Where is the first field where self-driving technology can be applied?
The answer is logistics.
Unlike taxis or private cars that navigate the intricate maze of alleyways, large trucks only travel along designated routes.
They simply load cargo at ports or warehouses and travel along predetermined routes to their destination. Unlike people, they don’t need to eat, sleep, or rest in between.
Because of this, the first job to disappear when self-driving cars become commonplace won’t be taxi drivers, but truck drivers.
While self-driving is important, electric trucks are also promising. Traveling long distances can significantly reduce fuel costs and also change the logistics system.
Currently, cargo handling takes place outside warehouses due to the exhaust fumes from diesel engines. However, electric trucks don’t emit exhaust, so they can enter the warehouse.
It’s not well-known to the public, but related companies are already fiercely competing. Development is underway, and some have already completed test runs.
Nikola is also eyeing this field and announced that they would unveil the autonomous electric truck “Colon” within a year. (Although it’s practically indefinitely postponed now.)
Han Mingu didn’t answer immediately but asked me,
“Then, how can you help us?”
“The surest way to quickly solve various problems is to start from the beginning.”
The root of the problem is airbags.
Essential parts like airbags aren’t ordered on an as-needed basis but are subject to long-term contracts based on vehicle production plans.
From the supplier’s perspective, they have to prioritize supplying existing contract volumes, so additional orders will inevitably be pushed back. This is why Eunsung Motors is facing supply difficulties.
“First, I’ll divert some of the airbag supply that CarOS is receiving to Eunsung Motors and also request an increase in production volume.”
Currently, CarOS has supply contracts with three companies. We’ve increased our order volume in anticipation of new vehicle production. However, our new car launch has been delayed due to Big One. Therefore, diverting some of the supply won’t cause any significant issues.
“After resolving the airbag issue, we need to crack down on short selling. Then the stock price will rise, and shareholder complaints will subside.”
“Selling off the truck division would be a condition then.”
“Eunsung Motors’ large truck division is barely profitable, so if you were to sell it off, the market would take it as good news. You could also secure funds through it.”
They were probably considering selling off some businesses anyway for the restructuring of the ownership structure.
After a moment of thought, he nodded.
“We need to have a more in-depth conversation.”
Back at the office, I called Team Leader Seo Sang-won.
“Are you very busy?”
“I’m alright.”
Recruited as an M&A expert, he and his team were in charge of connecting subsidiaries to facilitate cooperation. Even though ownership wasn’t changing hands, coordinating the terms was quite a brain-teaser.
“There’s one more thing I need you to do.”
“What is it?”
“Go to Eunsung Motors and negotiate the terms of the sale.”
After hearing my explanation, he gave a wry smile.
Team Leader Seo Sang-won left Eunsung Motors with the stigma of being a traitor after the failed X-Corp acquisition and joined our side.
But this time, he has to negotiate against Eunsung Motors.
“If you’re uncomfortable, I can assign it to someone else.”
“No. Business is business.”
After Team Leader Seo Sang-won left, I called Senior Manager Sang-yeop.
Senior Manager Sang-yeop, having come up to the CEO’s office, asked,
“Chairman Im Jin-yong gave out cars, right? Was there a gift for me too?”
I shook my head.
“No, there wasn’t.”
Senior Manager Sang-yeop looked disappointed.
“Ah… I like cars too.”
“You just got a Porsche 918 recently, didn’t you?”
“That’s that, but can I borrow a Bugatti Veyron for a month? It’s a car that’s hard to drive even if you have the money.”
“Can that car even run on regular roads? The chassis is so low, I don’t think it can get over speed bumps.”
“That’s why there’s a separate navigation system that only marks roads without speed bumps. You can’t even go into alleys.”
“……”
Is this the level of inconvenience you have to endure to drive an expensive car?
“I really want to drive it at least once. Is there any way?”
“I’ll ask if you can test drive it on a track.”
Senior Manager Sang-yeop’s expression brightened at my words.
