I am a master in India

Chapter 311 License
"How much does this thing cost?" On the plane back home, Ron had nothing to do.

“$1000 is much more convenient than your satellite phone.” Mary looked down, her fingers tapping away at the keys.

"It's a bit expensive, but it's definitely very light." Ron weighed the item in his hand and fiddled with it with interest.

Yes, he's holding a Nokia 2110, a new phone released last year.

While walking the streets of Dubai, I happened to see a businessman holding it and talking non-stop.

Ron suddenly realized that it was already 95, and cell phones had long been around.

Spending too much time in a backward place like India can unconsciously narrow one's horizons and completely disconnect one from the world's cutting edge.

However, India is not without mobile phones. The Maharashtra government just started a pilot deployment this year and has not yet officially launched commercial use.

Ron guessed that there were only tens of thousands of mobile phone users in all of India, which is negligible compared to the population of one billion.

Wanting to try something new, he also had Mary buy a few.

In Dubai, you can buy more than just Nokia mobile phones; you can also find Motorola, Ericsson, and IBM.
Nokia was ultimately chosen because the Indian government was promoting GSM networks.

As soon as Mary got her hands on it, she was completely captivated by the little gadget.

What fascinated her wasn't the editable text messages or the amazing feature of storing 99 contacts, but the game Snake!
This generation of Nokia phones comes pre-installed with three games, including the famous Snake game.

"Let me try," Ron said, unable to resist the urge to try.

“Darling, you have it.” Mary dodged.

"It's more fun to play with someone."

Ron leaned over, picked up the phone, and started tapping away with both thumbs.

In no time, the snake filled the screen.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Mary exclaimed in surprise.

"Child's play, I break records effortlessly, sigh."

Bang! He was careless and didn't dodge.

"Oh, what a pity."

"It's okay, we'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."

After saying that, Ron flipped the phone over, opened the back cover, and started removing the battery.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked.

"I want to take it apart and see." But without the tools, Ron had to give up.

"You're eyeing it again?" Mary asked knowingly.

"Don't underestimate this little thing; it will have a bigger market than televisions in the future."

“A cell phone costs a thousand dollars, while the cheapest TV only costs a hundred dollars. That’s a tenfold difference,” Mary shrugged.

"No, anything new is expensive when it first comes out. But as the technology matures, ordinary people will be able to afford it."

"So, cell phones are your next product?" Mary finished assembling the Nokia and started playing Snake again.

“Difficult!” Ron shook his head.

"why?"

"Because Tokyo University doesn't have it either." He shrugged.

Whether Ziyan Technology, as a representative of Ziyan Technology, can succeed depends entirely on whether its hometown, Southeast University, has open-sourced it.

Unfortunately, even the University of Tokyo couldn't figure this out; it's basically monopolized by Japanese, Korean, and Western companies.

"So what are you going to do?" Mary asked.

"We can only wait for now, but this deal is not something we can do right now."

"What do you mean? Like other Indian companies, paying high prices for OEM manufacturing?"

"No, I plan to set up a telecommunications company and get a license first."

India enacted a new telecommunications policy last year that allows private companies to participate in telecommunications services.

However, the traditional fixed-line telephone market has long been monopolized by state-owned enterprises, and few outsiders have been able to get a share of the pie.

Needless to say, the mobile market is still in the pilot stage and there are no commercial customers at all.

Meanwhile, foreign telecom giants are getting restless and seem ready to make a big splash.

Ron knew that given India's current economic situation, it would be difficult for the mobile business to be profitable.

Aside from a small number of people in big cities who can afford mobile phones, ordinary people are just watching the spectacle.

It's possible that it will continue to lose money for the next five years.

But he still intends to get the license first, because it will be harder to get it later.

It doesn't matter if I don't poop, I have to reserve the toilet first.

SunTV is expanding its cable network in major Indian cities, and building a few signal base stations along the way shouldn't be a problem.

We've only lost a little money in the past few years, but once Suer Electric's phones come out, we should be able to make it all back by offering contract phones.

Ron spent the entire few hours on the plane thinking about this.

Only after returning to Gujarat did he begin to take stock of what he had gained from his trip to Dubai.

After finding the right approach, Suer Electric's Dubai office was established and opened in just a few days.

And in just a few days, they received a considerable order.

Several months ago, Vinod brought a batch of prototypes to Dubai as a pilot project.

There are many people interested in Sull televisions, simply because they are cheap.

The black and white version, which costs over two hundred US dollars on the international market, is only priced at one hundred and fifty US dollars by Suer Electric.

A color TV that costs over six hundred dollars can be had for around five hundred dollars if you choose Suer Electric. Merchants are profit-driven, especially large-scale international traders; a one percent profit is enough to make them flock to it.

Unfortunately, without official Dubai certification, the goods could not enter the port and the transaction could not be completed.

Now that all the necessary procedures are in place and there is bank funding as collateral, many traders' concerns can be dispelled.

Most customers shipping to Africa ordered black and white televisions. Given their limited budgets, the 14-inch and 18-inch models, offering the best value for money, sold the most.

All in all, there are over 100,000 units, which is not bad.

