"What... Relevant parties from the Executive Yuan accompanied people from Wang's consortium to visit and want to see me?"
"Yes, Dean." Cai Lixing replied respectfully.
Zhang Zhongmou was a little surprised and put down the documents in his hands, stood up and took two steps. He already had the answer in his heart; "They are here to receive the results of the victory and see if they can recruit us. They have such a big appetite!"
"Then how should we reply to them?"
"Hahaha... What are you afraid of when we meet? The sky won't fall. I want to see what conditions they can come up with and how they can convince me?"
Cai Lixing said thoughtfully: "Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles."
"Yes, that's the truth." Zhang Zhongmou nodded with satisfaction.
"Good meeting, Dean."
As a former subordinate, there is an allusion to the fact that Cai Lixing respectfully addressed Zhang Zhongmou as the dean.
1985
Mr. Zhang Zhongmou resigned from his position as senior vice president of Texas Instruments and returned to Taiwan to serve as the president of the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute. This is how the title of president came about.
He single-handedly founded Taiwan Semiconductor Corporation and made great contributions to the revitalization and rise of Taiwan's semiconductor industry. He can be said to be the founder and pioneer of the semiconductor industry, with a respected status.
the next morning
In the Hsinchu High-tech Industrial Park, Director Zhao Feng and his delegation, who went to Taiwan first, met Mr. Zhang Zhongmou, the well-known godfather of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, and they had a pleasant conversation.
"Dean Zhang, I've heard of you for a long time. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Zhang Zhongmou smiled reservedly; "Welcome, Director Zhao. The famous Hollywood Chinese director Mr. Ang Lee and I are good friends. He has mentioned Director Zhao many times. He took many photos of him when he was filming the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
We are strangers in a foreign land, and when we meet you smile, you will feel so close!"
Zhao Feng heard the implication and felt a little unconvinced; "This is a good poem. As long as the general goal is the same, different approaches can be used."
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Zhongmou and Zhao Feng laughed heartily, and the meaning behind their words was self-evident.
After the pleasantries, both parties got down to business.
A tense, closed-door business meeting began
…
The negotiation process was tortuous and difficult, so I won’t go into details.
until dusk
Director Zhao Feng led the delegation and left, and the office building fell silent again.
In the chairman's office
Mr. Zhang Zhongmou and two powerful assistants Cai Lixing and Lin Xueshan sat across from each other. The three of them were speechless for a long time and looked extremely tired.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines through the glass, bringing with it the loneliness of the setting sun.
a long time
"Tell me, what are the opinions of the two major shareholders of the Dutch company Philips and the Executive Yuan, as well as the American consortium?" Mr. Zhang Zhongmou was the first to break the silence.
"Dean, the news passed through private channels is that the Dutch side is happy to see the cooperation, but has an ambiguous attitude towards the Wang Group's intention to take control, the Executive Yuan is opposed to it, and the US-funded group has different opinions, and is generally inclined to accept it.
There is a cooperation plan, but the dispute is very big. Public opinion is reasonable, mother-in-law said mother-in-law is reasonable."
"The key is that major shareholders are not optimistic about TSMC's follow-up investment and are quite resistant."
"Although the crisis has not broken out now, TSMC cannot make profits as soon as possible, and the future is worrying!"
"In the field of chip foundry, Atlantic Jinko has comprehensive advantages in capital and technology. Investors are unanimously bearish on TSMC, which is not good news for us."
After hearing these words, Zhang Zhongmou sighed: "People's hearts are broken, and it's hard to lead the team."
TSMC’s shareholding structure is quite dispersed, among which;
Citibank holds 20.78% of U.S. pension accounts, Philips holds 13%, the Executive Yuan holds 12% through the National Development Fund, **** holds 6.2% of Saudi investment accounts, and HSBC holds 3.22% of Singapore investment accounts.
%, **** Custody Abu Dhabi Special Investment Account holds 1.71%, **** Custody Europe Pacific Growth Fund holds 1.61%...
Taken together
The US-funded consortium, Philips and the Executive Yuan have the right to speak, but there are many people talking and different opinions, making it difficult to unify.
In this case, the ball was kicked to Zhang Zhongmou's feet again.
As an authority in the electronics and semiconductor industry, Zhang Zhongmou, who has won the world's best manager award, his opinions undoubtedly play an important guiding role. In particular, US-funded consortiums and financial funds from around the world pay more attention to Zhang Zhongmou's professional opinions.
These European and American investment institutions don't care who controls the market, they only care about how much investment income they can get.
Look around the world
The only company that is willing and able to make acquisitions is Atlantic Jinko, a powerful company, and there is no hope for other European and American companies.
