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Chapter 1209: Chapter 1066: Pull Off a Job (Please Subscribe!)
Chai Ren reflected on the business he had conducted in Africa over the years.
It wasn’t much different from running a steel factory.
It required large investments.
It took a long time to recoup the initial outlay.
At this point, the scales in his heart had already tilted; mining and generating electricity didn’t seem too far apart. He just didn’t know what Tang Qing’s plan was, whether it was for him to operate or merely to invest.
"How much are you planning to invest?" Chai Ren asked.
"Starting with the steel factory as the center, we’ll expand outwards. In the meantime, we’ll try to acquire a few power grid companies in Congo Gold. Once we’ve secured a firm footing, we’ll look towards developmental strategies in neighboring countries."
"As for the specific amount of investment, I don’t know either. Iron towers, we can make ourselves; electric cables, we will be able to produce in the future; the main cost of power grid transmission can be lowered to a very minimal extent."
Tang Qing didn’t hide his plans. After all, they weren’t secrets.
Chai Ren nodded.
The main cost of electric grids lies in transmission.
Every iron tower is a cost; every thick, high-voltage electric cable is charged by the meter. Once they can resolve this aspect of the expense, the rest will be much easier to manage.
"I personally think it sounds very good, but I need to discuss it with my family," Chai Ren said.
Tang Qing gave a slight smile.
"Sure, just give me a response by the end of the month. Besides you, I’ll also be inviting some other shareholders. I won’t have total control; our combined shares won’t exceed fifty percent."
"Why? Is it because of a lack of funds?" Chai Ren asked curiously.
Tang Qing shook his head, "Earning money in Africa is not easy. We always need some tough characters to hold the fort, don’t you think?"
Chai Ren nodded.
True enough.
If you want to make money in Africa.
You need to be strong. If you also want to earn money from the surrounding dozen or so countries, you need a fist as hard as a diamond. He could already imagine Tang Qing pulling in some influential people from the area.
But as for who.
He had some guesses in his mind, although he couldn’t be entirely sure.
It seemed.
This business.
Really might be a surefire profit. Chai Ren felt completely at ease and was determined to convince his family to invest. As Tang Qing said, the market needs to be cultivated.
"I’ll give you an answer before the end of the month," Chai Ren raised his glass.
"Sure."
The two clinked their glasses lightly.
A deal was almost struck just like that.
"Can I join too?" Zheng Lin, who had been listening to their conversation, chimed in.
Chai Ren laughed, "What business do you have here? Your family doesn’t have much business overseas, let alone in Africa."
"Can’t I just invest without managing it?" Zheng Lin was set on Tang Qing as a partner.
"How much can you bring to the table?" Chai Ren asked.
Without hesitation, Zheng Lin said, "Next month, Comet Group is going to distribute dividends, right? I’m going all in." This was the first dividend payout from Comet Group, not much, just a total of 600 million RMB.
Chai Ren remembered as well.
"I almost forgot about that. It will depend on what Tang Qing has to say."
"Make a decision by the end of the month and consult your family. Let me know," Tang Qing said, as one more person wouldn’t have any impact because the investment was too massive this time.
"Ha-ha, great, these are money-making deals. If I say I will invest, I definitely will," laughed Zheng Lin. He was a bit different from Chai Ren; the money earned by the Comet Group wasn’t family money, it was his own.
His investment.
His family would not intervene.
Moreover, going into business with Tang Qing— who was Tang Qing? The wealthiest man in the inland regions of Huaxia. And there was already a good foundation for cooperation between the two. If Tang Qing saw a profitable opportunity, they would go for it.
...
In the evening.
Back in his room.
Chai Ren stood by the window, silently looking out.
"What were you discussing just now that made you so happy?" Zhan Xi asked softly after their daughter had fallen asleep.
"It’s about business. Tang Qing invited me to invest in the electricity industry in Africa. I’m considering how much to invest." Chai Ren was indeed a bit troubled because he didn’t yet know the scope of the investment.
