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Chapter 1205: Chapter 1062: Cooperation with Waite (Please Subscribe!)
Waite sat in the car,
Silently watching the scenery outside the window.
This trip,
He took no small risk, but he came anyway, because this might be an important milestone in his political career—the Congo Gold was about to have a heavy industrial chain.
Previously, there was only mining here.
Now,
Smelting was added.
In the future, there would even be processing.
The formation of a complete heavy industrial chain centered around steel could benefit a country’s economy in so many ways, as one could tell from the history of various nations—the advantages were countless.
First and foremost, it drove a sharp increase in GDP.
Secondly, it resolved a massive amount of unemployment.
Third, it saved foreign exchange spent on importing steel.
Fourth, it led to the development of related manufacturing industries.
...
Thinking of this,
Waite felt a little thrill in his heart.
Moreover,
Last month, two industrial projects that could be called the largest in the history of Congo Gold were approved—one oil refinery and one chemical plant—which left Waite excited and sleepless for several days.
However,
When he thought about the domestic situation in the Congo Gold,
Waite sighed deeply.
In stark contrast to this booming scene, other areas remained stagnant, with terrible security, unstable situations, severe fiscal deficits, and challenging reforms.
These were all problems he couldn’t avoid.
More than half a year since taking office,
The complexity within Congo Gold’s territory had been growing more severe by the day.
He wanted to develop the economy, shed the label of being purely a supplier of raw materials, and follow the developmental paths of other countries. He couldn’t keep selling mines forever because one day, the money from those sales would run out.
And this,
Required foreign investment.
Required technology.
But who would be foolish enough?
Why would anyone invest in them when there are so many other countries in the world? Aside from their mineral resources, they had nothing. And while they had a large population, the quality of that population meant that their competitiveness was virtually non-existent.
This was almost a common problem faced by African nations.
Gradually,
Much of the revenue from selling mines had been spent.
The results?
Ha.
These resources were all poured into infrastructure construction and renovation and hadn’t created any additional value, mostly swallowed up by various interest groups, not much different from Waite’s predecessor, Moi.
Waite had also fallen into the political quagmire.
It was around this time,
That Wan Qing Steel entered his field of vision.
During the report from his subordinates,
He remembered
That this was the Huaxia capital which had won the bid for several mineral properties last year. As more and more information gathered in Waite’s hands, and upon learning that its owner was Tang Qing, Waite was extremely excited. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
This was a man who had created miracles.
He hoped that Tang Qing could also bring miracles to Congo Gold.
And the miracle he was hoping for happened quickly. In his view, it was Tang Qing’s exemplary effect that led two heavyweight Huaxia capitals to enter, which made him unexpectedly grateful to his predecessor Moi.
Without Moi,
He guessed Tang Qing might not have been able to acquire that iron mine.
Therefore,
At the invitation jointly issued by several enterprises,
He came here
To not only visit the steel factory that was ready to start production but also to attend the foundation-laying ceremony and express his goodwill, as this was related to many of his upcoming policies and guidelines.
At ten in the morning,
Waite arrived at the steel factory.
At that moment,
The security there was fully on high alert.
Seeing military Hummers and formidable security guards armed with guns by the roadside, Waite, on the contrary, felt at ease; the steel factory was not only Tang Qing’s property but also a part of Congo Gold’s future foundation.
Considering the security situation here,
and the importance of the steel factory,
Waite must wish they had even more people, as these security guards, no matter how numerous, posed no threat to him. Based on Huaxia’s modus operandi, it would be absolutely impossible to allow Tang Qing and his team to interfere with the country’s domestic politics.
He did want to send soldiers for protection,
but nearby was Sadoke, and if he dared to send troops, Sadoke might have the soldiers stay right at the entrance to the mining area, a scenario Waite was even less willing to see.
Waite’s arrival,
of course, received a warm welcome.
Banners,
red carpet,
playing music,
the steel factory went all out to make a good impression.
Greeting him was Guan Songhua, the manager of both the steel factory and the mining area. As for the managers of the other two enterprises, they stood behind, for even though their own boss was powerful, here, it was Guan Songhua who led the way.
Twenty percent of the shares
were also temporarily held by Guan Songhua.
"Mr. President, hello, I am Guan Songhua, the manager here," Guan Songhua said with a beaming smile.
Waite shook his hand warmly, "Hello, I thank you for your support of the construction in Congo Gold, and if I get the chance, I must convey my gratitude to your Chairman Tang."
"Thank you, I certainly will," said Guan Songhua, busily.
To his own boss,
Guan Songhua was utterly obedient.
He practically swaggered wherever he went.
Afterwards, Guan Songhua introduced the representatives of the other two enterprises, but Waite didn’t remember them at all; before coming, the person he had read most about in the materials was Guan Songhua.
Following that,
led by Guan Songhua,
Waite toured the various areas of the steel factory. Although he didn’t understand the data Guan Songhua explained, he only needed to know the output here; as for the process and methods, he didn’t care.
Waite kept nodding his head.
An annual capacity of two million six hundred thousand tons for the first phase
made Waite’s body tremble with excitement. Even though this was still less than one percent of Huaxia’s output of over four hundred million tons last year, it was enough to rank globally.
Though far behind,
it was still much better than those countries that lacked any smelting industry altogether.
Waite pondered how much this would reduce foreign exchange expenditure. By his reckoning, he was overjoyed.
Once the steel factory was fully built,
it would save them at least eight hundred million dollars in foreign exchange outflow each year, and most crucially, the derivative processing industries from steel smelting were what Waite truly cared about.
"Good."
"Good."
"..."
Along the way, he had lost count of how many times he had said "good."
After touring the steel factory,
it was already noon.
They treated Waite to an authentic Huaxia meal, which he praised highly. During the meal, after friendly negotiations, they reached several cooperative agreements which had been previously proposed to Waite.
First, the Government of Democratic Republic of the Congo would invest funds to refurbish and expand the road from the steel factory to the capital of Congo Gold, facilitating future steel and ore transportation.
Second, for projects funded by the government of Congo Gold, they would prioritize purchasing products from the steel factory, given equal quality.
Third, they encouraged the procurement of products from the steel factory for civil construction projects.
Fourth, they established the Kivu Industrial Zone, incorporating a two-hundred square kilometer area surrounding the mining zone, with Wan Qing Mining responsible for its management, planning, and investment attraction, yet without any administrative positions in Congo Gold, as an economic type of industrial park.
Fifth, the steel factory would enjoy a five-year tax exemption.
Each clause
had been carefully considered by Waite before agreeing.
Since they were doing this,
there was no place for pettiness.
This was a pilot reform project; if successful, Congo Gold profits, and if not, Congo Gold still profits. Why not do it?
...
In the afternoon,
after the foundation-laying ceremony,
Waite didn’t stay.
He hastened to leave,
not daring to spend the night in this region, and directly headed for the capital of Nan Ji Province. This place was too close to Sadoke, and though Sadoke wouldn’t dare strike unless mad,
it was better to be safe than sorry.
