Chapter 1395: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation

'Chairman, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting,'

Fok Kin-ning said apologetically as he pushed open the half-closed door and walked in, looking at the documents Xia Yu was reading.

'It's fine,'

'Let's sit down and talk,'

Xia Yu said with a faint smile, gesturing for Fok Kin-ning to sit down.

'Kin-ning, you should take a look at this first,'

After saying this, Xia Yu handed the document he was reading to Huo Jianning, who immediately took it with both hands.

After just a few seconds of reading, Huo Jianning's expression became very serious.

It was about the whole process of the changing situation in the Philippines, as well as many unknown and undisclosed secrets.

For example, what positions were those important people in, when did they defect, what help did they provide, and what rewards did they receive in the end, etc.

For example, after the former Philippine President Ferdinand was arrested, which assets were seized and which accounts were frozen.

This information is all on this document.

Fok Kin-ning was seeing this kind of thing for the first time.

As Xia Yu's absolute confidant, Xia Yu didn't avoid him when they spoke on the phone, but he wasn't always by Xia Yu's side.

Therefore, he had only heard about the Philippines, but didn't know much about it.

After all, Xia Yu had always directly assigned Luo Wang to take charge of this matter, and the affairs of Ma Qianjun and Luo Wang were not under the jurisdiction of the family office.

The rationale behind the saying 'only the vessel and the name cannot be fake' is that any qualified person in power should understand it, and Xia Yu is of course no exception.

Xia Yu changed his sitting position, sipped his tea comfortably, and waited quietly for Fok Kin-ning to finish reading it.

After a long while.

Fok Kin-ning put the document down and looked at Xia Yu and said, 'Chairman, I have finished reading it. Please give me your instructions.'

Xia Yu smiled and nodded, 'You are already well aware of the situation in the Philippines.'

'Maria Cory was able to come to power thanks to our great efforts. Now that she is in power, it is time for her to repay us.'

'When Ferdinand was in power, he controlled the Philippines in every way possible in order to maintain his rule, and the Ferdinand family infiltrated every industry with huge profits.

'Anyone who wants to do big business in the Philippines has to hand over at least 10% of their shares to the Ferdinand family.'

'Even some industries, such as the media sector including television and radio stations, and the aviation sector, were run by Ferdinand's own family.'

'Now that Ferdinand has fallen, these assets will eventually be fully confiscated by the Philippine government, and Maria Corley will release them all again.'

'There are also state-owned assets controlled by the Philippine government that will be sold off one after the other.'

'In the future, all restrictions on various industries in the Philippines will disappear, and capital will be completely liberalised.'

'You go take the lead and be responsible for formulating a complete strategic action plan to fully enter the Philippines. In terms of the business community, Henry Xu and Robert Chen are our allies, and we can act together with them at that time.'

'But we must always remember that our goal is to become the biggest force in the Philippines. Although Henry Xu and Robert Chen are our allies, their strength is limited. There is no need to compete with them, and they can't compete with us...'

'Shasha...'

As Xia Yu kept talking, Fok Kin-ning's pen flew across the page, quickly recording the main points of what Xia Yu had said.

'Chairman, I've got it all down,'

Fok Kin-ning reported, pausing to look at Xia Yu.

'Do you have any questions?'

Xia Yu asked with a faint smile, taking a sip of tea.

'Not at the moment,' Fok Kin-ning shook his head.

'Okay, you can go back to work then,'

'Yes, Chairman, I'll go downstairs first.'

...

As the end of the lunar year approached, there was bound to be a lot of things to do.

Just the annual reports of the various companies under the entire huge conglomerate were enough to make Xia Yu's eyes glaze over.

However, in order to have sufficient control over the companies below and make the right suggestions based on his long-term strategic vision, he could only do this himself.

There was no other way, and he could only live a life of two points a day, basically putting off social engagements as much as possible.

Fortunately, at the end of the year, everyone had a lot to do, so it was not a loss of face.

