Huang He's efficiency satisfied Yamamoto Ryuichi. The day after the contract was signed, the first batch of 1 million storage chips of various models entered the shipping procedure. Meanwhile, companies like Samsung were still trying their best to purchase quotas from others at high prices.
When this batch of chips was loaded onto ships at Wenzhou Port, preparing to depart for Japan, Park Kang-hee of Samsung proudly invited Yamamoto Ryuichi to dinner.
"I managed to acquire a total of 500,000 chips from those Chinese people and another 200,000 from several other companies. This time, I've secured a total quota of 1.5 million chips!" Park Kang-hee declared triumphantly.
He had indeed achieved substantial gains, being the most successful among all companies attempting to purchase additional quotas.
"Is that so? But I heard you had to increase the total price by nearly 60% to get this shipment!" Yamamoto Ryuichi narrowed his eyes, unwilling to let Park Kang-hee show off in front of him.
"That's just 60% calculated at the Chinese market price. If it's based on the foreign market price of Jiangnan Group, it's only a 5% increase!" Park Kang-hee certainly wouldn't admit to paying an extra 60%, or the big bosses at Samsung headquarters would have him beheaded.
Compared to that, 5% sounded much better.
"However, I'm truly not as capable as you, Mr. Yamamoto. Your actions are as steady as a mountain. You've been completely inactive these past few days. You even refused my offer to cooperate. Has Sony given up on these chips?" Park Kang-hee struck a sharp blow at Yamamoto Ryuichi.
While he was busy running around, he had also approached Yamamoto Ryuichi, proposing cooperation to jointly set a price and prevent acquisition prices from soaring.
To his surprise, Yamamoto Ryuichi had refused him and even stated that he would not acquire chips from others.
Initially, Park Kang-hee believed this was a deception. He therefore assigned people to monitor Yamamoto Ryuichi more closely, trying to uncover his actions. However, Yamamoto Ryuichi's team had returned to Japan collectively, leaving only Yamamoto Ryuichi and two subordinates in China. Even then, they had made no overt moves, merely visiting Jiangnan Group occasionally. This left Park Kang-hee utterly bewildered.
After all, based on his understanding, Sony placed great importance on these chips.
"Giving up is naturally impossible. It's acceptable to have fewer chips in the first batch. We plan to equip only a portion of the luxury edition PSPs with storage chips produced by Jiangnan Optoelectronics!" Yamamoto Ryuichi said with a smile.
"Oh, so that means the luxury edition PSP will only have 800,000 units? The market might not be able to divide them!" Park Kang-hee said sarcastically. "By the way, the luxury edition PSP should at least have 512..."
If they could acquire Jiangnan Optoelectronics, Sony could then use its storage chip technology to control many companies. It was truly a regrettable matter that these Koreans were so stingy.
While these two men harbored their own intentions, the television playing in the restaurant's private room had already entered the news broadcast segment. Simultaneously, as neither of the two individuals present had any interest in watching television, the default channel upon turning it on was Wenzhou Television. Thus, they heard the anchor say, "Dear viewers, welcome to today's Wenzhou News. Today's main program content includes: Sony Group, the China Electronics Technology Industry Development Alliance, and Wenzhou Jiangnan Technology Group have signed an agreement, officially becoming a preliminary member of the alliance!"
...
Both of them were China experts within their respective companies and spoke fluent Chinese, which was why they were assigned to negotiate cooperation with Jiangnan Group. Therefore, they both understood the news immediately.
Park Kang-hee was initially stunned, then his tense body instantly relaxed. He looked at Yamamoto Ryuichi with a mocking and disdainful expression.
At this moment, Yamamoto Ryuichi felt extremely awkward, and the television was indeed beginning to broadcast the news report.
"According to the latest news obtained by this station, after the establishment of the China Technology Electronics Industry Development Alliance, many foreign companies have expressed optimism and anticipation towards the alliance, and have enthusiastically submitted applications to join the alliance!"
"The China Electronics Industry Development Alliance, led by Wenzhou Jiangnan Group, has warmly welcomed this. International renowned enterprise Sony Group has shown particular enthusiasm. After multiple rounds of friendly negotiations, the two parties have successfully signed a letter of intent. Sony Group will officially join the China Electronics Industry Development Alliance during the alliance's new member recruitment period next year, becoming an external commercial member of the alliance."
"This signifies the entry of the China Electronics Technology Industry Development Alliance into a brand new era, evolving from a domestic alliance into an international one. More companies such as Samsung Electronics and Intel Electronics will join the alliance, writing a new chapter for the development of the electronics industry."
...
The news continued for quite some time, forming a full 10-minute special report. Park Kang-hee watched with great amusement, while Yamamoto Ryuichi continuously drank tea.
After the news finally concluded, Park Kang-hee asked cheerfully, "So Sony has joined the China Electronics Technology Industry Development Alliance. That's a really good idea. However, I don't recall Jiangnan Group sending us an invitation, nor have they sent invitations to any other foreign companies. I wonder who took the initiative to propose joining the alliance?"
"This is merely a strategy, a strategy to win more orders!" Yamamoto Ryuichi coughed and said, "It's just that Mr. Park didn't think of this method. Otherwise, I believe Mr. Park would have done the same!"
"I'm not as clever as you!" Park Kang-hee sneered, then his eyes darted around. "By the way, since Sony has signed a letter of intent, they shouldn't breach the contract next year and will definitely join this China Electronics Industry Development Alliance, right?"
"Cough, cough...!" Yamamoto Ryuichi coughed, hesitated, and realized that at this moment, he absolutely could not reveal any flaws or give Samsung any leverage. Thus, he nodded and said, "Naturally."
As for whether they would actually join or not, only heaven knew.
"In that case, I wish Sony Group congratulations on latching onto Jiangnan Group's coattails!" Park Kang-hee said with a smile, which disgusted Yamamoto Ryuichi.
He actually said that Sony had latched onto Jiangnan Group's coattails. It was ridiculous. Sony possessed countless formidable technologies, but Jiangnan Group only had a mere bit of storage chip technology. How could they be more impressive than Sony?
However, his own actions did seem to confirm him actively securing Jiangnan Group's support, which was quite unpleasant.
"Cough, cough, since that's the case, then Samsung Group will definitely not latch onto Jiangnan Group's coattails! Thank you for the hospitality today. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave," Yamamoto Ryuichi said with a chuckle and left decisively, leaving Park Kang-hee sitting there in a daze.
"Damn it, how did Yamamoto Ryuichi manage to corner me with just one sentence!" Park Kang-hee sat there, feeling incredibly frustrated for a long time, before finally slapping his thigh and exclaiming, "No, I need to contact headquarters. It's just a letter of intent; whether we join or not is another matter. Let's secure the supply first!"