Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 290
Chapter 101. no business in front of money
“It’s called ‘Red Star Mining’… … . A resource development company based in Canada?”
“yes. That’s right, boss.”
Peony Holdings President, Choi Seung-il kept his cool and leaned in the chair despite the excited voices of Ryom Jeong-hoon, the part head of the overseas investment division of Peony Holdings, where he is the president.
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Now on his desk were a business proposal and prospectus for a resource development company in Ontario, Canada, which Jung-Hoon Rym had just posted, and an external audit report on the financial structure of an accounting firm in the republic with a guaranteed credibility.Looking at what he and Ryom Jung-hoon passed through the strict screening team below him and now he is on his desk, this would mean that this place called Red Star Mining, at least, is not an absurd investment destination.
However, Choi Seung-il, who had been through it before and after childbirth, did not raise his doubts so quickly.
Because international resource development is one of the most bizarre investment scams that ordinary people can’t even imagine and the resulting crazy national outflows are common, it’s not enough to go through verification and verification.
“Let’s explain the company’s history and the CEO in detail with your own words. There are obviously things on this floor that cannot be seen with the numbers on the paper.”
“Yes, the CEO and founder of Red Star Mining is Il-Woo Bang, and he seems to be called Martin Bang in English. After graduating from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, he studied at Imperial College London, returned to the Republic of Korea, and joined the mining plant Groupa at Goryeo Chemical, which is headquartered in Rason.”
“Hmm, keep going.”
“After 10 years of experience there, I moved to Ontario, Canada, and started my own business, and that is the Red Star Mining you are looking at. At first, it seems to have served as an intermediate bridge between companies in the republic such as Korea Chemical, Ssangwoo Heavy Industries, and Bukmyung Chemical, and resource development companies in the Americas, using personal connections during the Goryeo Chemical era. They started out and now they are recruiting investors to do one big thing on their own.”
“… … And is it that you decided to raise the investment to us? It’s a cobalt mine… … . Are you sure it has business potential?”
Seung-il Choi pointed to the photo that had the shape of a pipe and a huge refinery tower built on the wide plains of Canada, which was attached to the document.
Then, Ryom Jung-hoon raised his voice to explain whether he thought he was showing interest.
“Yes. According to the accompanying preliminary geological test, the purity of the cobalt tested is 99.8%, which is a rare gold vein in the world, potentially worth about 2 trillion dollars, according to Bang Il-woo and Martin Bang.”
“Two trillion dollars? That’s an exaggerated assessment that’s hard to believe. All the bastards trying to get the original investment say they want to inflate the value of their business as much as possible. What is the basis for such an evaluation?”
“Yep! If you look at page 12 of the report posted by the judging department, if it is based on the prospect that 80% of the population living in developed countries will depend on intelligent mobile phones for their entire lives within five years at the most, and the competition for the development of intelligent mobile phones among multinational companies that has been in full swing for several years, it is an important raw material for mobile phones. The gist of the jury’s report is that the value of phosphorus cobalt will rise and not fall as it rises in international commodity markets.”
“Hmm… … .”
“Moreover, mineral resources such as cobalt and nickel are essential for raw materials for storage batteries used in electric vehicles, which are already in the experimental stage in each country. Moreover, the fact that countries around the world, especially China, have already entered countries rich in these mineral resources, including East Africa, and are eager to secure these rare mineral resources so that their IT industry does not buy expensive resources from foreign countries. Considering… … .”
“… … if?”
When Choi Seung-il raised his eyebrows and urged him to continue, Ryom Jeong-hoon swallowed his saliva and added a bit of backstory.
“I think it is better for our republic to jump into the preemption of these resource mining rights in advance, even now. The main industries of our republic are the finance industry, the mineral industry, and the information and communication industry, and it was fortunate that we were able to obtain such advanced information early even considering the synergy effect with these fields.”
“… … .”
Choi Seung-il closed his eyes for a moment at the advice of Ryom Jeong-hoon, who seemed to have come out of trouble.
Choi Seung-il, who is usually cold-hearted and does not listen to the personal opinions of his subordinates in investment decisions that should be cold-hearted, but Ryom Jeong-hoon in front of him was a talented person in the Republic whose ability, sincerity, and loyalty have been verified as he has been watching him for a long time.
That’s why someone like Choi Seung-il had been by his side until now.
Of course, I couldn’t decide to invest in the sovereign wealth fund made up of the blood of the people of the republic based on his personal opinion alone, but it was at least worth considering.
“Put the private plane on the runway.”
“Chief Choi. That word… … .”