All he knew was that it was measured in billions.
The Chai family’s business.
Zhan Xi also had the qualification to understand.
"Electricity? Can you make money there?" Zhan Xi was momentarily startled.
"This is a long-term investment, the issues involved are very complex, and you can’t see any money in the short term. However, once it’s settled, we can obtain other implicit benefits," Chai Ren explained.
"You should ask Dad about it, I don’t understand these things," Zhan Xi knew he couldn’t offer any useful advice.
"Mm."
Chai Ren took out his mobile phone.
He dialed Chai Guoqiang’s number and recounted the situation.
"Electricity?"
Chai Guoqiang was also a bit surprised.
Tang Qing, why was he so optimistic about Africa, and how did he have the confidence to make a mark in ’the quagmire of the world’ that is Africa while also nurturing the market? It was definitely a strategic level of thinking.
But strategic thinking required strategic execution and assurance.
"Right."
Chai Ren briefly mentioned the various implicit advantages Tang Qing had talked about, and also noted that this time there might be many shareholders at the company meeting. It was very likely that Tang Qing’s friend would invest, and there might also be participation from Congo Gold’s elite.
"It seems Tang Qing is quite confident," Chai Guoqiang murmured.
"That’s the situation," said Chai Ren.
Chai Guoqiang was silent for a moment before letting out a long sigh, "Fine, that’s good, my child. You should learn more from Tang Qing’s strategic thinking. His vision is farther than yours."
Where is the future of the world?
Of course, it is Huaxia.
Chai Guoqiang was confident that in the not-too-distant future, Huaxia’s economy and technology would catch up to the United States, Japan, Germany, and other Western developed countries, and become number one in the world. This path was based on its status as a manufacturing superpower.
On the path of catch-up,
Huaxia would amass a manufacturing scale that would grab the world’s attention.
Then,
by that time,
how would such a massive manufacturing scale consume its production capacity? This would become a major issue confronting them. If there was no place for consumption, market demand would be weak, and the ’three engines’ of the economy would stall.
A large-scale wave of factory closures would arrive.
Steel and cement industries would need to reduce capacity.
Corporate orders would decrease.
Supply-side reforms would become inevitable.
The importance of the market
would become apparent at that moment. However, Huaxia predicted that it would be at least twenty years before any African nation could qualify as a ’consumer superpower.’ They would take out loans to build bridges and roads, construct hydropower stations, but with little effect.
Therefore,
the African strategy had already become a long-term strategy. Huaxia was also prepared to take it slowly, as Africa was temporarily incapable of being the ’landing spot’ for Huaxia’s economic shift. It was no longer a plausible expectation.
But that did not mean Africa lacked potential.
There were over a billion people.
Who would dare say there was no potential? In Huaxia’s strategy, the future of Africa would be an important market, one contested by great powers, merely not yet properly nurtured.
Now,
Tang Qing wanted to leverage his personal effort
to make a move in Africa, which genuinely surprised Chai Guoqiang.
"..."
Chai Ren was speechless, how had this turned into lecturing him again?
"If he invests, we invest too, but as for how much, you decide on your own. Just do your best."
"I understand."
"Beep."
Hearing the beeping sound from the phone, Chai Ren’s mouth, which had just opened, slowly closed. Well, who called the shots but his own father? Afterward, he began to consider how much money to put into this investment.
But at least five hundred million RMB as a starting point.
For the construction of power grids, even if many things could be produced domestically, there are costs that can’t be reduced, such as those for the power plant, which is not a small expense, or control equipment, which had to be purchased.
Fortunately, Huaxia’s electricity technology was world-leading. The best power equipment could be made in Huaxia.
He should find a few more people.
Maybe then he could save a bit more.
Approaching midnight, as he looked at his wife and daughter peacefully sleeping, Chai Ren couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. He hadn’t even become a shareholder yet, and already he was considering how to help Tang Qing save money.
