My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 214 The Beginnings of Shock Therapy
"I want to know, aside from the $100 million you brought from China, how much liquid capital do you have in the Soviet Union right now? I mean cash that you can use at any time, or assets that can be quickly converted into cash."

Ekaterina's gaze sharpened as she stared intently at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan frowned slightly: "Director, is our cooperation directly related to the scale of our funding?"

"Yes, and it's extremely important!" Ekaterina said firmly. "You should know about the referendum next month on whether to retain the Soviet Union, right?"

Qin Yuan nodded; this was the epicenter of the current Soviet political vortex.

Ekaterina continued, lowering her voice slightly, with a hint of sharing a secret: "The situation is becoming increasingly tense, and the Gorbachev family's position is constantly being challenged. To deal with the crisis, just last week, these gentlemen held a closed-door meeting and passed an extremely important decision."

She gave Qin Yuan a deep look: "I have received definite information that this decision-making plan has completed most of the procedures and is only awaiting the final approval step. Once the referendum results are in, regardless of the outcome, this decision will be initiated."

"At that time, the entire Soviet Union will undergo... earth-shattering changes."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and a startling conjecture rushed into his mind.

He tentatively asked, "This reform plan... is it related to the cooperation you mentioned?"

"That's right, this collaboration is directly related to this decision!"

Ekaterina stated definitively, seemingly having made up her mind and no longer beating around the bush, "The decision is simple and direct: to massively expand the scope and depth of domestic economic reforms, to allow and even encourage foreign capital to enter more key sectors of our country, and to allow the constituent republics and localities to assess and transfer or sell some fixed assets that originally belonged to the state, were poorly managed or non-core, such as hospitals, sanatoriums, guesthouses, and loss-making factories, to private and foreign capital."

boom!
Qin Yuan felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind!
Expand foreign investment access limits and allow small-scale sales of assets from specific countries!

This... isn't this the prototype of what later became known as "shock therapy"?!

It's already on the agenda so quickly?!

Is this because of the flapping of his butterfly wings, or is this simply how history unfolds?

He forcefully suppressed the turmoil and immense excitement within him, striving to keep his voice calm: "So, Director, our cooperation refers to this? Participating in this... asset transfer plan?"

“That’s right, just as you guessed!” Ekaterina’s eyes gleamed. “It’s not just me who wants to cooperate with you.”

"It was us who valued your business acumen, your background and network in China, and the influence and execution capabilities you have already demonstrated in the Soviet Union!"

"The first batch of assets to be transferred, which has been preliminarily agreed upon, mainly consists of local hospitals, sanatoriums, government guesthouses, and small and medium-sized factories that have been losing money for a long time."

"And under our control and influence,"

Her tone carried an unquestionable authority: "We are confident enough to determine the initial transferees and... transfer prices of assets in Kuibyshev, St. Petersburg, and several other important regions."

"So," Qin Yuan's voice tightened slightly with excitement, "you can make whoever you want buy it, at least within the area you control?" "That's a fair assessment," Ekaterina replied affirmatively.

Boom!Boom!
Qin Yuan felt his heart pounding and his blood rushing.

This is like a huge windfall, which will greatly accelerate his initial capital accumulation.

Once his bank opens successfully, the massive amount of ruble savings it has absorbed will have the best place to go.

At that time, he can easily acquire these high-quality physical assets at a very low cost!
When the Soviet Union collapses and the ruble plummets, his debts will become negligible, while the value of his assets will explode exponentially!
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and asked a crucial question: "Comrade Director, I'd like to know more specific information. For example, in Kuibyshev, what assets do you initially plan to include in the transfer list?"

Ekaterina seemed to have anticipated his question and answered fluently: "For example, as you can see, the Third People's Hospital of Kuibyshev, the city workers' sanatorium, several government guesthouses on the banks of the Volga River... and the Kuibyshev Brewery."

Qin Yuan subconsciously swallowed.

Kuibyshev is a large city with a population of one million. Its Third People's Hospital and Workers' Sanatorium are actually worth at least tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of rubles!

As for the Kuibyshev Brewery, although its profits were average, he had learned about it before. It had just introduced a production line from East Germany two years ago, and its fixed asset value was no less than that of the Ochakov Brewery, at least in the tens of millions of rubles!
Although he has a considerable amount of funds at his disposal, if he were to acquire these assets at market valuations or even slightly lower prices, his cash flow would be extremely strained, and he would have to wait until the bank's deposit-taking business was on track.

He voiced his concerns: "Comrade Director, these assets are of enormous value. Even for me, acquiring them all at once would require time to raise the funds, I'm afraid..."

“What if it’s an incredibly low price that you can’t even imagine?” Ekaterina interrupted him, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.

"Super low price?" Qin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he suppressed his excitement as he asked, "I wonder... just how low can this price go?"

Ekaterina looked at the undisguised desire for wealth in Qin Yuan's eyes, and instead of minding it, she seemed quite satisfied.

She leaned forward slightly, lowered her voice, and uttered a number that would drive any businessman mad:
"Don't worry, you'll definitely 'like' this price."

"Take this Kuibyshev Brewery for example, its fixed assets are valued at over ten million rubles..."

"What do you think if we sell it to you for one million rubles?"

One million rubles?!
Acquire a modern brewery for 10% of its actual value?!

This is no longer a "super low price", this is simply... a blatant, almost absurd, giveaway!
Qin Yuan was completely stunned. Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still so shocked by the number that he couldn't speak for a moment.

The scale of rent-seeking and the transfer of benefits behind this exceeded his initial imagination.

(End of this chapter)