Chapter 1363 - I don't think they will have any objections
Chapter 1363: I don’t think they will have any objections
“Future Bank will provide you with a loan of ten billion Xin New dollars, part of which will be used to restore the grid in Santander and its neighboring areas, and part of it will be used to invest in railways in the southeastern provinces of South Colombia. If you are willing to contract the work of these two projects to Future Group’s infrastructure subsidiary, not only can we reduce the interest on this loan from four percent to two point five percent, but we can also provide you with an additional billion dollars as an interest-free loan.”
Inside the office on the top floor of Future Building, Jiang Chen played with a bright silver coin in his left hand as he leaned back in his chair and spoke with President Timochenko on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
One of the most important factors that allowed FARC to gain support in the southeastern provinces was the extremely uneven distribution of wealth in Colombian society. Almost 80% of the wealth was concentrated in the coastal areas west of the Andes. FARC promised to revitalize the economy of the underdeveloped areas in the southeast after the success of the revolution, and building railways and roads were considered feasible options.
When the North Colombia government retreated to the Gulf Coast, it had almost emptied the treasury and left Timochenko with only a pile of mess. It was fine to rely on the savings from the drag trafficking days to purchase weapons, but it was obviously unrealistic to support infrastructure constructions.
Unfortunately, due to disputes over the legitimacy of the regime, South Colombia received an exceptionally poor credit rating from investment banks and credit rating agencies, and almost no foreign banks were willing to lend to Timochenko. Future Bank perhaps was the only financial institution willing to provide loans to them. The carrot tossed by Jiang Chen just saved his life.
“…thank you.”
Timochenko’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he uttered the words with mixed emotions.
To be honest, until now, he still felt bitter about the fact that Celestial Trade betrayed the interests of the Colombian people to reach a deal with the UA. He was very worried that Colombia would become the second Korean peninsula, placed in the middle of the negotiating table between two superpowers, and divided into two countries forever.
“You’re welcome.” Jiang Chen said in a relaxed tone as he waved his hand, “I know you may have some bitterness in your mind, but I advise you to think again. Without my help, you are either hiding in the mountains now or waiting for your trial in prison.”
“…thank you.” Timochenko smiled wryly.
Except thank you, he couldn’t seem to think of anything better to say.
“I said that you are welcome,” Jiang Chen smiled, “Besides, don’t be too frustrated. The truce is an opportunity for you to rest and rebuild. Don’t forget to build your military when you’re building your infrastructure. I’m very optimistic about the courage of your soldiers. When they were against NATO’s modern army, they only lacked some modern tactics and a few new weapons. There is an international defense exhibition in Coro City in September. I will get someone to send you an invitation letter, you can take a look at it.”
In the end, Jiang Chen took the opportunity to advertise for Future Military.
Although the economy of South Columbia was completely beaten now, he did not want to miss this potential buyer. Once the Global Grid entered the country, these poor provinces would soon be revitalized. Even if Timochenko had to buy the weapons on credit, he was still willingly sell as he was not concerned about repayment at all.
However, Timochenko wasn’t thinking about this at the moment. After he heard Jiang Chen’s statement, he was suddenly overjoyed. Especially the phrase “Don’t forget to build your military”, in his opinion, he was simply a foreshadowing the future unification of Colombia.
Sure enough, Celestial Trade did not show any weaknesses when compared to the UA!
After he confirmed the thought in his head, Timochenko, full of white hair, appeared younger. He vowed.
“I’ll make a trip myself!”
After Jiang Chen hung up, Xia Shiyu, who was holding some documents, knocked on the door and walked in.
When she saw Jiang Chen in the chair, she smiled.
“What have you been up to?”
“I just made a call with the new owner of South Columbia, and there is another big project waiting for Future Heavy Industries,” Jiang Chen teasingly said as he threw the coin he was playing with to Xia Shiyu, then he raised an eyebrow. “Let’s not talk about that, look at this.”
“What is this?” Xia Shiyu curiously asked as she pinched the coin that Jiang Chen had thrown over and held it up. When she flipped it to the back, she was taken aback for a moment. Then the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and without being able to contain her laughter, she burst out laughing.
“The second edition of the Xin coin is worth one dollar and has a circulation of 300 million. The one you are holding is a sample sent by the Xin Reserve.” Jiang Chen made a helpless expression, “A shareholder suggested that 2020 should be commemorated as it was the first time Xin participated in the Olympics and won its first gold medal. Therefore, we now have this.”
“It feels odd to have my head printed on a coin. If it must happen, then at least it should be the hundred dollar bill.”
The shareholder who put forward this suggestion clearly did not get Jiang Chen’s taste.
But even though he was planning to exercise his veto power, Jiang Chen did enjoy this coin, so he planned to treat it as a collection piece at his mansion.
“I think it’s pretty cute.” Xia Shiyu smiled as her finger gently stroked the outline of the head on the coin.
“Come on.” Jiang Chen rolled his eyes, “I have vetoed this idea in my head.”
“Why not consider issuing two sets of one-dollar coins at the same time? One set will be issued in small quantities in the form of commemorative coins, and the other set will be issued on a large scale as the main currency.” Xia Shiyu examined the coin in her hand. She was clearly not ready to give up on this idea, so she came up with a compromise, “I always feel that this kind of a coin will be very valuable in hundreds of years.”
Issued as a commemorative coin?
Jiang Chen touched his chin and thought for a moment, then he nodded as his eyes lit up.
It was a good idea.
And if there was a chance, he would also like to know how much this set of coins with his head would be worth down the road…
“Now that you interrupted me, I almost forgot about the important stuff.” Xia Shiyu tossed the coin on the desk and then placed the documents in front of Jiang Chen, “The Ecuadorian government called me and asked me when the space elevator could start construction. They are ready to cooperate with our project, they just hope we don’t delay it too long.”
Ecuador had always been on Celestial Trade’s side, so it would be unwise to drag this on. Now that Celestia Trade had opened up South America and the situation in Colombia was now stabilized, the second space elevator was ready for construction.
“Send an engineering ship to Ecuador, and the site selection for the second space elevator can begin. By the way, since the Ecuadorian government is so anxious, then you can ask them for me. We plan to buy one of their Galapagos Islands. The island will be used as a port for Celestial Trade and as the construction center of the space elevator. This transaction only involves land use rights and does not involve sovereignty. This is our final condition for building the space elevator in Ecuador. If they have no objections, we can get started too.”
“I will pass this on to the Ecuadorian government.” Xia Shiyu nodded.
“As soon as possible,” Jiang Chen smiled. “Although I don’t think they will have any objections.”