economics," which was previously touted as miraculous, is essentially this policy.
"Therefore, the mainstream view in the research department is that the YCC wall is unbreakable.
In the short term, it's hard to expect any major changes in the Japanese market."
In other words: buying stocks on the Japanese stock market won't make you much money.
Otherwise, how did the famous "yen carry trade" become so popular?
"Isn't it because they can't make money in their own countries that all sorts of shady characters are taking advantage of the zero-interest rate policy to borrow huge sums of money and then go abroad to stir up trouble?"
Su Hao casually flipped through the thick report, his fingertips tracing unfamiliar company names.
He flipped through it again and again, and it was all shoddy work; not a single one caught his eye.
The entire market seemed dead, filled with a stale, decaying atmosphere.
"Is there really no opportunity?"
Thinking this, he casually turned to the next page.
In that instant—
"...Holy crap?!"
Su Hao's pupils suddenly contracted.
The company names on the paper were covered by a layer of violently flashing "noise," distorted, grotesque, almost unrecognizable!
This bizarre sight stunned him completely; he stared blankly at those few lines of text, motionless.
"Chairman Su...do you already have a target in mind?"
Seeing his lack of response, the subordinate cautiously leaned over and asked.
This question pulled Su Hao back from the bizarre visual shock.
"Just a moment."
He took a deep breath, suppressing his discomfort, and circled the stocks with the most severe and glaring "noise" on the report.
"That's all." He quickly handed the report back, not wanting to look at it again.
"Chairman Su, do you mean...should we go long or short on these stocks?"
Such violent, ominous "noise" was accompanied by a deep-seated sense of disgust and repulsion.
How could it possibly be a buy signal!
Su Hao's intuition roared in his mind like a thunderclap:
A storm powerful enough to turn the entire Japanese market upside down was brewing, about to descend!
"Short all of these stocks I've circled."
Su Hao paused, then added, his voice not loud, but it seemed to freeze the air in the entire office.
"Use whatever money you have. Use the maximum amount we can mobilize, short them as much as possible!"
"Yes, Chairman Su! We'll execute immediately!
However, you've marked a considerable number of stocks; counting and raising the short positions will take time.
Also, regarding funds, how much exactly should we use…?"
"The total funds we can mobilize right now are 60 billion, right?"
“Yes, after that move with Tesla, our funds have expanded to this scale.”
Six hundred billion.
That number sounds impressive.
But if you throw it into the vast ocean of global capital, it's at best a slightly larger ripple.
After all, there are super-giants in the world managing trillions of dollars in assets.
However, if you concentrate all that money and pour it all into the Japanese market…
Then it could become a lever to shake up the market.
Su Hao's voice was flat, yet carried an undeniable resolve:
“Not a penny left, pour it all in.”