TSMC focuses on the chip foundry field, which is a blue ocean.
At present, the most powerful chip foundry company in the world is Atlantic Jinko, followed by TSMC and Hynix in second place. European and American companies have not been involved at all.
Due to high labor costs, North American chip giants have withdrawn from the field of memory chip production. Only Micron is involved in the production of DRAM memory chips, and it is even less possible to participate in chip foundry.
Including Texas Instruments and Intel, they all produce the chip products they need independently and will not OEM chips for other companies.
As for investment
There are quite good chip companies in Europe and North America that can be merged and acquired. It is also convenient to integrate the same company with the same type, which can make up for the shortcomings of the product line in the field of application chips.
TSMC's prospects are bleak, and the chip foundry industry it operates in has very low profits, so there is absolutely no value in M&A investment.
Asia region
Now Samsung has too much time to take care of itself, and the US-funded consortium behind it won't let it act as it pleases. If it can't make money, it won't be strong in speech, and it will live like a loser, so don't think about those excessive demands.
Elpida is even worse than TSMC. It relies entirely on the Fuso government’s lactation infusions to survive, and it refuses to die even with a sigh of relief.
from the heart
TSMC is like Zhang Zhongmou’s own child. Who is willing to sell his son or daughter if there is even a slight possibility?
We were really pushed into a corner and had to make a choice.
Zhang Zhongmou took out a note from his pocket. This was a note that Director Zhao Feng had secretly handed to him when he was leaving. He said it was a note personally written by Wang Yaocheng, the chairman of the consortium.
When you unfold it, you will see a sentence written with dragons and phoenixes dancing on it;
The battle for advanced manufacturing processes is a matter of life and death. Whether it is a 10% reduction or a 70% reduction in the golden autumn season is a matter of the dean’s wholeheartedness. We look forward to it!
These words hit Zhang Zhongmou's heart like a heavy hammer.
His last bit of resistance was completely gone.
Everyone is a discerning person. Wang Yaocheng has already seen the fate of chip foundry companies and will hold on to them tightly. This way, TSMC will never stand a chance.
It has been written very clearly above;
Whether it is reduced by 10% or 70% depends on the dean’s wholeheartedness. We look forward to it!
When TSMC's 0.13 micron advanced process is put into production, if it does not surrender, then the price will be significantly reduced to 70%, completely closing the door for TSMC to make profits.
One step behind, one step behind.
In the field of chip foundry, the winner takes all, and the companies that follow behind can only eat the leftovers.
If the boss is unhappy, he can kill the younger brother in a minute. The truth is so cruel.
so-called;
Women are afraid of marrying the wrong man, and men are afraid of getting into the wrong profession.
Now that TSMC has embarked on the path of Huashan, there is absolutely no way out.
The God of Wealth King is so cruel, leaving no way for him to survive.
Zhang Zhongmou glanced at the two silent men, and saw submission in their eyes, and his heart became cold and dark as if he had fallen into an abyss.
He asked dryly;
"You...have all decided?"
"Dean, the Dutch company Philips and foreign capital have reservations about continuing to invest heavily. They told me privately, why should they continue when they know there is no hope of a comeback? It's really stupid."
"The opposition from the Executive Yuan is not based on commercial considerations, but more on partisan demands. We can completely ignore it."
"This company contains countless efforts of ours, and it is really unacceptable that it has collapsed like this."
"Yes, Dean, the God of Wealth King is vicious and will not leave us a way to survive if we resist."
"Please think twice!"
Listening to what Cai Lixing and Lin Xueshan, both of whom he had single-handedly trained, said, Zhang Zhongmou felt that all his moral integrity was shattered and the semiconductor empire he had planned in his mind fell apart and gradually moved away from him.
So far
Dreams burst like bubbles and disappear without a trace.
Zhang Zhongmou resigned from Texas Instruments, where he had a high salary and generous treatment, and had great authority over tens of thousands of people. He resolutely returned to Taiwan to start a business for 17 years. In the end, he ended up marrying someone else. He felt endless bitterness in his heart.
"Well, in that case, I don't object. You can negotiate with the people from the Wang Consortium! I'm tired and old, and I want to go back to rest and take care of myself."
"But... Dean, um... Director Zhao said that TSMC would have no soul without Zhang Zhongmou, and they may not necessarily like it."
"Shu Zi, you are going too far to deceive others."
Zhang Zhongmou was so happy that he spurted out a mouthful of old blood, feeling inexplicably sad and angry.
It's so bullying.
Do I care about the conditions given by the God of Wealth King?
Think about those days
At Texas Instruments, only the boss of Zhang Rujing’s boss and the boss of another boss are qualified to report to work in his own office. He is not even qualified to carry my shoes.