“It was most obvious to see it in person. He made an appointment with a friend named Martin Bang and said that he would like to attend an investment briefing session. There are a few things I want to check out in Ontario while I’m there.”
* * *
“It is truly exhilarating to see the people of the Republic in this foreign country, and also such key cadres. By the way, if you had come to our headquarters in Ontario, we would have treated you with dignity, but why did you have to come here? … .”
“If you look at the fact that it is a company headquarters, you can make it at any time if you rent an office, put up a signboard and have a few furniture. In that case, I thought it would be better to see the real asset in person. Oh, of course, I’m not suspicious of you, but… … .”
Choi Seung-il, the CEO of Red Star Mining, and Martin’s room were left in front of him, as if he had no intention of hiding his ‘doubt’.
Once you see that the refinery or excavation equipment is running fine, and considering the market value of those equipment.
At least, the possibility that this place called Red Star Mining was a company aiming for global hukou investment with a plausible office in Ontario was getting lower and lower.
However, Choi Seung-il, who is still unbelievable about the unheard of this Martin Room, threw a bait.
“I heard that you have sent proposals to the Canadian Commodity Fund and other foreign investment banks here, and you made an appointment with Peony Holdings first because you thought that this mine would be beneficial to the national interest of our Republic, one of your fellow countrymen, right? Even though I live in a foreign country, I can’t help but admire the patriotism of my comrade who has not forgotten the mountain stream in his home country.”
“Haha, to be honest, the patriotism fortunes were just words, and North Korea with oil mining experience… … . It was because I thought that a North Korea national fund would be the first to find out the value of this mine and make an investment decision quickly. I don’t know if you’ll feel bad, but because I live abroad, I don’t have reliable partners for people who talk about my compatriots.”
‘Hmm, I passed the first test.’
Choi Seung-il, who had been calm at the candid talk of Martin’s room, was silent for a moment.
Because there is no one who is not a scammer among the people who pick up the words of patriotism and bloodline over business – Choi Seung-il’s long-standing theory.
It may have been said that he had known his inclinations and philosophies in advance, but it was undeniable that the evaluation of this businessman named Martin Bang in Choi Seung-il’s mind rose by about 10 points.
And whether he even noticed it, Martin Bang spurred persuasion by examining the feelings of Seung-il Choi, who was still not completely skeptical.
“… … As you may have heard, Canada, this neighborhood called Canada, is a country where the area of national parks, where development is prohibited, is several times larger than the total area of our republic, saying that we have to live on resources, but at the same time, we have to protect the environment. It is not uncommon for Canadian authorities to get permission to develop such large-scale cobalt mines. I’m a bourgeois country that I’ve never been hungry for, so I may have a generous mind… … .”
“This is because the effects of chemicals produced when refining metals such as cobalt on nature are not common. But I can’t help but wonder why the Canadian authorities suddenly changed their policy stance.”
“ha ha ha… … . What’s wrong with you? With the advent of intelligent cell phones and smartphones, the international cobalt price has risen significantly. Even if my bastards pretend to be good at protecting the environment and everything, in the end they don’t do business in front of money. It is no different than the Republic of Guigan or here in Canada.”
It was clearly not wrong, and it coincided with the evaluation of the judges.
However, Choi Seung-il had to reconsider whether he was making the decision too quickly compared to the amount of investment Martin Bang requested.
“… … Obviously, we know that our holdings will hold a 75% stake in this cobalt mine for $700 million on the proposal.”
“Yes. Additional investment will be required to start mining in earnest and expand refining facilities in the future, but just by looking at the quality of cobalt ore on the surface, you can be sure that the investment will be recovered in the early stage of the business and steady dividend income will be guaranteed in the long term.”
“Sorry, but when we commissioned the geological survey results from mineral resources experts in our republic, they said that due to the limitations of the current observation technology, it is difficult to guarantee the economic feasibility only with the quality of the gemstone or ultrasonic detection alone. I think it will be possible only after more mining progresses to make an investment decision with certainty… … .”
“… … Hmm… … . That’s what I mean… … .”
Even after convincing him so far, Choi Seung-il did not show the desired reaction, so Martin Bang decided to change his tactics a bit, coughing and slowly blowing in the wind.
“Actually, there are others who have already shown interest in investment other than CEO Choi. They said that they would take over a 90% stake in the mine for $1 billion, with a 10% premium.”
“… … !! I didn’t know that. May I know where it is?”
“This is China Investment Corporation (CIC). In fact, he was on his way to meet his agent right before this meeting, but from our point of view, even if we hand over the stake a little more, it is an urgent time for additional funds to be transfused, even for workers’ wages and facility maintenance costs. If it takes a long time, maybe you should reconsider… … .”