“Really?”
“There’s something you need to do before that.”
“What is it?”
“Buy some stock.”
After finishing my conversation with Senior Manager Sang-yeop, I called Chairman Im Jin-yong.
“I’m enjoying the car you gifted me. Ellie and Hyun-joo also said to thank you.”
[Haha, I’m glad you like it.]
“Since I received a car as a gift, I was thinking of giving you a gift in return.”
[I’m looking forward to it. What kind of gift is it?]
“In terms of value, it’ll be worth more than 1 billion won.”
Most of Chairman Im Jin-yong’s assets are tied up in stocks. But he’s not without money. The slush fund that the late Chairman Im Il-kwon hid in overseas accounts probably exists.
After hearing my words, Chairman Im Jin-yong chuckled and said.
[I’ve received too big of a gift compared to what I gave. Thank you.]
After saying goodbye and hanging up, Taek-gyu asked.
“Isn’t it enough for just us to profit? Is there a need to tell them all this?”
“That’s a very good point.”
Let me reiterate, short selling itself isn’t bad. It’s the manipulation that goes with it that’s the problem. Institutions and foreigners have shaken down individual investors like this countless times.
This is why the Korean stock market is called the graveyard of retail investors.
“This is an opportunity to teach those who mess around in the stock market a lesson.”
I then made a call to the United States.
“Hello, this is Kang Jin-hoo.”
The other person answered the phone cheerfully.
[It’s been a while, Mr. Kang. How have you been?]
“Yes. Is the Chairman doing well?”
[Of course. I was even thinking of visiting Seoul to see you, Mr. Kang, since I’m bored.]
“I’d like to visit Atlanta as well.”
[Haha, come anytime. I’ll give you a tour of the Coca-Cola headquarters. You can drink as much cola from around the world as you want inside. I sometimes go there to drink a few glasses myself.]
After exchanging pleasantries, I got to the main point.
“I was thinking of letting you know about a good investment opportunity.”
He then jokingly said,
[I don’t know if I should listen. These kinds of things are often scams.]
That’s true.
If you have a good investment opportunity, why would you tell others instead of just investing yourself?
I said with a smile,
“Why don’t you hear me out and then decide? Are you aware that speculative forces are currently playing games in the Korean stock market?”
[Of course. I heard Albert is leading it.]
The concept of value investing has existed for a long time, but the first person to formalize it into a theory was Benjamin Graham.
Warren Buffett was greatly impressed by his lectures during his student days and further developed the theory to create his own investment style.
Warren Buffett’s investment strategy is simple enough for anyone to follow. It’s about buying undervalued stocks cheaply and holding them for the long term.
Of course, he also engages in short selling, but it’s strictly for hedging purposes, not to profit from it directly.
On the contrary, he is very negative about speculative capital. He has criticized Carl Icahn several times and has argued that the government should step in and regulate it.
“So, about that…”
I explained my plan to him. Warren Buffett burst out laughing.
[Haha, that sounds interesting.]
“It’s not just interesting, but it’s also an opportunity to make money. It will be much easier if the Chairman helps.”
[Alright. I can’t miss out on such a good opportunity.]
The way to make money in the stock market is to buy when the price is low and sell when it’s high.
But in reality, the opposite happens.
When the stock price falls, there are fewer buyers, and trading volume decreases. Conversely, when the stock price rises, there are more buyers, and trading volume increases.
As the Korean stock market continued to decline, trading volume also decreased significantly, and even small sell orders caused the stock price to fluctuate.
When individuals, unable to withstand the further decline in stock prices, started selling, that was the volume to buy to cover the short positions.
However, unnoticed, trading volume gradually increased. Someone was continuously absorbing the selling pressure, and despite the short selling, the stock price rose slightly.
Just as hedge funds began to sense something was wrong, Eunsung Motors suddenly announced a bonus issue.
“As part of our shareholder-friendly policy, we will implement a bonus issue, distributing 0.1 shares of common stock for each share held.”
