173 episodes. Why are you here?
– Geely.
The engine of the aircraft starts to move with aspirate.
Soon after, the fuselage ran down the runway and flew into the sky, leaving Canada behind.
“Chief, can I get you something to drink?”
“Cola, please, cool.”
As she patted the Coke the flight attendant brought, Lucy took out her papers and prepared for the briefing.
“Take it slow. There’s no rush.”
“Yeah, I’ll get it ready soon.”
No, because it’s slow.
I don’t know who held his flag so tightly.
“Edward.”
Then Jackie whispered to me.
“The boss is busy, but the staff can’t be busy? Lucy is a smart person, so she’ll take care of it. I understand that she’s being considerate and telling her to take it slow, but from the perspective of the staff, it might seem like they’re working hard, so stay still.”
“……”
I was hesitant about my exploration trip, but I was so busy with this Canadian case that I overlooked it.
I know that I am already wearing the title of representative.
Even a light word can become heavy, so sparing your words is the worst.
‘Yeah, you just have to believe in Jackie’s words.’
Isn’t that a talented employee?
As a secretary, Lucy lacked anything and never disappointed.
You just have to believe it.
In the relationship between grown-up adults and between employers and employees, trust is more important than consideration.
-thank you.
After saying thank you to Jackie with his mouth, he looked outside while sucking on the side of Coke.
All you see is the sky and clouds.
And the wing of an airplane at a glance.
Every time I see it, my heart is pounding.
What’s happened is that he doesn’t get tired of the same scenery every time.
“Chief, I’m ready.”
Breaking my thoughts, I turned to Lucy and she held out a document showing the relationship between the characters.
“These are those involved in the civil war.”
“Yes, African names are difficult, so I made a relationship map to make it easier to understand.”
It’s a long name, so it’s hard to remember.
“Start.”
“Yeah, from Congo first…”
I shook my head and cut her off.
“I’ll just skip over there. Congo is a fictional day civil war. After today, another guy will take his place, so there’s no need to work hard.”
Cobalt Mountains, Congo.
Even there, a cobalt mine is included in the resource diplomacy project, but it is like the rice cakes in the picture.
As you can see just by looking at it this time, no matter how much black money you feed, it tends to disappear like a mirage.
‘I’m not suggesting that we designate it as a conflict mineral for nothing.’
I turned the paper over to the next page.
“The next destination is the civil war in Madagascar. Former President Arc Navalomanana eventually fled to South Africa, and the military is said to have handed over power to Andrea Reggioelina.”
“If the military personnel take power, it will be seen as a coup d’etat, so it must have been passed on as an image.”
“Yes, as you know, Andrea Rezoelina’s popularity is overwhelming among politicians in Madagascar. However, it is expected that Arc Navalomanana will bind Andrea Rezoelina and the military forces to form a coup d’etat regardless of the transfer of power. And… ..”
“Lucy, wait. Wait a minute.”
I cut Lucy’s words again and continued.
“My name is too long, so I’ll just call her Andrea and Arc.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lucy started the briefing with only her first name and not her last name.
At that time, Elina, who was like a female name, fell out, and there was no mana or anything to do with a banana, so it came into my ears.
Madagascar Revolution.
From the outside, it may look like a coup because it is a civil war, but inside Madagascar, it is called a revolution.
This was because the corruption of the former Ark regime was serious.
And there was a very deep connection with Korea.
“After taking power, President Andrea declared that he would completely nullify the land sale contract and the sale of the Ammatovy mine signed by the previous administration.”
In the former Ark regime, a whopping 1.3 million hectares, about half of the entire farmland in Madagascar, sold a huge amount of land to foreign capital.
And that foreign capital was Korea’s preferential logistics.
Of course, behind him was Deputy Minister Son Young-seok, who is called Afreeca Tong.
‘Chief Sohn’s shit line is going to be tight. Because the land contract he brokered was invalidated and the important nickel mine was blown away.’
I asked Lucy about the Ammatovy nickel mine.
“How was the stake structure in that mine?”
“Korea Mineral Resources Corporation 40%, Japan’s Sumimoto Corporation 48%, Canada’s Sherrit International 12%.”
“I can’t stand still at Sumimoto Corporation.”
“Yes, I found out that they also started working under the Andreas regime.”
“What about Sherrit Inter?”
“I’m waiting without showing any particular movement.”
Since the stake is small, are you going to keep an eye on it?
“Lucy, contact Kevin Dennis and ask if he can introduce you to the CEO of Sherrit Inter. If it’s Dennis Mains, you won’t be acquainted with him.”
Kevin Dennis was a pawn in the Canadian mining industry, and I thought he would have some connection with Sherrit Inter, the top 20 in the industry.
“CEO, are you thinking of acquiring the stake in Sherrit Inter?”
“If you want to be on the board, you have to pay a wager. Maybe under the current circumstances, you will be able to take over it easily.”
“All right.”
I turned the page of the character diagram in my hand and scanned Andrea Reggioelina’s profile.
