Unlike Sony, which had received approval from its headquarters, Park Kang-hee did not receive approval from Samsung headquarters. The reason was simple: Samsung was already on the verge of collapse due to the nationalist fervor within the Republic of Korea. Asking them to actively join a Chinese technological alliance at this point would be tantamount to asking Samsung to cease existing.
To be precise, even if Samsung had only intended to sign a letter of intent, given Jiangnan Group's proactive announcement, it was highly likely that Samsung would not be able to avoid having the letter of intent publicized. Publicizing a letter of intent was a normal occurrence, and Samsung would have little room to object.
Therefore, Samsung ultimately did not respond to the suggestion to join the alliance.
From the perspectives of Samsung and Sony, these were merely two normal decisions, not involving major issues. However, in the future, these decisions would dictate the different developmental paths and ultimate outcomes of the two companies, leading many who learned of this history to lament.
After reading the news from Sony, Park Kang-hee and Yamamoto Ryuichi no longer paid attention to the news on television.
Consequently, they did not notice that the television news would subsequently broadcast two more pieces of news related to Jiangnan Group.
One was that "Chinese Paladin," a television series invested in and produced by Jiangnan Group, had completed post-production and announced that a preview screening would be held, inviting television stations from across the country to attend.
Another piece of news was that Jiangnan Group had secured a 60 billion RMB loan from GS Bank. The news programs naturally praised the significant cooperation between Jiangnan Group and GS Bank, expressing industry confidence in Jiangnan Group and predicting that Wenzhou would have a brighter future with such a massive leading enterprise as Jiangnan Group as a representative.
Naturally, Wenzhou's media outlets had to trumpet their local enterprises, and thus, the reports were all full of praise.
However, after this news was made public, the entire business community was instantly abuzz.
Indeed, Jiangnan Group had exploded onto the scene countless times before, but this time was no different.
A loan of 60 billion RMB directly shattered China's all-time loan record.
That's right, a loan record. From time immemorial, no bank had ever extended such a massive loan of 60 billion RMB. A private enterprise had directly created a historical record.
Of course, it wouldn't be long before this record was broken by CSR and CNR. However, in 2003, it remained an unprecedented achievement.
Although some real estate companies at the time had debts to banks exceeding one hundred billion RMB, these loans were not taken out in a single lump sum but were borrowed in batches over time.
Furthermore, these loans were not taken out by the parent company alone but were collectively borrowed by numerous subsidiaries under these real estate companies. Even for a real estate company that would later owe 750 billion RMB, the largest single loan would not exceed approximately 8 billion RMB.
Therefore, it was only scientific that Huang He and Jiangnan Group had created a historic record, causing the entire business circle to erupt.
Everyone marveled at the bold moves of GS Bank and Huang He. The former marveled at GS Bank's courage to approve such a loan. Sixty billion RMB – if this money could not be repaid and a non-performing loan occurred, everyone involved in this loan would be in trouble.
Wait… actually, perhaps not. After all, it seemed that no one faced repercussions even after the incident with the 750 billion RMB real estate company.
Regardless, the courage to approve a 60 billion RMB loan under immense pressure from both above and below was simply extraordinary.
However, at the same time, GS Bank's objective was also achieved. With the release of this loan news, it was obvious to everyone that GS Bank had taken this unprecedented step of granting a 60 billion RMB loan to appease Jiangnan Group.
Since GS Bank had demonstrated such immense fortitude in resolving its conflict with Jiangnan Group, it seemed that there was no longer any need to worry about GS Bank playing the same game of expropriating their assets in the future. After all, they had acknowledged their mistakes and rectified them to an excessive degree.
Understand the applause.
And if GS Bank dared to lend 60 billion RMB, would they hesitate to approve loans for others?
As a result, GS Bank's loan business experienced an astonishing peak in the following months. A large number of companies came to GS Bank for loans, though a significant portion of them were companies with poor qualifications.
However, GS Bank was not foolish. Naturally, they would not grant loans to such poorly qualified companies. But even excluding these unqualified companies, there remained a considerable number of businesses with excellent qualifications.
Over three months, GS Bank's loan business actually increased by 38% compared to the previous year, setting a historical record for GS Bank and directly boosting its stock price by 60%. Everyone at GH was very satisfied with this loan.
Meanwhile, everyone was also astounded by Huang He's boldness.
After all, this was a loan of 60 billion RMB. It was rumored that GH had finally set the interest rate at its absolute minimum, only 3.2% per annum, and it could be repaid over 20 years.
