The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 464



Only Krnovel

464. Equity Participation (4)

A whopping 14 hours.

It was the time it took from Incheon Airport to Washington Airport.

Even if you use a private jet, it would take a whole day to get to Washington, considering the time it takes to get to the airport.

Still, I had to go to Washington.

How could I not come when the White House is hosting an event specifically for me?

“Boss! I guess you slept well on the plane. Your complexion looks great.”

“I didn’t get much sleep, but I didn’t even realize I was tired because the White House took care of everything for me.”

The White House is pushing ahead with Alaskan oil field development.

This was the best painting, better than I expected.

The thought of making huge profits made me very happy while flying.

“The White House is coming out very strongly. They’ve invited everyone from the big three oil companies in the U.S. to European oil companies.”

“The smell of oil will be very strong at the event venue.”

“Wouldn’t the smell of money be more noticeable than the smell of oil? They are all well-known rich people. Of course, they can’t compare to Boss.”

It was David who had a rough idea of ​​how much I had.

David knew that if you added up all the hidden wealth, the ranking of the world’s wealth would change.

“I am like that too, but it’s even worse for those who are already here.”

“It might be the smell of salt rather than oil that is vibrating.”

“We need to guide the stingy people to open their wallets on their own.”

We moved to the White House, talking with David.

Guided by the White House Secret Service, I was able to arrive at the front of the banquet hall with David.

“Boss, I can’t go inside the venue. I’ll just chat with the White House staff for the first time in a while. Call me when the event is over.”

“It might take quite a while, so don’t wait too long.”

“The boss has come to Washington, so of course I should take care of him. The boss only thinks about roasting and eating the stingy guys.”

I parted ways with David and entered the venue.

Several oil company representatives had already arrived, most of whom I had met in person or seen in the media.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Min-jae from Taewoo Group.”

[I heard that Taewoo Group invested heavily in US shale gas. What is the current situation?]

[Congratulations on your successful exploration of the Guyana oil fields. You have found an oil field that we could not find even after 10 years of exploration.]

I went around and made friends with oil company representatives.

The world’s largest oil company Shell, Britain’s BP, and America’s Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Would these people have ever come together if it hadn’t been for the White House’s request?

It was possible because it was the United States, and it was an event that proved that the United States is the biggest player in the oil industry.

“Let the event begin!”

The event began with an address by the White House Press Secretary.

President Trump entered the venue and greeted oil company representatives.

Reporters worked hard to capture the friendly atmosphere on camera, and the mood changed the moment the press conference ended.

“What I’m going to say from now on will be off the record.”

“Let’s start by clapping first.”

Clap clap clap!

President Trump stood and applauded.

Even business representatives stood up and applauded enthusiastically, without even knowing English.

“I heard that Taewoo Group is interested in developing oil fields in Alaska. I give a round of applause to Taewoo Group, which is thinking about the development of the American oil industry.”

“I thought about this business because I thought that if we could develop the Alaskan oil fields that have not yet been properly developed, it would be of great benefit not only to the United States but also to the entire world.”

“This is why I like Mr. Kim.”

It was President Trump who openly expressed his friendship.

He continued to praise me and Taewoo Group.

It almost sounded like a push for other oil companies to follow Taewoo Group’s lead and invest in the U.S. oil industry.

Then I can’t just stay still either.

I decided to throw out a topic that would interest oil companies.

“Environmental regulatory issues must be resolved for Alaskan oil field development.”

“Don’t worry about that. The White House will eliminate all regulations on oil field development in Alaska by the end of this year. And we promise you that you can drill for at least 10 more years.”

At least 10 years.

It was enough time to recover the investment made in genetic development.

That’s why oil company representatives started showing great interest.

“If the government changes, will the promise be kept? Even if you are re-elected, won’t the government change after 7 years?”

“We make contracts at the U.S. government level. If the contract is not kept, can you trust it if the development costs are refunded?”

It was a promise from the President of the United States.

It was a contract signed with the U.S. government.

Everyone was in deep thought, for there was no contract more trustworthy than this.

Why are you worrying?

To ease my worries, I pretended to be greedy about the Alaskan oil fields.

“Taewoo Group will invest the entire cost of developing the Alaskan oil field. We will invest 40 billion dollars over 5 years to develop the oil field. In return, I would like Taewoo Group to own 100% of the shares.”

“If there are no other participating companies, Taewoo Group will proceed with the business on its own. Then, naturally, all the shares will belong to Taewoo Group.”

What are you going to do?

You’re not planning on handing Alaska over to Taewoo Group just like this, are you?

It wasn’t for nothing that the grass was always greener on the other side. When Taewoo Group came forward first, several companies expressed their intention to invest in the company.

“I will also invest in Shell. Not a lot, but I would like to invest in about 10% of the shares.”

“We can’t afford to lend a lot of money right now because of the shale gas investment. We’ll only invest 5%.”

“We will invest 10%.”

Most companies have expressed their intention to participate.

As much as 10%, as little as 5%.

The deal was negotiated with Taewoo Group investing 50% and a global oil company investing the remaining 50%.

