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Chapter 725: Chapter 628: Shocked (Please subscribe!)_1
This combined ’prescription’ is familiar to everyone present.
Because our neighbor, Huaxia, is a successful example.
By introducing foreign investment, technology, and urbanization to achieve the layout of the entire national economy and industrial development, this can be said to be a good prescription, but for steady growth, for sustainability.
There must be a prerequisite.
That is effective labor force.
Or what can be called demographic dividend.
Huaxia, with its vast population base, a large number of low-end labor, continuously cultivated high-end talents, and measures such as market openness, has forcibly maintained the stable operation of this development model.
Creating a miracle.
Many countries want to learn, but no one can learn so far.
Determination and effort are key. This is not simply a question of money, nor a problem of market opening, but a combination of various measures from top to bottom that are jointly maintained.
It’s the result of internal and external factors working together.
Everyone present is well aware of the difficulty.
"Deputy Leader Ling, you should know that our country mainly consists of agricultural population, fewer industrial population, low level of education, weak infrastructure and industry. Do you think it is realistic to introduce foreign investment in a short period of time?"
Lang Cai asked with a frown, revealing the key factor, which was the reason why Myanmar’s domestic economy could not be pushed forward. The ’prescription’ sounded good, but if it was unrealistic or took too long, then there would be no solution.
Put plainly.
They find it bothersome.
This is a common attitude of the upper class in Myanmar. They lack a definitive commitment to serving the country and its people, they lack long-term planning capabilities, and always hope that a single prescription can save lives.
And to see immediate results.
But precisely because of this, there is room for operation. If they were to make rational choices, the path to the rise of the Asia Dollar would not be so smooth.
Ling begins explaining: "I think it’s possible. Firstly, we do not lack people, we only lack factories and skilled workers, and we only need to train accordingly. As you know about the Myanmar Economic Zone, through targeted training of specific equipment, we already have a basic industrial system.
We can take the Myanmar Economic Zone as an example and establish several industrial cities in Myanmar, increasing the self-sufficiency rate of domestic goods. The Myanmar Economic Zone can act as a go-between in providing loans or technology, attracting foreign investors, and conducting uniform project tenders."
Although the internal project bidding of the Myanmar Economic Zone has been frozen, Ling could not control Myanmar’s domestic affairs.
Ling’s meaning is very clear.
If you try to attract investment yourself, no one will pay any attention. It is also very troublesome.
But with the Myanmar Economic Zone acting like an underwriter of stocks, packaging Myanmar’s projects comprehensively, then carrying out business solicitation, and even providing Asia Dollar loans, the results will be different.
After thinking carefully.
Lang Cai thinks this method is feasible.
That way, there can be an effective scheme to avoid resource wastage, save a lot of time and prevent us from having to run around and literally work ourselves to death looking for people. And the Myanmar Economic Zone can also provide loans, so we have professionals doing the professional jobs.
The most important thing is,
This time, the Asia Dollar loan can ensure the balance of ’other loans’ in Myanmar’s Equitable Bank. Otherwise, if all the money is borrowed by foreign capital, it will affect many of their original plans.
"Deputy Leader Ling, let’s put the issue of attracting investment aside for now. What about the issue of external borrowing that you mentioned? How can that be resolved?" Lang Cai said with a smile. If this problem is not resolved, everything else would be as empty as the moon in the water.
Ling explained: "President Lang Cai, it’s impossible to borrow from the ’World Bank’ and the ’International Monetary Fund’. Their procedures are complicated and they might not lend to us anyway. They have too many demands.
Moreover, our ability to repay the debt has not been recognized by Western countries, so my idea is to use the loans of the countries surrounding Myanmar, such as our neighbor---Huaxia."
"Huaxia?" Lang Cai muttered to himself.
"Yes, Huaxia has rich experience in constructing roads, bridges, railways, airports and other projects. Especially, only they have the supply of such a large scale of raw materials in their domestic market.
As long as this loan is used entirely to purchase various goods and materials from Huaxia, with some preferential treatment for Huaxia in future trading, I believe Huaxia will agree to this loan," Ling said.
Lang Cai questioned: "I have thought about this method, but why does Huaxia want to lend us so much money? I’m afraid a mere commitment to purchase Huaxia goods is not enough. For a large amount, there must be some collateral."
Ling paused for a while, then said solemnly: "Actually, this issue can be handled in the name of the Myanmar Economic Zone. I can promise to use tax revenues from the Myanmar Economic Zone and corporate assets under the Myanmar Bank Group as collateral to apply for this loan from Huaxia.
Of course, it’s impossible for the Myanmar Economic Zone to take on all of it all. Moreover, since none of the money from this loan will be taken by our Special Zone and all will be used for the construction of Myanmar, but this money is to be repaid by us.
Therefore, Myanmar must guarantee it with the Asia Dollar loan. Only then would I dare to gamble the future of the Myanmar Economic Zone."
Ling’s meaning is clear, I can ’sacrifice’ myself to help Myanmar obtain this huge loan and can also take on the repayment task of this part of the loan. But you must repay me with the Asia Dollar loan.
In order to let Myanmar owe a huge Asia Dollar debt, Tang Qing is also going all out.
As soon as this statement came out,
Everyone present was stunned by Ling’s ’selflessness’.
What does it mean? It means that the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’ gave its tax revenue and some resources to Huaxia’s banks in exchange for funds to help complete this ’Five-Year Plan’ in Myanmar.