Now, after the integration, Zhang Rujing and I have the same status in the consortium. This is not preferential treatment but a shame!
Zhang Zhongmou actually went astray and reached a dead end.
Wang Yaocheng didn't have this intention at all, and he didn't think so much.
Within the Wang Consortium, Zhang Rujing's status has reached the top manager level. He can be considered a big shot, but there is no one higher than him!
The only person who can override it is Wang Yaocheng, the helmsman of the consortium. Is it possible that this position should be given to Zhang Zhongmou?
Absolutely impossible!
"Dean, the internal structure of the Wang Consortium is different from other places. Whether it is HSBC, Atlantic Business Machines, Cathay Pacific, Atlantic Jinko, Cisco, or Corning, the direct subsidiaries of the consortium have the status of president and CEO.
On the same level, they are all giants in their respective fields, so I really don’t mean to look down on the dean.”
Cai Lixing was indeed worthy of being a good student of the dean, and he saw the problem at a glance.
"Yes, the God of Wealth King still values the dean very much. He is willing to let you lead the chip foundry field, which shows his sincerity!" Lin Xueshan also understood and quickly followed suit.
No one wants TSMC to collapse like this, and everyone will be finished.
Although TSMC has not yet reached the stage of bankruptcy protection, the development of the 0.13-micron advanced process has been completed, and the fab renovation project has been delayed.
The huge investment in R&D has not yielded any results, and everyone is worried.
Everyone knows;
Once a huge sum of money is invested in purchasing advanced equipment to transform the production line and put it into production, Atlantic Jinko will raise the price and cut it off, and TSMC will not be spared.
But……
I've walked 99 steps, all I'm missing is this last tremor.
Holding back and not putting the 0.13 micron advanced process into production is a dead end. It lags far behind its competitors and the scientific and technological achievements that contain all the hard work of the R&D personnel cannot be released. What should we do with the huge investment in R&D?
It’s so frustrating!
Now that everyone has become a family, conflicts no longer exist.
Just make money happily, why bother shouting and killing?
As for Mr. Zhang Zhongmou, whom the God of Wealth attaches great importance to, we still have to urge him to stay and serve the last duty. Everyone's happiness is pinned on the dean, so we must persuade him with sincerity!
"Dean, this company contains more than ten years of your hard work. You can't just watch TSMC go to a dead end!"
"The general trend of the world is that if it has been divided for a long time, it must be united, and if it has been united for a long time, it must be divided..."
…
a moment later
Zhang Zhongmou couldn't stand the persuasion of his two confidants, and he was really weeping every word!
He could only nod sadly; "Well, I can't bear to part with TSMC that I have worked hard to build for more than ten years. If you tell Director Zhao, I agree. It's just that I have been in poor health recently and need to rest for a while."
"Great, Dean, this is how we communicate with each other."
"Oh... By the way, you can't rest for too long. The boss will visit Taiwan in two days. You should first deal with the King of Wealth, the big benefactor, and then take a good rest. Don't make the boss angry. Others are not like you.
It’s your seat! You can rest for as long as you want then.”
What the hell!
Zhang Zhongmou was really burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
You bastard, I haven't even given up my last breath yet, and I'm starting to flatter my new boss.
The third day
When the news came from TSMC, Zhao Feng and his party, who were staying at the five-star Peninsula Hotel in Taipei, cheered in unison, with proud expressions on their faces.
Situation is stronger than people
When I first came to Taiwan, the consortium closed the door to negotiations and gave up the acquisition of two companies, Lianrui and Taichi, which were strongly resistant to the situation.
In order to save the life of the boss by inserting bids, you have to act like a noble lady, well...
You can continue to show off, I won’t play with you anymore.
This time
All chip companies in Taiwan that are in trouble are panicking. Is it true that the emperor’s daughter doesn’t have to worry about getting married? This is totally wrong.
The real situation is;
Now we are almost trapped in a swamp, with only our mouth and nose left hanging outside, and we will die ugly at any time.
Ever since
Under the heavy pressure of consortium capital, Taiwan-funded enterprises have surrendered and accepted mergers.
This trip to Taiwan was very fruitful. Several professional teams sent out have reached agreements of intent with three companies: UMC, Chunghwa Microcrystalline and New World Semiconductor, investing in the acquisition of each other's production facilities and taking over scientific research and technical personnel. The price has been improved.
A big bargain.
Most of these eight-inch wafer fabs are old equipment, and the depreciation cost of the equipment has long been recovered. For creditors, no matter how much they sell, it is a net profit, as long as they recover as much debt as possible.