Did South Korea Conquer Taiwan When Gong Cha Korea Got 70% Shares Ownership?

Last time, I wrote about Jollibee purchasing 70% shares ownership of Compose Coffee. It's easy to shout, "Pinoy Pride! The Philippines has conquered South Korea." I mentioned in that same article about one of my favorite tea franchises--Gong Cha. Gong Cha Korea currently owns 70% of the shares while Gong Cha Global owns only 30%. The big question is did South Korea just "conquer" Taiwan in what it did?

Pinoy Pride Economics (read about its socio-economic costs here) might say yes to that. They might use Gong Cha as an example saying, "Are you crazy? Look at what happened to Taiwan! South Korea just checkmated it as Gong Cha Korea now owns 70%!" A good question to ask is, "If that's so why does Taiwan still remain a sovereign state and not bought by South Korea?"

Pinoy Pride Economics would rejoice with Jollibee growing worldwide but not in MNCs investing in the Philippines. Did they really think the Philippines checkmated South Korea with Jollibee's (and take note that Jollibee's owner is a Chinese Filipino) transaction with Compose Coffee? Take note that Jollibee is now an MNC--proof that Filipinos can withstand FDIs in their country. Jollibee didn't grow through protectionism but by facing competitors like Wendy's and McDonald's.

Company share ownership is different from foreigners owning the country. Foreigners aren't buying the country. Instead, share ownership focuses on the shares of stock and nothing more, nothing less. I could go ahead and own more than 40% shares while I invest in another country. However, that's where the ownership ends. Even if I own 100% of my shares in another country--I'm still bound by that country's rules. It would always be better if foreigners could own up to 100% of their company shares--that is not requiring them to find a partner. Nobody in their right mind would rent a space and only own 40% of their business in that branch (read here).

Gong Cha has outlets around the world now--with Gong Cha Korea having 70% of the shares. If South Korea didn't conquer Taiwan by owning 70% of the shares--did it even conquer the United Kingdom where Gong Cha Global has its London headquarters? The answer is the United Kingdom still remains a sovereign state. Gong Cha isn't conquering countries for South Korea by opening branches around the world. Jollibee isn't conquering countries for the Philippines either.

The idea that FDIs are automatically bad is a third-world mentality. FDIs don't always work and they can also fail where they invest. Gong Cha has a hard time performing in South Korea. However, it's doing well outside South Korea. It's all about knowing the target market before selling anything. It's not a game of conquest but a game of cash. In the game of cash, knowing your target market is essential to profitability.

Does the Grades-Over-Learning Approach Contribute to Students Hating Mathematics?

Schoolessons Some time ago, I wrote about why I used to hate school . The big problem has to be that the education system cares more about grades than learning . A good grade is indeed a sign of good character. A good grade is only good if it is achieved without cheating. However, for a grade to be really good--I believe that it must spring out from learning . However, the education system has been so focused on grades over learning that students end up cheating as a result (read here ). It affects every subject since a faulty system is a faulty school of thought. I'm going to really point out that I hated school because of the grades over learning approach. It's always all about grade shaming and even the best teachers end up indirectly or inadvertently participating in it. I still remember two of my best strictest teachers. One was as stern as the late Miriam Defensor Santiago. Another was the reason why I never dropped out. This time, I'd like to focus again on mathemat...

Is Jollibee "Invading" South Korea Now as It's About to Acquire 70% of Shabu All Day?

I must confess that I find this new rather hilarious . It's because the word shabu is often associated with drugs. All the while, shabu shabu is a Korean delicacy! Well, I'm going to say that Jollibee Foods Corporation has now become a multinational buyer . Jollibee acquired 70% of Compost Coffee back in 2024 . This year, Jollibee as a multinational corporation is now acquiring Shabu All Day for PHP 5.1 billion pesos. Is Jollibee checkmating South Korea or is the Philippines conquering South Korea not just by OFWs but als through Jollibee? The answer is still no. From GMA News , we can read this article by Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas: Under the deal, Shabu All Day will be consolidated into Jollibee Foods Corp.’s (JFC) financial statements immediately upon completion of the acquisition for a total consideration equivalent to KRW127 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to closing and financing conditions. The acquisition is expected to lead to a 2% jump in revenues, incre...

Are We Teaching Math in School... Wrong?

Schoolessons I could remember hating math while growing up. I actually and frequently had a vicious cycle that went like this--(1) I hate math, (2) I don't study math because I hate it, (3) I'd rather play video games or watch TV than study and practice math because I hate it, (4) I fail math exam because I didn't study, (5) it's always I hate math because I believe I'll never get it. In fact, I even felt like I wanted to quit school altogether and get into a fight with my parents because of math. It was a vicious cycle hard to break from, especially during our K+10 days. I remember being enrolled in Kumon classes for the summer when I was approaching Grade 6 (graduating year), I almost didn't graduate because of mathematics, and I had to have tutorials. I always felt math sucked, I'll never get good at it, and I'll never get better. I just kept thinking how "I hate math!" was my mantra and hating people who were better in the subject than I am...

The Tragic Windfall of the Late Flor Contemplacion's Family

PEH.ph Last year, I wrote an article talking about Flor Contemplacion crybabies spreading fake news for 30 years . I noticed that the movie could be watched for free on YouTube (which is one hour and 52 minutes long), and the one that you had to pay for via rent or personal soft copy ( which is two hours and two minutes long). I was looking into the film and realized the "for free" version lacks the exaggerated water dunking and electrocution torture scene, which I believe is available, which is a ten-minute difference. I remember seeing the old version where Flor was tortured by Singaporean police via water dunking and electrocution, to get an answer out of her. The famous line by the late Nora Aunor was, "I did not kill anybody!" It's 31 years, and I don't expect the fake news about Flor to stop just because it's past 30. No, fake news is that hard to kill even in the digital age. It reminds me of the fate of Flor's sons , where one of them, Sandr...

Why Being a Miser Isn't the Right Way to Do Business or to Live Life

Sometimes, people can confuse frugality with being a miser. I think about a couple of times when I watched Spongebob Squarepants back some time ago and getting irritated at Mr. Krabs. Unfortunately, there are some people who are so obsessed with money (or money comes first) that they end up becoming misers. As I was watching Spongebob while studying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration--I felt that the Krusty Krab model won't work well in real life. I mean, I tend to eat at Jollibee almost daily since I was studying in the University of San Carlos-Main Campus (USC-Main). As I was eating there--I thought would have Tony Tancaktiong build Jollibee as an empire if he was a miser? Mr. Krabs ran his Krusty Krab on a miserly mindset--just one cook and one cashier. Mr. Krabs would even artificially inflate prices just to get more money. In real life, Mr. Krabs should go to jail. Drawing the line between being thrifty and stingy It's often easy to confuse both of ...

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