“You’re young, you’re born in 1974. You’re the president at the age of less than 40…”
“His father is Lord Reggioelina, a veteran, and that’s why the military appointed Andrea as president. Andrea herself created a political image by running a TV station called Viva to study abroad.”
“Do you have the ability to support your family and yourself?”
“Yes, it seems that it was with the help of my father that I gained the power of the military, but before that, I was elected mayor of the capital, Atananarivo, because it was the result of my own achievement.”
In my thirties, in Korean terms, he became the mayor of Seoul.
Then, carrying the military on his back, he ascended to the presidency.
Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, must be a great man.
‘No matter how much Son Young-seok is, it will be difficult to convince him in a short time.’
He was a man who worked hard to eat half of his farmland.
The part that President Andrea criticized the most intensively against the former administration was the land sale of preferential logistics, so it was clear that he was unaware of Son Young-seok’s existence.
“Lucy, is there an affiliate of the P&B group in South Africa?”
“There is no affiliate, but there is one media company in which Bearfax is a major shareholder.”
“Contact them and ask them to find out the whereabouts of Arc Navalomanana.”
“You probably know. The exile of the president of another country is news.”
“Okay, then no problem. How’s public opinion in Madagascar? About the Ammatovy mine.”
“There is an atmosphere that selecting a new overseas operator is inevitable because of technology, but there is a strong antipathy towards East Asian countries.”
They say it’s East Asia, but it’s probably Korea.
The land sale must have been so shocking.
Since the poorest countries are most affected by the issue of food and living, agriculture and land are the most important things for their people.
However, since half of that precious farmland was taken away by foreign capital, the antipathy would be indescribable.
“Jackie.”
“yes?”
“For the time being, Jackie should act as the representative of All Mining. Can you do it?”
“Well, thanks to Edward, I traveled around the world and collected a lot of data, so I have to pay back.”
I nodded and asked Lucy.
“Have you prepared Jackie’s business card?”
“sure.”
After all, Lucy, it seems like you expected me to give you this order.
“We are approaching the Australian mining company thoroughly. However, the borders on foreign capital will be significant, so be mindful of that and not provoke the Madagascars. We have to get Ammatovy no matter what.”
Ammatovy Nickel Mine.
With more than 100 million tons of confirmed reserves, it is nicknamed ‘the world’s three largest nickel mines’.
Even now, it is still that much, but there were also evaluations that the potential could not be guessed if the scope was extended to an undiscovered neighborhood.
‘Sohn Young-seok, who got it for a while, is definitely African. Then there’s the Japanese Sumimoto Corporation…’
General trading company Sumimoto knows this well.
Because it is a company with a long history in the trading industry where I worked in the past.
Moreover, the Sumimoto Group, to which Sumimoto Corporation belongs, is also one of the three largest conglomerates in Japan.
No matter how much I put Korea’s GL group and Australia’s P&B group as Left Blue Dragon, Woo Baek Ho, the other person is not happy either.
‘If you bump into it, you’ll know how much.’
***
Madagascar.
It is an island country located in the southeast of the African continent and has a land equivalent to that of Korea and Japan combined.
Since the name has appeared in many media, it can be said that it is the most famous on the African continent along with South Africa.
-The land of the baobab tree in the little prince.
– The background of the movie Madagascar.
-Utopia of pirates in the 18th century.
I had arrived in Madagascar that I had only heard of.
“Bonjour, Monsieur.”
This is the greeting most often encountered upon arrival.
It was a former French colony, so French and French culture remained.
But the face is also close to that of Southeast Asians.
It is said that this is a trace of the Malays who came to Madagascar from Southeast Asia in the past.
‘that’s interesting……’
In my exploration trip, I did not visit Madagascar, which is far away from the east, because I only went around the African continent.
It was also because Son Young-seok had already acquired the Ammatovy mine, so there was no way to use his hands.
If the contract was not blank through the Madagascar revolution, I would not be here.
So, the cultural and racial differences that are very different from the African continent came to me unfamiliar.
“CEO, how would you like to schedule a meeting? The other side always says welcome.”
“We unpack at the dorm and go straight to Sherrit Inter’s local office.”
Sherrit International had responded to the sale of the stake before it even arrived in Madagascar.
When Lucy gave instructions to the driver and was preparing to leave, I said to Yoohyeon.
“Yoohyun-ah, will you give me back what I left with you before?”
“yes.”
The guy took the box out of his luggage and gave it to me.
It was a revolver that Stanley gave as a gift in Macau.
Since it was a gun, it was cumbersome to clean and lubricate it, so I entrusted it.
“In Africa, it’s empty without this in your arms.”
I grabbed a revolver and put it inside my jacket.
Security is security, so safety was not enough no matter how much you care about it.
Moreover, they are said to be hostile to East Asians.
We arrived at a small hotel downtown and unpacked.
Lucy had rented a charter in advance for safety, so we were the only guests.
And then moved to the local office of Sherrit International.
At the entrance there, I met an unexpected person.
“Huh? Doctor?”
“Director Jin? No, I heard that you are now the CEO, should I call you CEO Jin?”
He was Park Seong-chan, the president of Bosco International.
Why are you here?