On January 28th, something happened that shocked the world.

The US space shuttle Challenger was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on its 10th mission, code-named STS-51-L. But 73 seconds after lift-off, disaster struck.

All seven astronauts on board the Challenger were killed in the explosion.

The United States was the world's only country capable of competing with the Soviet Union in the field of space travel, but such a major accident occurred in full view of the world.

This was a huge blow to the NATO countries led by the United States.

Similarly, it was also a major blow to the space industry worldwide.

This incident also had a certain impact on the Mellon financial group.

Because in addition to Morton Thiokol, the contractor for the Challenger project, Rockwell International, a subsidiary of the Mellon Foundation, was also involved.

Fortunately, the Mellon family had already completed the purification and integration of the entire Mellon Foundation.

Therefore, the negative impact of this crisis was still under their control.

However, they would definitely have to bear some of the losses.

After all, the space shuttle Challenger cost a whopping 1.2 billion US dollars to build, and there were two satellites worth 90 million US dollars and launch costs of 130 million US dollars, totalling 1.42 billion US dollars, all of which was destroyed.

However, Xia Yu also saw opportunities in this crisis.

It was no surprise that the aerospace market would definitely cool down in the next few years.

For both rocket manufacturers and satellite manufacturers, without state orders and financial support, research and development would lag behind.

A decline in revenue will lead to thin profits or even losses for the company, which will then have to lay off staff, entering a vicious cycle.

But no one in the world knows better than Xia Yu the future prospects of the aerospace market, the satellite industry and other fields.

This is the perfect time to buy low and lay the groundwork!

For this reason, Xia Yu made a special phone call to Peter Lynch in San Francisco, asking him to investigate the situation of companies in the aerospace, rocket and satellite sectors in the United States and beyond.

He also needed to register a company in California, name it 'Space Exploration Technologies Corporation', and select a suitable location for the company headquarters.

At the same time, Xia Yu also asked the family office to mobilise resources to conduct a global market analysis and produce a suitable research report.

In the midst of all this busy activity,

the 10-odd days passed in a flash.

Before long, it was 8 February.

This was the Chinese New Year's Eve according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

Hong Kong, with its frequent international exchanges, was still enveloped in a strong New Year atmosphere.

Although Hong Kong was still ruled by the British, Xia Yu was behind the scenes at this time, leading the way. He was happy to do anything that could inspire national sentiment and boost national confidence.

For example, festive red lanterns were hung from the street lamps in every street and alley in Hong Kong, complementing the red spring couplets and decorations that the residents had posted spontaneously.

Compared with last year, this year's New Year's Eve dinner was particularly warm.

There were five more members of the family, and if you add the unborn children in their wombs, there were actually ten!

After the warm New Year's Eve meal, the family went out into the garden, and Xia Yu personally lit the fuse of the first firework for his family.

'Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...'

'Pop... pop... pop...'

Bunches of dazzling light shot up into the sky, and suddenly burst into a million tiny sparks that fell slowly with long, glittering tails, like fluttering butterflies.

'Wow, it's so beautiful!'

'I want to take a picture!'

Xia Xiaomei cheered, admiring the beautiful fireworks display, her finger constantly pressing the shutter of her camera.

'My dear, I hope that next year our lives will be as colourful as fireworks.'

Li Qian gently held Xia Yu's hand, her red lips slightly reddened, her eyes sparkling with happiness, making a beautiful wish.

Xia Yu looked at Li Qian, and then at the other women beside him, including Elena and Cindy, and saw how they were carefully supporting their bellies. He gave a knowing smile.

'Yes, next year the little ones will all be born, and our family will definitely become even happier...'

After saying this, Xia Yu gently embraced Li Qian and Cindy, and gazed into the distance with a pensive expression.

From the villa, they could look out over the bustling city.

At this time, the city, full of tall buildings, was already enveloped in colourful fireworks, as the whole city celebrated together.

The year 1985 was coming to an end.

In the new year, a new journey was about to begin...