Was it ten years, or twenty...? At any rate, there weren’t many years left. If my memory was right, the era of secondary batteries would soon begin.
A secondary battery was a component that could be used semi-permanently through recharging. If a primary battery was a dry cell, then a secondary battery was like a charger.
If there were a cellphone that ran only on disposable batteries and a cellphone that ran on a charger, which would you use? Since the latter was overwhelmingly more convenient, the replacement of components would accelerate accordingly.
And the scale of that market was so vast it could not even be estimated.
As everyone knew, global society had recently begun responding to climate change in earnest.
From electric vehicles in the near term to ESS—energy storage systems—in the long term, components across almost every industry would have to be replaced, and that market was astronomical.
Accordingly, resources like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, essential materials for secondary batteries, saw their prices fluctuate wildly, doubling or tripling when conditions were good.
But if my memory was right, apart from the era of secondary batteries itself, raw materials hadn’t been all that profitable.
When oil was at a hundred dollars, it truly felt as if all the oil in the world had run out, but afterward shale gas burst forth in abundance. Minerals were the same. Just when they seemed to have become expensive, they would come pouring out of mountains and seas. And if prices still seemed to rise, mining technology improved, normalizing prices one way or another.
“...”
And if my memory was right, I had no recollection of SecondPro.
I remembered it being acquired by a bigger and better company at a good price. But was that company Korean, Chinese, or American...?
I could not remember the details very well, but I clearly remembered the coming Warring States era of the secondary battery market.
At first, the overall situation favored China.
Chinese companies, which currently controlled 60 percent of the market share, would crush the global market just as they had strangled the drone industry to death, and our companies would also struggle badly. When you looked closely at secondary batteries, there were various categories, such as cathode materials, anode materials, and electrolyte materials, and China’s low-price offensive worked in every single one.
So they took over the market at an extremely rapid pace.
The only fortunate thing was that after solar and wind power, when China tried to swallow secondary batteries as well, the United States, sensing the danger, began to check them from multiple angles...?
The AI industry inevitably consumed a tremendous amount of electricity, and this could only lead to energy security. The United States, unwilling to let China hold its energy lifeline, classified it as a strategic asset and made the use of American-made products mandatory.
That was probably why I did not remember SecondPro.
At the time, America’s powerful quota system also extended its benefits to America’s strong allies. I vaguely remembered them surviving for a long time by supplying parts or being allotted production volume. Perhaps SecondPro was acquired by a good company around then.
Or perhaps not.
“Hello. Are you, by any chance, the person from the pension fund...?”
That was why I had personally come to see him at the headquarters in North Chungcheong Province.
It was clearly a promising business, and its technology was quite considerable, yet I had no memory of it. Had SecondPro disappeared in a good way, or in a bad way...?
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Team Leader Lee Sejun from the pension fund.”
When I greeted him with a bright expression, CEO Ha replied with a deathly pale face.
“Team Leader, please give us just a little more time. I can explain everything.”
“Pardon?”
“The recent surge in the stock price, the Financial Supervisory Service designating us as an administrative issue... Aren’t you here because of the overheated mood around the stock? But this stock price surge is based on expectations from the company’s rising sales. This document contains what we plan to announce in the upcoming conference call. Please review it.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“Yes, I’m aware. Looking at the forecasts from various institutions, they expect SecondPro’s sales to increase significantly after establishing overseas factories.”
“Yes, that’s correct. I know it sounds like boasting, but it will be a historic earnings surprise.”
“But why are you giving me this document separately...?”
“Didn’t you come because of the stock disposal? I already heard through the FSS disclosure that the pension fund is reducing its stake. But Team Leader! Please pay attention to the coming secondary battery market and our technology. The growth engine of our SecondPro is by no means limited to this point. We will repay you with even greater growth.”
With that one sentence, I understood the entire situation.
Recently, the pension fund had begun reducing its stake to realize profits, and it seemed he had interpreted that as a full sell-off.
“Of course, I am deeply sorry that during the last surge, we failed to turn it into profit and quickly gave back the gains. But this time is different! We will seize this opportunity that has come again as an opportunity for innovative growth, no matter what.”
“Then do you have a strategy and response for that?”
“What use are a hundred words? One line of results matters more. The overseas factories we have been aggressively establishing recently are showing definite effects in reducing unit costs. The reason we struggled recently was because of the low-price offensive from Chinese companies, but with this method, we can respond sufficiently. Furthermore, beyond the high-nickel cathode materials that are currently SecondPro’s mainstay, we are considering entering various battery fields.”
“You mean you intend to broaden the market?”
“Yes. How long can we just keep taking attacks on our rice bowl from Chinese companies? We, too, will enter more fields and do our utmost to diversify our profits. Accordingly, our projected sales will be nearly double what they are now at minimum!”
I nodded calmly.
Thanks to that, I heard in advance the guidance that would be announced a month later. SecondPro was aiming for unit cost innovation through the establishment of overseas factories and was also preparing to diversify its profits.
Since there had been some results to a certain extent, the strategy itself was trustworthy.
“In that case, you’ll need a lot of funds.”
But the most fundamental problem remained.
To build factories overseas and enter other battery sectors, they would need considerable war funds. How did they intend to raise that money?