“Haha, that’s great. Ignore the conspiracy theorists’ nonsense about fossil fuels warming the Earth. In the end, there’s no other answer than fossil fuels! Green energy is still a long way off!”

“You are right!”

“Let’s all have a drink!”

The environmental problem of fossil fuel use was never a conspiracy theory.

However, it was clear that we were in an era where fossil fuels could not be replaced by eco-friendly energy.

It was also an investment in developing Alaskan oil fields, as everyone here knew this.

But no one expected that the Corona era would come.

***

The oil company invitation event ended in the afternoon.

I went to the CITI Group headquarters with David and had a meeting with Diamond.

“We have decided to develop the Alaskan oil fields. There is still an embargo, but it will be reported starting this evening.”

“Are you really going to develop the Alaskan oil fields? And at that, for an astronomical sum of $40 billion?”

“The amount that Taewoo Group has to shoulder is only 20 billion dollars.”

“Two hundred billion dollars is not a small amount of money.”

Of course, it wasn’t a small amount.

It was an amount exceeding 20 trillion won in Korean currency, and even though Taewoo Group was generating huge operating profits, it was a burdensome amount.

“A 50% stake for $20 billion is a bit pricey.”

“I think so too. You can’t drill in Alaskan oil fields for your entire life, only for 10 years. It doesn’t seem like a profitable business.”

“Then, would a 75% stake worth $10 billion be a good deal?”

“If it’s to that extent, there’s no reason not to invest. But isn’t it impossible?”

A $40 billion business.

Of course, you could get a 25% stake for $10 billion.

However, the price of the shares could change depending on how the oil market changes.

“The oil market also has cycles. If you sell your stake at a high price during a boom cycle and buy it cheaply during a bust cycle, you can easily get a 75% stake for $10 billion.”

“It doesn’t take that long to develop genetics. Do you expect a short-term crash and surge?”

“I’m not ruling out that possibility. It seems like crude oil prices will continue to rise for the time being. In particular, I’m predicting that they could hit $70 next year.”

The current crude oil price was in the high $40s.

It was supposed to go up to over $70 before the Corona era.

If the price of crude oil rises by more than 50%, the value of the oil field would naturally increase.

“Do you plan to sell your Alaska holdings next year?”

“We plan to sell a 25% stake for $15 billion to $20 billion. If we can sell it for $20 billion, we will be able to recover our initial investment before even developing the oil field.”

“The plan is to buy back shares when the market crashes, otherwise keep a 25% stake. It seems like a really good plan. It’s a way to minimize risk and generate steady returns.”

It was a diamond that I trusted completely.

Even if a renowned expert predicted that oil prices would rise by more than 50% in a year, Dimon would not believe it.

But you believed what I said without any basis.

It was a relationship of trust that was possible because it had been proven many times before, and because we trusted each other, we were able to quickly make plans and put them into action.

“Oil prices may fluctuate until the middle of this year, but they will continue to rise steadily from the end of the year.”

“We will increase the proportion of oil investment.”

“Don’t raise it too much. There are several financial companies in the financial tower that are betting their lives on oil prices. Leave enough for them to survive.”

“I won’t be too greedy. The amount coming in as Bitcoin fees is already increasing, so I have some room to spare.”

The Bitcoin market was tightly controlled by fintech.

In a bull market like today, with the number of users increasing rapidly, it is possible to collect more fees, so Diamond’s expression was bright.

“Enjoy this year. There will be a crash at the end of the year. Many countries, including the US and Korea, are regulating Bitcoin.”

“I think Bitcoin fees are just additional revenue. In the end, isn’t the main project that moves the entire financial tower?”

“The project will start in earnest at the end of the year, so please conserve your energy.”

“In the financial world, isn’t physical strength equal to money? I’ll prepare bullets well, so if you just point at a target, I’ll fire them indiscriminately so that you won’t even be able to recognize their shape.”

The US-China trade dispute and Corona.

Since I will be carrying out two projects sequentially, I was able to take it easy until this year.

So, I had to finish as many of the secondary tasks as possible this year so that I could focus on the project with peace of mind.

“The project still has time left, so let’s take care of other things first. How is the TAM shipping alliance going?”

“It’s going very well. We have a monopoly on logistics for companies related to us, such as Amazon and Apple, in the TAM alliance. And the White House is even providing policy support, so things are going well compared to other shipping alliances.”

Just because things were going well didn’t mean we were making a profit.

It simply meant that the deficit had been reduced, and that somehow things could be held up.

“There will be more and more shipping companies going bankrupt. Please don’t be stingy with your money and take over the ships.”

“We have already taken over all the ships of a Greek shipping company that went bankrupt. It didn’t cost much, but the number of ships is increasing to an excessive degree.”

“The shipping industry’s boom cycle will come soon. Once the boom cycle comes, we will be able to recover the current deficit. So please continue to aggressively acquire ships.”

It was a preliminary work for the Corona era.

There was no reason to save money, since the more ships you had, the greater the profits you could make.