Chapter 2103

"Zhou Jun!" Mitsui Genosuke fell silent for a moment before speaking: "Why did you give up on Sony, yet choose Sony Records and Film?"

During the negotiations, Zhou Andong and Sony's side did not mention the issue of the Mitsui family's shares.

But Zhou Andong used his existing 13.6% stake to exchange for Sony Records and Film, and Mitsui Genosuke understood that Zhou Andong would no longer be interested in the Sony shares held by the family.

This truly baffled him: if Zhou Andong only held 13.6% of the shares, giving them up would be that—nothing more to say.

But if he could obtain the family's shares, Zhou Andong would instantly become Sony's second-largest shareholder; as long as he could convince those Huaerjie shareholders to sell their stakes, Sony would be renamed.

Put it this way: Sony is now inwardly anxious and outwardly troubled, and Zhou Andong convincing those Huaerjie vampires to abandon Sony shares is highly probable.

He does not believe Zhou Andong failed to see this, yet Zhou Andong gave it up—he truly did not understand, nor did he figure it out.

Zhou Andong smiled faintly: Sony, in the eyes of the world, is an electronics giant, but in his eyes, it's really useless.

Because the goal he pursues goes far beyond this. He longs to create a technology giant belonging to the Chinese people, like the future Huawei, or even better.

Even if he successfully brings Sony under his control and makes it surnamed Zhou, the Japanese government will absolutely not tolerate him moving Sony to China.

In the future, no matter how high he lifts Sony, people will still see it as a Japanese brand. If one must say it has any connection to China, it is only that this leader is Chinese.

And any disruptive creation in this world relies on foresight and forward-thinking. He is the world's biggest bug—if he is willing to spend money, continuously recruit top talent, and clearly point out research directions, relying on the strong R&D capability of the Yu Zhou Science and Technology Research Institute, what could they not develop?

"Mitsui Jun!"

Zhou Andong did not answer Mitsui Genosuke's question; he could not very well say, "I want to build a technology giant and look down on Sony."

If he said that, given Mitsui Genosuke's upbringing, he would certainly not show anything to his face, but behind the scenes, it's hard to say.

"I'm returning to my country tomorrow, so tonight I'd like to chat with you about cooperation."

"Cooperation?"

Mitsui Genosuke was stunned for a moment; aside from the Mitsui family investing in China, he truly did not know what cooperation existed between them at this time.

At that moment, the Major himself personally brought over the wine, then took the decanter and poured wine into the two tall glasses.

After that old devil left, Zhou Andong continued: "Xiangjiang Offshore Trust Bank wishes to expand its overseas business into Japan."

If Chinese enterprises want to expand overseas, especially in countries like Europe, America, and Japan, without cooperating with influential local figures or forces, troubles will keep coming knocking.

Although the Offshore Trust Bank comes from Xiangjiang, do not forget: in three years it will return to the motherland, and it's hard to guarantee when the little devil's government will stir up trouble and cause incidents.

Therefore, Zhou Andong thought of Mitsui Genosuke. If he could reach a cooperation with the Mitsui family, the Offshore Trust Bank's business in Japan would surely proceed smoothly.

As for whether the Mitsui family is willing to cooperate, this is not an issue. After all, a bank capable of providing a five-billion-dollar loan is extremely attractive to any conglomerate, and the Mitsui family is certainly no exception.

Mitsui Genosuke's spirits lifted at once, because the family has three successors, and he is merely one of them—and not the most competitive.

Thus, he does not pay much attention to the position of competing clan head; but now, Zhou Andong's appearance has given him hope, and his heart begins to soar.

"Zhou Jun, are you sure you're not joking?"

Mitsui Genosuke suppressed his inner excitement, his eyes unblinking as he stared at Zhou Andong.

"Of course!"

Zhou Andong smiled faintly, raised his wine glass, gently swirling it, his movements elegant and confident. This pose he learned from films, and it looks rather like the real thing.

"But I can only offer 38% of the shares, and it must not be fewer than five shareholders."

Mitsui Genosuke's fingers lightly tapped the table as he fell into thought. The Mitsui family's investment strategy usually is to keep a low profile and not easily take overly high share proportions.

Generally, they hold no more than 10% of shares. Therefore, even after adding three more shareholders, this 38% stake is not considered small.

Zhou Andong appeared quite relaxed, showing no worry that Mitsui Genosuke would refuse. He knew this was an important opportunity for both sides, and if cooperation were achieved, it would bring great benefits to both.

Zhou Andong took a light sip of red wine, then smacked his lips—this indeed tastes a bit better than the domestic wine costing a few yuan per bottle, but that's all there is to it.

Finally, Mitsui Genosuke raised his head, smiling and saying: "It can be done!"

Such a cooperation opportunity is hard-won; if he chose to refuse, the clan head would likely not hesitate to expel him from the family, possibly even striking him from the records.

Zhou Andong laughed, raising his wine glass: "Mitsui Jun, then let's wish our cooperation pleasant."

Mitsui Genosuke also picked up his wine glass; the two crystal glasses lightly touched, producing a clear sound.

"Pleasant cooperation."

The two tilted their heads back, drained the red wine in their glasses, then gently set down the glasses.

"Zhou Jun!" Mitsui Genosuke picked up the decanter and poured wine for Zhou Andong: "The Mitsui family is considering investing in China; I think we will have deeper cooperation in the future."

"I very much look forward to it!"

Zhou Andong's smile on his face appeared sincere, but in his heart he let out a cold laugh.

The Mitsui conglomerate is no good thing: in April 2001, the Mitsui Group's Sakura Bank and the Sumitomo Group's Sumitomo Bank merged to form Mitsui Sumitomo Bank, marking the integration of the Mitsui and Sumitomo financial institutions into Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group.

As the core organization of this new Mitsui-Sumitomo conglomerate system, Mitsui Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation—these two general trading companies—have taken on the heavy burden of diversification and internationalization, and then they launched their encirclement of China's resources.

What is resource encirclement? For example, Baosteel fell into its greatest dilemma due to iron ore negotiations, which simply could not be concluded.

The main reason they could not be concluded is that our upstream resources have already been controlled by foreign capital. These monopolistic giants mainly control two major areas: one part is Brazil, the other is Australia.

Behind Australia lies Anglo-American capital, while Brazil is mainly Japanese capital, among which Mitsui Corporation holds 12% of the shares in the parent company of Vale.