“Yes, so if the pension fund could just trust us and wait a little longer...”
“I don’t think this is an issue that will be solved simply by us waiting.”
“...Pardon?”
“To execute everything you just mentioned, wouldn’t you need an astronomical amount of money? I understand that establishing the Indonesian factory alone cost 700 billion won. That seems far beyond SecondPro’s current operating profit.”
“That is true, but...”
“CEO Ha, don’t you need money? Money to set up something like a capital increase or investment round. Don’t you need it?”
He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
His dazed face said everything. He needed a huge amount of money, but he had not even been able to bring it up.
“I-I-I do need it. Yes, I need it, but... Still, I didn’t want to pointlessly stir up the current mood around the stock price...”
“No. Sometimes, you need the courage to row when the tide comes in. CEO Ha, carry out a capital increase.”
“A-are you serious? But if we proceed with a capital increase under the current circumstances, the stock price will inevitably undergo a correction...”
“Of course, it shouldn’t affect the shareholders. Proceed with a block deal.”
“By block deal, do you mean... the pension fund will take the shares?”
“No, the volume we can help you with is limited. But I have already selected the company that will take that volume. Since establishing the Indonesian factory cost 700 billion won, how about making the additional capital increase roughly in the one trillion won range?”
CEO Ha asked me with a deathly pale face.
“Team Leader... What company would handle a one-trillion-won capital increase through a block deal?”
*
“The pension fund came?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Who is it? Is it really someone I have to come and see personally?”
“...Yes, it is. His name is Lee Sejun, a team leader at the pension fund, and he has extremely solid political connections.”
“Are you sure? From what I hear, he’s young. Does he really have enough pull to meet the prime minister and the president one-on-one?”
“I’m certain, Chairman! Our Future Strategy Office confirmed it several times. He’s been coordinating several major projects from defense to Nuri, and according to the Future Strategy Office, he was even buying Russian government bonds while avoiding Western financial sanctions.”
“His guts have completely spilled out of his belly. But why is that great fixer coming to our SDI?”
“I’m not sure... The appointment was set so suddenly that we had no time to look into the circumstances.”
One day earlier, at the Hoam SDI headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
DEFCON had been declared at this place, SecondPro’s largest customer. The pension fund, its largest shareholder, had suddenly requested a visit.
“But I don’t think he’s coming to question us about sales or performance. Our SDI’s sales and earnings this time are at record highs.”
“Then what on earth is it? The conference call ended successfully too, so what business would he have seeing us separately?”
And today, Chairman Yong Jaeseong, the head of all Hoam Group affiliates, had personally appeared here.
Somehow, it did not feel good. Immediately after the appointment was set, Hoam Group’s National Intelligence Service-like Future Strategy Office began looking into the person in question, and his career was considerable.
The pension fund official had said he wanted to hear the guidance for the battery business division in detail, but it seemed as though he had come with something in mind.
“Haa...”
But no matter how much he thought about it, he could not guess the reason.
After all, thanks to the growth of the battery market, SDI had recorded its highest-ever earnings and sales in this quarter’s conference.
But would a pension fund official visit separately just to encourage them? As soon as the SDI president received the call, he relayed the matter to Chairman Yong, and accordingly, Chairman Yong canceled all his overseas schedules and rushed to Yongin.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Yong Jaeseong, CEO of Hoam Electronics.”
When he arrived, trying to soothe his worries, he saw a young man with a boyish face.
He had heard the man was a team leader in the risk management division... but why did he look like an assistant manager?
“Ah, yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lee Sejun, head of the pension fund’s risk team. But Chairman, I see you’re here. I understood you had a business trip to the United States today...”
“It happened to be canceled. Haha. As it was, I’ve recently been preoccupied with Hoam’s other visionary businesses more than semiconductors. In the midst of that, you came to visit, Team Leader, so I am sincerely grateful.”
“You didn’t cancel your schedule because of me, did you?”
“Of course not. But if it concerns Hoam Group’s future sources of growth, shouldn’t I be able to cancel a business meeting at any time? Haha.”
Chairman Yong put on a bright expression as he studied the young man.
Was he really a heavyweight figure with solid political connections? No matter how he looked at him, he had the face of a young Hoam Electronics employee...
“Thank you for saying that. Haha. These days, I hear big tech companies are lining up to buy our semiconductors. You certainly seem to have some room to breathe, Chairman.”
“Not at all. Even so, the prime contractors are the big tech companies. We are always trying not to become complacent, with a mindset of crisis management.”
“Just hearing that is reassuring.”
“Yes, thank you. But Team Leader, what brings you here...?”
Once the appropriate greetings were over, the young man pushed forward a single document.
“It’s nothing else, Chairman. I wanted to talk about Hoam Group’s future growth business. I understand that SecondPro’s largest customer is Hoam SDI. How will the cooperation between the two companies proceed from here on?”
“That goes without saying. SecondPro is a company with unrivaled technology in the cathode materials market, and our cooperation with SDI will increase even further in the future. The structure is that they provide the components, and we make the finished products and supply them to big tech companies. There are many areas where the two companies can continue to cooperate.”
“I see. In that case, Chairman, how would you feel about acquiring a larger stake in SecondPro?”
Chairman Yong asked with a stunned expression.
“...Pardon?”