Chapter 532: Proclamation Against the Traitors

Jiangjin Group is a core supplier of memory chips and semiconductors for Apple.
It's no exaggeration to say that if Apple were to go bankrupt, it would be an unprecedented disaster for Jiangjin.
Because it wouldn't just be the collapse of one company, but a global supply chain tsunami.
All IT companies and component manufacturers tied to Apple would fall like dominoes, and the financial markets would experience a massive earthquake comparable to the subprime mortgage crisis.
"From Jiangjin's perspective, Apple's bankruptcy is an absolutely unacceptable tragedy.
The amount they purchase from us every year is simply enormous."
Therefore, although Jiangjin and Apple have had numerous lawsuits and backstabbing each other over the years, they have tacitly maintained a distance within the bounds of playful banter, never jeopardizing the company's foundation.
Because everyone knows that if they truly destroyed the other, they would also suffer a devastating blow.
"But judging from Fang Huan Investment's current actions... this is no longer a warning.
They are genuinely destroying Apple's brand image, trying to drag this golden brand down from its pedestal, throw it into a cesspool, and trample it underfoot."
In other words, if they continue like this, Apple will suffer irreversible and permanent damage.
Logically, as a competitor, Jiang Jin should be celebrating with champagne, but they are not happy at all.
If Apple's phone sales collapse, the freed-up market share won't necessarily go entirely to Jiang Jin.
On the contrary, Jiang Jin's chip and semiconductor orders will plummet, causing profits to drop accordingly.
"Fang Huan Investment can't possibly not understand that crippling Apple won't benefit them either."
"So...they need a way out, a mediator?"
"Yes. You could even say they're waiting for our Jiangjin Group to step in!"
"We? How can we step in?"
"Chairman, didn't Jiangjin also undergo the ESG Association's assessment?
Although the standards are 'milder' than Fruit's, we did implement the necessary rectifications based on their feedback.
We can use this as a starting point to announce to the outside world that our Jiangjin Group will be fully responsible for all parts production and manufacturing processes at Fruit Company, ensuring compliance with ESG standards!
Wouldn't that give Fang Huan a way out?"
The ESG Association's "declaration of war" has been proclaimed to the world, and Fang Huan's investment's propaganda machine has ridden the wave of media attention, speeding away without even taking the brakes.
But they also knew in their hearts that going any further would lead to a precipice, dragging the global financial markets down with them.
Therefore, they needed a reason to stop, a graceful way out.
“We, Jiang Jin, will be that way out!”
This idea was absolutely brilliant!
It made the air in the entire conference room perk up!
“But wouldn’t Jiang Jin reap all the benefits this way? It’s like we can squeeze an extra layer of skin off the fruit.”
“Exactly. We can extract tens or even hundreds of billions more in profits from the fruit every year!”
“But what is Fang Huan Investment after? They went through all this trouble just to benefit us?”
Fanghuan Investment's only gain was demonstrating the devastating power of the ESG Association to the world.
But was that all?
"That's Fanghuan, that's Su Hao," the executive who made the suggestion said in a deep voice.
"They will definitely recoup their losses through other channels. They might even make some... demands on us."
Qin Han nodded in deep agreement.
The Fanghuan Investment he knew, or rather, that young man named Su Hao, always had one style:
Never do a losing business!
***
Fanghuan Investment, Su Hao's office.
"Any movement from Fruit?"
"Yes, Chairman Su.
The news is that Jiangjin Group intends to intervene and is negotiating with Fruit to help them improve the compliance issues of their supply chain factories.
They hope to... ease tensions with the ESG Association."
Su Hao listened to the report without expression.
The ESG Association's influence was even more exaggerated than he had anticipated.
The fact that they could push a behemoth like the fruit industry to the brink of collapse speaks volumes.
"The ESG matter..."
He had absolutely no interest in the specific implementation details.
He knew better than anyone how cumbersome those evaluation standards were, how suffocating their rules and regulations were.
