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.

COMMUNIST Vietnam Has Defeated DEMOCRATIC Philippines Again This 2025

Cổng thông tin Trung ương Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh A few days ago, I wrote about warning Filipinos that they shouldn't wait for more unmitigated typhoon disasters, before realizing that the Filipino First Policy isn't working ! There's a statement that says, "Just because being tanga (inattentive) is libre (free), doesn't mean you should be tanga!" Analyzing the different policies: why policies matter I found a Business World article, written by Cesar Polvorosa, Jr., on my Facebook news feed discussing the Vietnamese economy . In fact, it would be better to share some hard truths that the article offers about what really went wrong with the democratic Philippines compared to Communist Vietnam : DIVERGENT ECONOMIC MODELS Vietnam pursued an export-oriented manufacturing strategy which has proven significantly more successful over the past half century than the Philippines’ service-heavy, remittances-dependent model . Export performance alone tells a compellin...

External Validations, like Masters and Doctorate, Mean NOTHING with a LOUSY Education System

I have the tendency to use my MBA as a license to avoid criticism. It's a real problem that some people use their credentials and/or academic achievements to try and win an argument. One incident I wrote about was Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel flexing his "smarts" by using his cum laude degree to win the argument . It was all about how I would often say, "You're the moron because I have the MBA and you don't." There are times I felt like taking an MBA would make up for my "moral shortcomings" during high school when I was barely passing (and the passing rate was 80% , which is rather high), that I wasn't having honors, and that there was this saying, " Thou grades shalt determine thy future! " That, of course, has led to the reality where cheating is prevalent . I wanted to make a review. I took my MBA in 2011 and graduated in 2014. I always felt that the MBA program was what I needed to become "invincible". It was also at ...

Instead of Hating Successful Chinese-Filipinos, Why Not LEARN from Their SUCCESS Instead?

It's Chinese New Year and I can remember some crazy stuff back in my childhood. Right now though, there are still some Filipinos of brown descent (either Malay or Indonesian) who still have their typical bitter attitude towards successful people. I was reminded of someone who blamed the rich, rather than their poor attitude towards money, as to why she had to work as a working student. There are still some who have their attitude of hating the rich for simply being rich . I don't deny that some rich people deserve hate. But why hate the rich person who has gotten rich through honest gain and hard work? Why not learn from good rich people who can offer sound advice instead of being bitter about their success? Some Filipinos of non-Chinese origin may feel too proud about their being "Pure Filipino". However, any study of Filipino history will reveal that their brown skin isn't too unique. We can see Malaysians and Indonesians tend to have brown skin. Some of the ea...

Economics 101: Pre-Colonial Philippine Natives Already Did Business with Foreigners

Art by Hugo Yunzon It's finally August or Buwan Ng Wika (Month of the Language), though it may be better to call it Buwan Ng Kultura (Month of the Culture). Buwan Ng Wika programs tend to focus more on the uniqueness of several types of Filipino people. What I recall back in my high school days (late 1990s) is how I was asked to play an "American" in a Buwan Ng Wika program. There were also other people asked to portray the Chinese traders, Arab traders, Indian traders, and the Japanese occupation. It would be good to do a review of the pre-colonial Philippines. The name Philippines was derived from the Spanish king, King Philip. Back then, the natives were called Indios which sounds very similar to Indonesia . Yes, most Filipinos are either Malay or Indo. A look at the Indonesians and Malaysians would have one mistake them for Filipinos. A note is that the Chinese population there usually speaks Hokkien. From Purdue Filpino --here's some basic information about Fili...

Are People Who Insist That Workers Own the Means of Production Be Willing to Open a Business Where Workers Own the Means of Production?

Last 2022, I wrote two articles on the means of production. One article I wrote refutes the idea that workers, not the business owners, own the means of production . Another article discussed whether or not anti-capitalists have no choice because capitalists own the means of production . The other day, I wrote a dare where I want people who insist on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics (higher salaries, lower prices) to open stores that operate on that mindset . I'm afraid that what I wrote was merely the tip of the iceberg . With that in mind, I'd like to ask people who say that the workers own the means of production to open a business, where the workers own the means of production. What's their reasoning behind the logic that the workers own the means of production? The common logic is that because the workers did all the hard work they own the production. They say that the businessman can die but not the workers. It's because according to these smart alecks--it's b...

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