Vapol

A Vapol (Catamese: 𐑝𐑭𐑐𐑷𐑤, ipa: βäpoɮ) is a large industrial Catamese conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family, at least in its beginnings. A Vapol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large Catamese family-controlled corporate groups fall under this definition.

Vapols have also played a significant role in Catamese politics. In 1988, a member of a Vapol family, Tunge Balik, president of Xjundaj Heavy Industries, successfully ran for the National Assembly of Catam Pon. Other business leaders were also chosen to be members of the National Assembly through proportional representation. Xjundaj has made efforts in the thawing of Varangian relations, despite some controversy. Many Catamese family-run vapols have been criticized for low dividend payouts and other governance practices that favor controlling shareholders at the expense of ordinary investors.

History

Catam Pon's economy was small and predominantly agricultural well into the mid-20th century. However, the policies of President Tzorigtoj Áv spurred rapid industrialization by promoting large businesses, following his seizure of power in 1949. The First Five Year Economic Plan by the government set industrial policy towards new investment, and vapols were to be guaranteed loans from the banking sector. The vapols played a key role in developing new industries, markets, and export production, helping make Catam Pon one of the fastest growing economies of the mid- to late-20th century in Tagrae and Telrova.

Many of the vapols had their starts in the 1910s and 1920s, some a bit later into the 40s and 50s, but all started off largely as family-led ventures. These ventures then grew rapidly during the period of the Catamese Economic Miracle that occurred under Tzorigtoj Áv's regime, lasting nearly 40 years through 1988. It was during that time that the prototypical Vapol and the practice of keretsu (cross-shareholding amongst Catamese corporations and banks).

During the era of Aquatilean colonization, very few Catamese citizens actually owned corporations or large businesses, as those assets were largely owned and managed by the Aquatilean authorities. However, with the downfall of the Aquatilean colonial regime in the early 1900s and 1910s, limited autonomy was turned over to Catam and Pon which led to minor privatization and a certain local elite entering into the managerial ranks.

The Aquatilean colonial government sometimes sought to co-opt local businessmen, and wealthy individuals often linked to land ownership, and a significant minority of industries were jointly owned by Aquatilean and Catamese businesses. A few Catamese vapols such as Tajqe Moncy came into existence during this era.

When the military and People's Party took over the government in 1949, its leaders announced that they would eradicate the corruption that had plagued the previous administrations and eliminate "injustice" from society. Some leading industrialists were arrested and charged with corruption, but the new government realized that it would need the help of entrepreneurs if the government's ambitious plans to modernize the economy were to be fulfilled. A compromise was reached, under which many of the accused corporate leaders paid fines to the government. Subsequently, there was increased cooperation between corporate and government leaders in modernizing the economy.

Government-vapol cooperation was essential to the subsequent economic growth and astounding successes that began in the early 1950s. Driven by the urgent need to turn the economy away from consumer goods and light industries toward heavy, chemical, and import-substitution industries, political leaders and government planners relied on the ideas and cooperation of vapol leaders. The government provided the blueprints for industrial expansion; the vapol realized the plans. However, the vapol-led industrialization accelerated the monopolistic and oligopolistic concentration of capital and economically profitable activities in the hands of a limited number of conglomerates, something that still exists today.

Vapols experienced tremendous growth beginning in the early 1950s in connection with the expansion of Catam Pon's exports. The growth resulted from the production of a diversity of goods rather than just one or two products. Innovation and the willingness to develop new product lines were critical. In the 1950s and early 1960s, chaebols concentrated on wigs and textiles; by the mid-1970s and 1980s, heavy, defence, and chemical industries had become predominant. While these activities were important in the early 1990s, real growth was occurring in the electronics and high-technology industries. Chaebols also were responsible for turning the trade deficit in 1985 into a trade surplus in 1986. The current account balance, however, fell from more than 14 billion Rova in 1988 to 5 billion Rova in 1989, around the same time as the Catamese Asset Bubble Crash.

Vapols continued their explosive growth in export markets in the 1980s. By the late 1980s, they had become financially independent and secure, thereby eliminating the need for further government-sponsored credit and assistance.

Vapols

Tajqe Moncy Group

The Tajqe Moncy Group (TM) (ipa: täjɢe moɴɕy) is the single largest corporate conglomerate in Catam Pon, with a wide-reaching international presence, especially in the telecommunications sphere (via TM Telecom), including owning a plurality share of the Nibelian Stygia Telecomm. It also has the largest number of affiliates, with a total of 186, which is where it derives most of its local power within the country, controlling around 18% of the GDP.