If this isn’t selflessness, then what is?
In an instant,
Everyone present was somewhat moved.
They understand very clearly why Ling only accepts Asia Dollar loans.
That’s because, if this part of the loan is repaid with Myanmar Kyat, then the Asia Dollar would suffer a major loss, because the devaluation of the Kyat is inevitable in the entire plan. Whether giving a large amount of Kyat to Ling all at once now, or repaying him with Kyat in the future, both would be a loss, and a harsh one at that.
Ling certainly wouldn’t do it.
But it’s different with the Asia Dollar. As long as Ling can maintain the value of the Asia Dollar, the interest will not suffer any significant loss.
Lang Cai also felt a surge of respect for Ling. He immediately said, "Of course, the collateral for this loan, shouldn’t be borne solely by the Special Zone, how much do you think we should borrow from Huaxia?"
"I think 80 billion RMB will be enough." Ling blurted out a sentence.
He was always one for shock and awe.
"Pfft!"
A deputy leader drinking water spewed it out.
That deputy leader looked at Ling.
As if he was looking at a god.
The others weren’t much better, looking at Ling with incredulity.
What did they just hear? A loan of 80 billion RMB? Was that a mistake? That was equivalent to 10 billion dollars, almost half of Myanmar’s GDP for the year, nearly 20 times Myanmar’s annual tax revenue.
Even if it was halved, it would still be tenfold.
Such a scale of debt.
It was downright terrifying.
Lang Cai was somewhat annoyed.
"Deputy Leader Ling, are you sure you need that much?" Lang Cai stared at Ling’s eyes. The previous plan’s total amount was even more, but it was spread out, and the source of funds was wide-ranging. He did not expect that the required loan would be this large.
"Yes, this amount of money can just complete the construction of the main transportation infrastructure in Myanmar. For the rest, we can digest through introducing foreign investments and internal investments. I believe the growth of the economy will increase Myanmar’s tax revenue more and more, and it will not be difficult to repay this loan." Ling said very seriously.
"But, we don’t need so much all at once." Lang Cai said suspiciously.
"The establishment of several industrial cities, the expansion and renovation of coastal ports, a railway network covering all cities in Myanmar, a highway network extending to townships, and large-scale airports, power grids, power stations, etc.
Funds are also allocated for the expansion of Myanmar’s state-owned enterprises. 80 billion RMB is already a conservative number, it will only complete more than half of the plan, and when the tax revenue from other industries increases and gets on track, it can be completely resolved with internal methods."
After Ling explained this.
They realized it seemed it was indeed not too much. For an ordinary person, 80 billion would absolutely make them top the rich list, but for a country, 80 billion RMB is just a relatively large figure.
Lang Cai was pondering the pros and cons in his heart.
Speaking of gains, they were huge. Once implemented, the economic development within Myanmar would be unimaginable.
As for losses.
It seemed like there was nothing to lose. After all, the loan would be secured by the corporate assets and tax revenues of the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’, which wasn’t even under his control. He wasn’t selling Myanmar’s land, and even half of repayment was taken care of by Ling.
It was evident Ling genuinely cared about Myanmar’s welfare.
This strange thought circulated in Lang Cai’s mind.
At last,
"Deputy Leader Ling, thank you for your patriotism. I love this plan. However, since it hasn’t gone through a joint examination by all departments, I suggest we discuss it at the next meeting. After the meeting, you can take it back to your departments for serious study. I hope we can formalize this at the next meeting on November 1st."
Lang Cai had agreed. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
But he could not treat this matter of national importance lightly.
Therefore, the issue was pushed back half a month, allowing various departments to study it thoroughly. Only then would it be possible to endorse it entirely. Otherwise, they’d feel left out if Ling finished everything without them, wouldn’t that be frustrating?
As if only he could do it.
"The rest is up to you." Ling said.
Lang Cai continued the meeting: "Good, auditing the ’Five-Year Plan for Myanmar’s Economic Development’ outline is the most important task for you in the next half month. Now, let’s start the fifth item, regarding the allocation of special transportation channels for export goods from the Myanmar Economic Zone..."
The meeting did not drag on till the afternoon as the fourth item was pushed back to early next month by Lang Cai.
However, the impact was far-reaching.
One by one, they were calculating their potential gains. If they could harvest, it’d definitely be a windfall. Such an economic stimulus plan is like a big cake to everyone.
Where there’s investment.
There’s money.
With money.
They could make money off it.
So when Ling resolved the problem with the money, the rest was not an issue. Now, they were all calculating how to make some advantageous moves based on this ’outline’ at the next meeting.
For example, if a family primarily engaged in agricultural product trading, it wouldn’t be easy to meddle with this part of the money, so he would have to find a way to incorporate his interests into this plan.
This is why Tang Qing was not worried about this proposal being completely vetoed by Lang Cai - it aligned with the interests of most people present, Myanmar’s national interests, and even the interests of the Myanmar people.
This was an open plot.
By the time they ’add bricks and tiles’ at the next meeting,
Tang Qing was certain that the 80 billion RMB was just a conservative figure; their ’greed’ would push the final number to exceed this. These people felt that half the bill was being picked up by the Myanmar Economic Zone, and the other half was covered by Myanmar as a country.
What was there to fear?
Tang Qing, far away in the Shanghai Stock Market, was looking forward to the crazy plans these guys would come up with at the meeting on November 1st.
The real drama,
Has just begun.
Once the gate of greed is opened, even Lang Cai could not contain it.
