What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 605 Target, Natuna (July 1400 Monthly Tickets)

Of course, Lao Zhao knew what the situation was like in Southeast Asia.

The changes in the overall environment do not require any special agents or spies to investigate; accurate data can be obtained simply by looking at television, newspapers, stock price trends, and reports from overseas personnel.

What he really wanted to know was how Gekin planned to intervene, and by what means.

After all, given the impression that the Dragon Group is a formidable underground organization in Southeast Asia, it could eliminate any threat it might detect in advance without making a sound.

But Tang Wen had already prepared his words, and deliberately said in a somber tone:
"If the Dragon Group stays in Southeast Asia for too long, some people will gradually be assimilated by the locals and collude with other families, no longer serving the original goal of uniting overseas Chinese."

If an organization were to launch an operation locally, it would likely suffer a disastrous defeat due to betrayal from within; only Geigin is truly clean and can be completely trusted.

The four people were all startled upon hearing this, but they had no further doubts:

Wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy. This is especially true for a large and long-established organization. It is already remarkable that it can maintain strict confidentiality principles when it is rootless and adrift. It is impossible for all its members to be closely united.

Zhao Hande and the bank president thought even further. They even speculated that Tang Wen's tireless efforts to build Gaijin upon arriving on the mainland were likely due to instructions from a bigwig within the Dragon Group, who hoped to develop power abroad and then launch a fierce "purge" within the group.

Tang Wen, who undertook this task, is very likely to become one of the controllers of the mysterious organization in the future.

When the topic turned to such dark and conspiracy theories, everyone tacitly fell silent, and at the same time, their understanding of the Dragon Group became more comprehensive.

Ancient, vast, wealthy, mysterious, rife with internal strife and power struggles... it certainly piques our curiosity.

After realizing that he had been fooled, Tang Wen also put on a cool and aloof persona. After waiting for about an hour, several seemingly ordinary delivery trucks drove into the shipyard, but the soldiers who jumped out were all exuding an elite aura.

They were taken aback when they entered the warehouse, and were immediately gathered together and given a speech by the team leader. After each of them attached a walkie-talkie to their body, they quickly separated and guarded various corners of the warehouse.

At this time, the bank manager also received the news that the Qi Jiguang ship had set sail south from Tianjin under the pretext of training and maintenance, and was expected to arrive in a little over two days. During this period, the warehouse was completely closed, all personnel were under control and not allowed to leave, and unauthorized personnel were not allowed to enter.

Of course, Tang Wen is not included in this list, and Zhao Hande can also leave on his own.

……

“Mr. Sergio, I believe you know that it is the New Year now. If the authorities cannot offer sufficiently sincere terms, I cannot give up the opportunity to spend time with my family and come to Chuawa.”

Besides, Manager Wu and those hundreds of men have been idle in the area for almost half a year. If I don't give them a break to go home, they'll just resign!

Tang Wen and Sergio spoke on the phone, a rare opportunity for direct communication between the two; previously, subordinates had been sent to make contact.

Meanwhile, Sergio was also under immense pressure:
That damn financial crisis destroyed everything. Even though Wawa was a large company, it couldn't withstand it. Its original plan to peg to the US dollar was also ruthlessly abandoned.

Just when the situation had been barely stabilized, the move by Dai Ying and Fa Ji to tighten foreign investment only made matters worse.

Local agricultural and seafood export prices have plummeted, the pillar industry is in dire straits, and the relatively large-scale oil industry has become the last straw for the authorities.
Due to the interference of the Third Fleet, although oil prices continued to fall, they remained at a relatively good level. The authorities were eager to use oil exports to generate foreign exchange and alleviate the tense environment.

In the face of the difficult situation, the hardliners, represented by Lecce, were suppressed. Serginho was authorized to first reach a settlement with Luzon on the island of Miãos and develop the island first. That's why he approached Geigin again.

But if they fail... General Lecce will be back in the spotlight.

Faced with Tang Wen's silent threat, Sergio revealed almost all of the authorities' bottom lines:
The conditions were incredibly lenient, including tax cuts, simplified procedures, and a free market for acquisitions. The only condition was that the Mionas oil plant be operational immediately so that the authorities could quickly pledge the shares and profits to international banks for a large sum of money.

Tang Wen neither agreed nor disagreed with these conditions, but instead asked:

"Mr. Serginho, how can the safety of our oil workers on Comionas Island be guaranteed?" "We have reached a settlement, and soldiers will be here to protect you. I assure you that what happened before will not be repeated."

“I must inform you that the mining equipment on Miãos Island has been tampered with by other oil companies without permission. If problems arise, it may require maintenance, and Gejin cannot guarantee that it will be put into production immediately.”

"Could you give me a rough... latest time?"

Tang Wen glanced at the calendar:
"It will take at least one month, and at the latest two months, but if we resume work soon, production can definitely be restored before April."

"This is taking a while. I can assure you that Schlumberger has not damaged the mining equipment. Could you speed it up a bit, preferably by half a month..."

Sergio was in a difficult position, as it meant he would have to wait two months for the results.

Hearing the almost pleading tone in the voice on the phone, Tang Wen suddenly had an idea:

“Mr. Sergio, I have heard that your company plans to mortgage part of the revenue from the Miãas oil company.”

"Uh...that's true, you know our situation."

Sergio wasn't surprised; the matter had even been discussed publicly in parliament, though it was a little embarrassing to bring it up now.

But Tang Wen's next words filled him with ecstasy:
"To be honest, oil extraction is a gradual process. It takes a lot of time to reach a production level that can be mortgaged. Even if production resumes today, it will take at least half a year to stabilize."

However, considering our friendship, Geigin can reach an agreement with the authorities to steadily purchase a certain amount of oil from you over the next year, with monthly settlement agreements and spot payments. You can then use this contract as collateral, and I believe you will immediately obtain satisfactory figures.

For example, if Geekin acquires $1 million worth of oil over the next 12 months, it could easily pledge at least $5000 million in cash with a little manipulation. Of course, the oil price under the bulk purchase agreement would be slightly lower.

"This, this, this..."

Serginho was so excited that he was speechless. At that moment, he felt the international friendship that transcended thousands of kilometers!
This is what you call providing timely help!

He had already decided that he would sign the agreement even if the acquisition price was much lower than the normal price.

However, he soon realized a problem:
The daily production of Mionas Island was only 3700 barrels during the trial development, and it is impossible to deliver that many barrels in a short period of time. Even if the production is increased to its peak within this year, it is estimated that it will not be enough.

What about other oil wells?
Currently, there is no shortage of oil to sell and little spare production. To meet the demand of $1 million, it would mean about 2% of the national production, which is not an easy number to squeeze out.

He asked Tang Wen to reduce the acquisition amount to $5000 million, but the latter hesitated and hesitated.

“$50 million is too little. It’s not enough of a motivation for Geigin. I have to convince the board. $100 million is the bottom line. Normally, I need at least $300 million to convince them.”

Now it was Sergio's turn to be at a loss. After hesitating for a long time, he said he needed to check if there was enough spare capacity. He coaxed Tang Wen for a long time before reluctantly hanging up the phone.

"You did a great job. Sergio will definitely ask you for help."

Zhenhai, who had been gesturing across from Tang Wen, stood up excitedly. The former keenly noticed her black stockings, which were much higher than the tabletop.

"This is all part of your plan; I'm just relaying it."

"Only you can be so calm and collected in convincing people! I believe we will be able to establish a branch base here soon."

Zhenhai paid no attention to this, instead muttering something incessantly, his slender hand pointing to a small island below the wall-mounted map:
The Riau Islands, also known as Natuna.

(End of this chapter)