Chapter 258: Selling Mines or Building a City
The prodigal system replied: "It's a money issue. The host is truly remarkable, having spotted this so quickly. Jamalani initially facilitated the arms deal, using installment payments and short-term, low-interest loans from a bank owned by the Lamond family. The purchases were made by arms dealers controlled by the family. Jamalani's superiors were also aware of this; he was merely the one signing the contract."
This was equivalent to Lamond lending money with one hand and earning it back with arms with the other, and earning a lot of interest, even at a low interest rate. Lin Ruoyan couldn't help but sigh at the strength of the old European families. Most of them were involved in the financial industry, controlling funds at a higher level and making money with money.
She analyzed, "If I were Lamond, I might use this loan to make a difference. I could turn a short-term low interest rate into a long-term low interest rate, reducing the annual repayment pressure. Or I could use the copper mine's production to repay the loan. This would be acceptable to the locals, provided, of course, that all transactions are fair."
The Prodigal System responded, "Host, you're wise. If Lamond's proposal can bring tangible benefits to the local area, and if acquiring the copper mine's operating rights isn't simply a matter of directly plundering resources and draining the pond to catch fish, then it would indeed be very competitive. However, their bid doesn't include a short-term solution for introducing a new industrial chain. They also mentioned building a city, which is estimated to take five to ten years."
"Oh, that's much slower than our plan." Lin Ruoyan felt that the time comparison was worth competing with.
While European mining companies have advantages in mining and smelting technology, their disadvantage is also obvious: slow construction speed. So Lamond had discussed subcontracting some infrastructure projects to Asian countries. As long as they weren't hiring Indians, other Asian countries seemed reliable.
However, if the other party isn't genuinely committed to integrating the industrial chain, initially focusing solely on resource extraction while relegating high-tech industries like smelting to other locations, preventing locals from expanding into these sectors, they'll have an excuse to slow down overall construction. Consequently, their factories, towns, and other areas will be built very slowly, or perhaps at a "reasonable" pace, with a year or two of thorough research and investigation, another year or two of meticulous design, and diligent construction, ultimately resulting in a small-scale town after ten to eight years.
But how much copper would be left by then? It's entirely possible that even the current ruling clique wouldn't be able to maintain its position. With two presidential terms already in place, who would care about the new city? From a broader perspective, this situation is unreliable.
But that's the speed of construction in Europe, and even in North America, there's no precedent for building a city from scratch in just one or two years. They lay roads very slowly, claiming that slow work yields fine results. They also have scientific evidence, and they've repeatedly smeared Chinese infrastructure projects, claiming they're being rushed, unscientific, and prone to spoilage.
Unfortunately, they don't realize that our speed isn't due to pushing the limits of physical materials, but rather to a significant improvement in personnel organization and worker quality. Workers, both domestically and internationally, maintain a relentless pace. Speed is the key to achieving results in a short period of time. Once such an advantage is achieved, with clear, tangible evidence in the real world, those in power will naturally not overlook the greater benefits gained through time.
Lin Ruoyan, drawing on her real-world experience, quickly grasped the insidiousness of Lamond's plan. She wasn't sure the local administrators understood the problem. After all, the current leaders were military affiliations. Some key figures had been trained in mainland Chinese army schools and were skilled in warfare, even reciting "The Art of War" in Mandarin. However, they weren't necessarily as skilled as established capitalists in other areas.
Fortunately, the European consulting company hired by the local government also sent experts to the local area to assist local departments in designing bidding documents and explain various difficult issues so that they can choose a solution that is more beneficial to them.
For this reason, Lin Ruoyan contacted Zhang Huanyu by phone and expressed her concerns.
Zhang Huanyu said, "Don't worry, Mr. Lin. I've been helping to draft the bidding memorandum recently. I'll try to include the details about construction speed in it to alert the locals that a rush is necessary. Choosing a plan that builds new towns quickly will also be more beneficial to them."
Lin Ruoyan asked again, "Are there any special entry requirements for mining companies? For example, must they meet European standards, or have advanced key technologies and independent intellectual property rights? Or must they stay in the local area and expand their industrial sectors?"
Zhang Huanyu did not know the technical details of Panshi, he just objectively explained the key points of the current bidding documents.
Lin Ruoyan's concerns were all included, and some thresholds could be set. Zhang Huanyu had already grasped this point and hoped Panshi could be fully prepared and strengthen its advantages in advance compared to several competing companies.
He has also confirmed that the official announcement of the bidding documents will be in early June, with a global public release inviting qualified companies to participate. Bid submissions will be due two months later, and the top two companies selected after the deadline will have to present their bids locally. After a round of professional defense, a final contract will be awarded.
As Zhang Huanyu said, the bidding documents for the copper mine project were officially released on June 1, and interested companies need to pay a few hundred yuan in green paper to purchase the documents.
Zhuo Yuan, who was stationed there, got the documents as soon as possible and sent them to the people from Lin Real Estate and Panshi.
At this time, Lin's Real Estate had also selected a preliminary project manager with experience in African projects to be stationed locally and organized a small team to carry out the corresponding work.
During this time, Chen Jun flew to Africa and visited Zhuoyuan's camp, offering valuable advice on logistics and security. Within Lin Ruoyan's larger corporate structure, Chen Jun was gradually working his way up to become the head of the overseas division. Whenever possible, he was assigned to tour the country. After leaving Africa, he even flew to Singapore to oversee the progress of the luxury housing project.
Construction has already begun on luxury homes in Singapore. Similar in scale to the luxury homes in Beijing, both are urban-style developments, featuring multi-story buildings combined with a small number of townhouses. They capitalize on the coastal scenery, and the future landscape is expected to be far more beautiful than in northern cities. Even as the project's foundations were being dug, numerous domestic clients have already inquired about pricing.
In terms of sales, Lin Ruoyan still asked the real estate company's sales director Jiang Fang to coordinate, and in the future, she would just hire a local on-site sales manager.
After almost circling the earth, Chen Jun finally got the opportunity to go to Country Y to meet Hua Mengmeng.
Hua Mengmeng was left in country Y to negotiate cooperation in the hotel industry and the European agency for Lin's Real Estate's various products, including furniture, household items, etc. She stayed there for several days, waiting for Chen Jun to arrive. They both applied for annual leave and were finally able to relax and have some romance together in a foreign country.
At that time, Lin Ruoyan had already returned to China, but instead of going to Beijing, she went to the Hangzhou branch first.
With Hangzhou as its core, Lin's Real Estate's territory radiates throughout the Yangtze River Delta. In addition to the extremely expensive Castle Mansion project in Shanghai, they recently acquired a new luxury residential plot in Hangzhou.
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