But if this were the case, over 20 years, the interest paid would amount to 23 billion RMB. This meant an additional annual repayment of 1.3 billion RMB in interest, bringing the total annual repayment of principal and interest to 4.3 billion RMB.
In the initial stages, there should be no shortage of funds to repay this amount. However, if it dragged on to the later stages, and Jiangnan Group encountered any operational mistakes, resulting in significant losses, then the entire Jiangnan Group would likely be on the verge of collapse.
Bold, truly audacious!
Regardless of the attitudes of many entrepreneurs in the business circle towards Jiangnan Group or their opinions of Huang He, after learning this news, they all had to give a thumbs-up to Boss Huang, exclaiming, "Huang He is awesome!"
Following the praise, a huge question arose in everyone's minds: what did Huang He, who had obtained 60 billion RMB, intend to do with this money?
Actually, this question was not a question at all. Everyone who learned of this news had a definitive answer: to engage in real estate.
Because now, everyone knew that the real estate industry would inevitably become the pillar of China, and housing prices in China would skyrocket. Moreover, only constantly rising housing prices could support the astonishing interest generated by this 60 billion RMB.
Therefore, investing in real estate was undoubtedly the most stable choice. It was possible that Jiangnan Group had already established a subsidiary named Jiangnan Real Estate and was planning large-scale construction in some city or region.
For example, their hometown of Wenzhou was an excellent choice. Currently, housing prices in Wenzhou had reached the national forefront, with prices exceeding 12,000 yuan per square meter, second only to Shanghai and Beijing in the country.
Everyone was curious about how Boss Huang would spend this 60 billion RMB. However, they did not know that Huang He himself had not yet finalized the answer.
Because this 60 billion RMB was truly a windfall for Huang He.
This 60 billion RMB was genuinely not within Boss Huang's plans.
Originally, Boss Huang's plan was to leverage the old chairman of GH to realize his goal of developing a quick payment system, enabling Jiangnan Wallet to reach the business capabilities of its future counterparts, Alipay and WeChat Pay, as soon as possible. He had never considered taking out another 60 billion RMB loan from ICBC.
After all, Boss Huang already had 8 billion USD. An additional 60 billion RMB would have little meaning, and Huang He could not use it all.
Therefore, this 60 billion RMB loan was entirely a bomb suddenly dropped by the old chairman. By all rights, Huang He should not have agreed.
However, after Wang He informed Huang He about this matter, Huang He agreed without much hesitation.
The reason was simple: who wouldn't want money falling from the sky, especially money with such low interest rates?
For a qualified entrepreneur, ample cash flow is always the most important item on their table. Regardless of whether the company is losing or making money, as long as there is money in the bank account, it is a successful enterprise.
Therefore, an excellent entrepreneur would never refuse a bank loan, even if it meant paying high interest in the future. As long as the money could truly be obtained, that would be enough.
After all, no one in the world would complain about having too much money.
Huang He, as such an excellent entrepreneur, agreed without hesitation, allowing Jiangnan Group to sign this new loan agreement with GS Bank. Within a week, the entire 60 billion RMB loan was in his account, which coincided with the end of a trade fair.
A significant reason why Huang He did not appear at the trade fair was that he was in his office contemplating how to use this 60 billion RMB.
The simplest answer seemed to be to directly invest the 60 billion RMB in the financial market. With Huang He's knowledge of future stock market trends, 60 billion RMB could easily become 120 billion, then 240 billion. This money would be like picking it up for free.
However, the problem was that Huang He truly lacked the courage to invest in the financial market this time.
Everyone knew that once the news of the 60 billion RMB loan was exposed, Jiangnan Group would inevitably become the focus of global attention, and this 60 billion RMB in cash would be the center of attention.
Although most people would not see the movement of this 60 billion RMB, people within GS Bank could see it clearly, as could the banking regulatory commission, and even higher authorities could see it clearly.
If Huang He dared to transfer this 60 billion RMB to the stock market, within two days, Huang He would likely be invited for a chat.
After all, except for Boss Huang himself, no one knew that he was a reincarnated individual, unaware that he had insight into future economic development, making a 60 billion RMB investment in the stock market a sure win.
If this 60 billion RMB were to enter the stock market and lose everything, it would be the state and the people's interests that would suffer. More importantly, the reason the state promoted such an active loan policy was not to allow companies that received money to engage in finance but to hope they would invest in real industries, invent more technologies, and create more jobs. In this way, the 60 billion RMB could generate value exceeding 200 billion RMB, which was where this money should truly be used.