Local traders in the Persian Gulf tend to prefer color TVs, as the average income in the region is generally higher than in Asian countries, and the level of consumption is also significantly higher.

They placed an order for fifty to sixty thousand units, and Ron was quite satisfied.

Excluding Sri Lanka, this is Suer Electric's first significant overseas venture, a successful start.

Only after your reputation gradually improves will large-scale transactions come your way.

The traders in Dubai required Suer Electric to ship the goods within three months, but in reality, it only takes one month.

Jamnagel already has fifteen production lines, and the super industrial park is nearly half-completed. Orders for over 100,000 units are only half of the production capacity, easily met.

Ron was keen on overseas trade because the profits were higher than in India.

The traders' purchase price was about 1.5 times that in India. Ron had to consider shipping costs and other additional expenses.

For example, television labels and instructions must be translated into Arabic or English. Dubai has very low tariffs, but they still exist.

Even after deducting all these costs, each television set earns about 30% more than it would in the country.

With such good fortune, Ron wished he could maximize the production capacity of all four factories.

He only stayed in Gujarat for two days before flying back to Mumbai without stopping.

Whether it's the telecommunications license or SunTV, there are many things waiting for him.

Of course, as the year draws to a close, he also needs to take stock of his assets.

Throughout 95, Suer was on a frenzied expansion. They built three branch factories, with most of the funding raised through loans.

The Lucknow factory in Uttar Pradesh was originally planned to have an investment of 3 million rupees, plus a total of 5 million rupees for supporting production lines.

In addition, the cement plant is being expanded, increasing its capacity six or seven times. All of this costs money, 8 million rupees.

The money was all financed through loans, partly from the Bank of the Union and partly from Roy's Sahara Bank.

It wasn't that Ron couldn't get a loan from the bank; it was purely to support the Sahara business.

After all, Roy Real Estate Company's cement was all supplied by Suer, and it was a matter of reciprocity.

The Gujarat factory is the largest, with a construction cost of 10 billion. If you include equipment and personnel, it will easily exceed 20 billion.

There is also a mine under construction in Mundra, with an initial investment of 4 million rupees.

Ron’s investments in Modi’s hometown amounted to 24 billion rupees, but the BJP only provided him with a loan of 5 million rupees, and he had to solve the rest himself.

Tamil is even more outrageous, with factories similar in size to those in Gujarat, but with the addition of a port costing $2 million.

That's not all; the production line at the Mumbai Sur campus has been continuously expanded, costing more than 5 million rupees.

Let's calculate how much it will cost Ron to build all these assets.

Well, not much, 125 billion rupees, or 3.1 million US dollars.

After reviewing the report, Ron scratched his head, regretting that he hadn't bothered to calculate it.

Fortunately, we managed to scrape together 42 billion yuan from the banks, and we relied entirely on these loans to support ourselves in the early stages.

However, the investment was worthwhile, and Suer Electric's profits grew rapidly that year.

By early November, the television business alone had generated 7 billion rupees in profit.

After integrating sales data for products such as water-cooled air conditioners and rice cookers, Suer Electric has approximately 80 billion yuan in cash on hand, providing ample resources.

Of course, in order to support the construction of branch factories in various places, in addition to bank loans, Ron himself also invested 20 billion rupees in cash.

After deducting these, he still had 60 billion rupees in his account, most of which had been converted into US dollars.

In short, his money wasn't enough to repay the bank loan. But Ron wasn't worried at all, because as the various branch factories gradually went into production, Suer Electric's profits continued to reach new highs.

The company produces 50 television sets, 5 water-cooled air conditioners and electric fans, and 10 rice cookers and juicers per month, with a net profit of 25 billion rupees.

In just six months, he will be able to earn back the bank loan he owes. More importantly, production capacity is still increasing, and profits will continue to grow.

Sigh, the amount owed is still not enough to put Ron under pressure to pay off his debts.

So he invested heavily in SunTV, spending a total of seven or eight hundred million rupees, all of which were loans.

However, this business operates on a separate basis because of Mary and her colleagues' involvement.

The cash-burning activities of cable television networks haven't stopped; they'll need to continue taking out loans.

As for the miscellaneous income from travel agencies and tourism companies, it only amounted to two or three hundred million rupees a year, which was just enough for Ron's living expenses.

He's become quite the connoisseur now; even his water is flown in from abroad. He has nearly a hundred servants, and most of his daily necessities are not only expensive but also consumed as disposable items.

To be honest, Ron is considering buying a private helicopter.

His villa is located at the southernmost tip of Mumbai, while the headquarters of Suer Electric is in the central region, a distance of 30 kilometers as the crow flies.

Given Mumbai's traffic conditions, it takes him more than an hour to get to headquarters each time, which is a huge waste of time.

If there were a helicopter, it would only take about ten minutes to get there.

The headquarters building already has a reserved helipad. Now, by modifying the backyard of the villa, an air route between the two locations can be established.

He needs to consult an international consulting firm; he really needs to enjoy the life of a true gentleman.

But before that, we need to focus on the present: the pilot episode of Sun TV has ended, and "Celebrity Cooking Competition" is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)