In cases where the number of shares changes, such as a reverse stock split or a bonus issue, the shareholder register is closed. According to regulations, margin trading must be settled in this case.
Although a bonus issue is used as a way to counter short selling, it’s not a fundamental solution. Unlike a rights issue, a bonus issue is merely a change on the financial statements, with no change in total equity.
Still, it has the effect of temporarily triggering short covering and raising the stock price.
Short selling in Eunsung Motors accounts for 25 percent of the total trading volume. This is the highest figure among both KOSPI and KOSDAQ stocks.
Since they could still exit with a profit even if they covered their short positions now, it wasn’t a major problem.
But this wasn’t the end of it.
Suddenly, Kang Jin-hoo appeared in front of the media and announced.
“…Recently, the domestic automobile industry has been facing many difficulties. In response, CarOS has agreed with Eunsung Motors to provide support with the airbag supply under our contract. We believe the delivery delays and recall issues will be resolved quickly.”
The market was shocked by this unexpected announcement.
The biggest reason for Eunsung Motors’ stock price decline was the airbag issue. Not only was it surprising that a solution to the supply problem, which was expected to take months, was presented, but it was even more shocking that OTK Company stepped in.
Could Kang Jin-hoo possibly be helping Eunsung Motors?!
Eunsung Motors’ stock price soared as soon as the announcement was made. The hedge funds that had been relentlessly shorting were taken aback.
They rushed to buy to cover their short positions, but for some reason, a significant portion of the float had disappeared. There were only buy orders and no sell orders, causing the price to skyrocket further.
Eunsung Motors’ stock rose 17 percent on the day of the announcement and another 11 percent the following day, but on the contrary trading volume continued to decrease.
Following that, OTK Company released a public announcement.
[OTK Company Acquires Stake in CellTwins, BioGen, and SLJ!]
[Simple Investment or Entry into the Bio Industry?]
[According to company officials, all possibilities, including mergers and acquisitions, are being considered…]
[Which Stocks Will Benefit from OTK Company’s Investment?]
While hedge funds’ primary short target was Eunsung Motors, their secondary target was bio stocks. Compared to Eunsung Motors, bio stocks, with their relatively smaller market caps, suffered even more from short selling.
Just as buying stocks makes you hope the price will go up, short selling makes you hope the price will continue to fall.
Because of this, short-selling forces had been spreading all sorts of false information in the market to induce price declines. Accounting fraud rumors, major shareholder selling rumors, new drug approval rejection rumors, and clinical trial participant death rumors, and so on.
It was actually effective, and bio stocks plummeted by more than 40 percent in a short period despite no significant negative news.
But then, OTK Company suddenly started buying shares.
Has Kang Jin-hoo ever invested and failed before? This indicated that bio stocks were undervalued.
As the truth became known, bio stocks, which had been repeatedly plummeting, all rose by 20 percent.
Short selling is structured in a way that you lose money as the stock price increases. The hedge funds were caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, and the executives and shareholders of bio companies who had been suffering from short selling cheered with their arms raised.
People’s reactions ranged from dumbfounded to bewildered.
Who is Kang Jin-hoo?
He first appeared in the financial market during the L6 incident, shorting Seosung Electronics and buying put options. During Brexit, he earned tens of billions of dollars in the British and Japanese foreign exchange markets. And during Ronald’s election and Big One, he similarly made a fortune worldwide.
Kang Jin-hoo is arguably the most famous financial speculator of the 21st century.
-Is it an Otaku VS Hedge Funds?
-Isn’t it just Speculator VS Speculator?
-Isn’t he pretending to be good now, even though he shorted Seosung Electronics himself?
-Is it “do as I say, not as I do”?
-Whatever it is, let’s just get rid of short selling.
-Short covering will continue to come in.
-Looking at the volume they’ve shorted so far, this is just the beginning. Never sell, just hold.
-Small shareholders of CellTwins, let’s hang in there!