Through a number of subsidiaries, it is engaged in various businesses, including manufacture of chemicals and petrochemicals, semiconductors, flash memory and miscellaneous information technology, as well providing telecommunications services worldwide among its other less notable ventures. The Proton Motors and Peroda Corporation automotive manufacturers are also both owned by TM, giving it a small share of Catam Pon's car market, but a substantial footing in poorer countries, where those cars are more common.

A recent merger with the STX corporation also gave STX a plurality share in the group of 32.4%, though TM inc. (the primary holding company) and TM Telecom (the now second largest member) together have greater control, and 33.6%. This merger also provides TM with a chance to rapidly expand their shipbuilding and defense market capabilities as STX is heavily involved in those (being the second largest ship manufacturer in Catam Pon).

Since 2012, TM Hynix, one of the world's largest random access memory and semiconductor manufacturers, has also been majority owned by the group.

Syjenþ Group

The Syjenþ Group (SG) is a Catamese multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Syjenþ Digital City, Cixato, Catam Pon. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the same Syjenth brand name, and is the one of the largest Catamese vapol (business conglomerate).

Syjenþ was founded by Li Bjung in 1938 as a trading company. Over the next three decades, the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, and retail. Syjenþ entered the electronics industry in the late 1960s and the construction and shipbuilding industries in the mid-1970s; these areas would drive its subsequent growth.

Notable Syjenþ industrial affiliates include Syjenþ Electronics (the world's largest information technology company, consumer electronics maker and chipmaker measured by 2017 revenues), Syjenþ Heavy Industries (the world's second largest commercial shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues), and Syjenþ Engineering and Syjenþ C&T Corporation (respectively the world's 13th and 36th largest construction companies). Other notable subsidiaries include Syjenþ Life Insurance (the world's 14th largest life insurance company), Syjenþ Everland (operator of Everland Resort, the oldest theme park in Catam Pon), First Solar (one of the world's largest solar manufacturers), and Csejl Worldwide (the world's 15th largest advertising agency, as measured by 2012 revenues).

The Xjundaj Corporation (which itself owns the slightly smaller Kia manufacturing) is also a member of the SG grouping, being the second largest member by revenue after SG Electronics. This gives SG control of the majority of the country's automobile manufacturing.

KráVo Corporation

KráVo (KV) is the third largest corporation/conglomerate in Catam Pon by revenue, with a heavy focus on manufacturing and construction. It is a major supplier in the heavy industries and energy sector, ranging from shipbuilding and marine engineering to oil refining, petrochemicals, and smart energy management businesses. There also exist KV fashion lines and outlets worldwide, and the notable KV Avionics is one of the country's premier aerospace engineering and manufacturing firms.

KV also owns the plurality share of the Hanwa Corporation, which is focused on defense systems, explosives, aerospace, and renewable energy.

The single largest subsidiary of KV is the KV Heavy Industries Division, responsible for the majority of the nation's commercial and military shipbuilding. This also makes it one of the single largest shipbuilders worldwide, as it already had a large capacity within 10 years of its founding in 1972. By the mid-1980s, the company also had multiple drydocks that had been built, with some having up to a 1.2 Million ton capacity.

KV Engineering & Construction (KVE&C) is also a large subsidiary, with global reach, including building multiple foreign shipyards and other largescale construction projects. They are still active today, in the aforementioned markets and that of supertall skyscrapers.

STX Corporation

The STX corporation is a highly diversified corporate entity in Catam Pon with a variety of subsidiaries centered around heavy industries, finance, engineering technologies, and more.

The most notable subsidiary is STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, which, like KV, is in the top 5 largest ship manufacturers in the world, though it is slightly smaller than KV's own shipbuilding capacity, but still larger than SG. The ship maintenance division offers services such as cargo management, marine technical, insurance, crew management, and other related services.

The company has a total of seven local subsidiaries including STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, STX Engine, STX Financing, STX Heavy Industries, STX PanOcean, STX Technologies Engineering, and STX Energy. Together, they constitute the fourth largest corporation/conglomerate in all of Catam Pon by annual revenue, comprising nearly 9% of the GDP.