There was no need for him to personally handle this kind of dirty, tiring work that required patience.
"Let the group and Jiang Jin handle it; let them finalize the details themselves." He waved his hand listlessly.
"Ah, okay."
Frankly, he just found it troublesome; Su Hao was too lazy to waste brain cells on something that was already on autopilot.
"Also, this is a document from the Saudi royal family."
"Saudi Arabia?"
"Yes. They're conducting another round of investment promotion for that 'Future New City' project.
You should remember, right? They contacted us before."
Su Hao certainly remembered.
At the time, the Saudi Crown Prince, ambitious and determined to build an unprecedented city of the future, sent Fang Huan a letter of intent to invest.
But Fang Huan didn't even glance at it, immediately tossing it into the trash.
"Although the progress of that 'future city' is a far cry from their boastful blueprints,
the Saudi royal family has indeed been heavily investing in infrastructure recently, attempting a major national transformation through a series of aggressive investments."
Saudi Arabia has indeed undergone a dramatic transformation.
Under the impetus of Crown Prince Hamad Salman, who wields immense power, all sorts of outlandish investment projects have sprung up, bringing about drastic changes to this ancient kingdom.
"The 'future city' project is still ongoing.
Although building according to the original plans is no longer realistic, their ambition to 'build the world's number one city' remains unchanged, and they're burning through cash faster than a printing press."
This is precisely why they are even more desperate for external investment.
Because the money they make from selling oil is almost insufficient to support such a massive dream.
"What did they say about ESG?" Su Hao asked casually.
"...They haven't evaluated them yet."
"Then let's wait for the evaluation results."
With the emergence of the ESG Association, Fanghuan Investment has a new unwritten investment guideline:
Any new project must first undergo an ESG screening.
Su Hao knew very well how harsh and inhumane these standards were.
But his initial intention in establishing this association was to create a more ideal business environment and social structure.
Therefore, even if it was slower and more troublesome, he himself had to take the lead in abiding by these rules.
“The last document is from the group. However… Chairman Su, there’s quite a lot of information.”
“A lot? How much… Holy crap!”
When Su Hao saw several employees struggling to carry in several large boxes of documents, even he couldn’t help but swear.
Is this an investment report or a comprehensive encyclopedia?
“This is a strategic plan compiled by the group regarding the future development direction of our Fanghuan Investment.
It’s categorized and scenario-based, so… it’s quite large.”
“This isn’t just quite large, it’s extremely large, ridiculously large!”
What kind of era is this?
An era where you get blocked if you can’t finish explaining something in three sentences!
But this pile of stuff in front of him—stacks of hundreds of pages thick—was taller than him!
"It feels like it gets bigger every year," Su Hao rubbed his temples.
"There's nothing we can do, Chairman Su," Liu Bo said with a wry smile,
"Who told you to personally review them every year and set the overall tone for the group?"
"And our group's size is indeed getting bigger and bigger."
Su Hao sighed. This habit was something he had fostered himself.
Every year, he would receive a massive amount of data from the group and then decide on an overall strategic direction from it.
Over time, the group developed a path dependency, bombarding him with every imaginable and unimaginable possibility every year.
Su Hao resignedly sat down and casually picked up a book to read.
Although he complained incessantly, he was mentally as calm as a rock, completely unfazed.
Because—
'Here it comes!'
As soon as he started reading and absorbing the information, his almost causal intuition would automatically kick in, providing the clearest guidance.
'A blood-red light… Looks like this plan is a huge pitfall, not to be touched!'
He didn't even need to glance at it again, casually tossing the thick report into the wastepaper pile.
In his younger days, he had meticulously analyzed it word by word.
But countless times, facts proved that his painstakingly calculated judgments were utterly useless in the face of his innate intuition—inaccurate and a waste of time.
After repeating this several times…
“…Hmm?”
As he picked up a new document, a completely different sensation came through his fingertips.