The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 97



Only Krnovel

Episode 97 WIN-WIN (5)

A consortium is created under the name of Quantum Fund.

There was no better way at the moment, so I took out my cell phone to call George, with Dimon by my side.

“Are you trying to call George right now?”

“Do you have anything to kill time? “5 minutes is enough.”

“Wow, there are probably only a few people on Wall Street who can call George directly. “Not to mention in Korea.”

“It’s been several years since we worked together, so this is only natural.”

The status of the Quantum Fund and George grew higher day by day.

It was not easy to listen to his voice as stock prices and exchange rates moved with every word he said.

However, I had been doing business with Quantum Fund before it achieved its current status, so I was always available to contact them.

“George! Sorry for calling you so early. “Can I talk to you?”

[Of course it is possible. If it’s Kim’s call, I have to get up and answer it even while I’m sleeping. Because you are one of the few people who makes me money.]

“It’s not that lucrative this time. “I contacted you because I wanted to receive the name of Quantum Fund and some investment funds.”

[Even though it is the name of Quantum Fund, is there anything you need investment money for? Isn’t the money piled up at the SAVE investment company?]

Although it was a SAVE investment company that was making a name for itself on Wall Street.

There were only a few people who could even roughly estimate the size of the funds they had, and one of them was George.

“We are trying to create a consortium to help Korea. However, since I cannot step forward myself, I am trying to get help from the Quantum Fund.”

[This means that all you need is enough investment to add your name to the consortium.]

“All you have to do is invest the construction cost equivalent to 7% of the shares. If you wish, SAVE Investment Company can provide you with a payback.”

[You can’t do that. They say that any business you run is guaranteed to be a hit. Of course you should invest. But is it only a 7% stake? Can’t that happen anymore?]

I clearly explained that we were investing in Korean infrastructure.

Infrastructure investment in South Korea while the country is insolvent. How dangerous is it just to hear it?

Nevertheless, George wanted to invest more.

“Honestly, it’s difficult. Please understand my situation.”

[But is this because I’m Korean? You can do dozens of times more business with other countries, but you can’t do the same with Korea. I can’t put you in trouble. I understand. I will participate in the consortium under the conditions you mentioned.]

“Can we name the consortium Quantum Consortium?”

[Ha ha ha ha ha!]

George burst out laughing.

He continued speaking only after laughing for a long time.

[It was a request for the Quantum Fund to be a disgrace.]

“You will probably hear a lot of criticism from the Korean government and people.”

[It doesn’t matter. If it’s an insult, people all over the world are already hearing it. Will it make any difference if I criticize Koreans more?]

I thought it would come out like this.

He was a man who was not afraid of making enemies.

Rather, he was a Wall Street investor who even enjoyed increasing his enemies.

“Then, we will officially announce the consortium within this month.”

[You can take care of it yourself. It doesn’t matter if you do something illegal, so you can run the consortium as you please. Anyway, now that I’ve seen all the fun that can be had from the foreign exchange crisis, I’m thinking about where to target next.]

The ramifications of the foreign exchange crisis created by George ended here.

Starting from the UK, Mexico, Southeast Asia and Korea.

George hadn’t made any plans for the future, and I was thinking of giving him a little advice in exchange for this.

“I will visit you in person soon with a very interesting business item. “It might be a business that would interest George.”

[Now that you say that, I’m really looking forward to it. I will be anxiously awaiting your arrival from America.]

Pop!

I finished my phone call with George.

Dimon, who was quietly listening from the side, raised his thumbs on both hands.

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone who can move the Quantum Fund with just a phone call.”

“It’s not a big deal. Wouldn’t the Korean infrastructure project be only worth $1 billion? “It is a very small scale compared to the businesses that Quantum Fund has engaged in so far.”

One billion dollars was equivalent to 1.7 trillion won at today’s exchange rate.

Of course, it was a considerable amount, but from the perspective of a Wall Street investment company, it was not that large.

“Well, looking at SAVE Investment Company’s capital alone, $1 billion is not a large amount. “Then, starting today, we will create a Quantum Consortium and negotiate with the government.”

“If necessary, you can call David to Korea. “It will help appease the people involved.”

“Having David with me makes things easier. There is a lot of drinking involved when forming a consortium, but it becomes much easier if David takes care of at least that part.”

Dimon recognized David’s abilities.

That’s why his expression brightened when he was told that he could bring David to Korea.

“If David encourages government officials, the Blue House will announce private investment projects sooner.”

“Then I will push and push to get all the private investment projects.”

More than half of the plan was achieved in one day.

Now my role was over, all I had to do was wait for the moment when the Quantum consortium announced Taewo Construction as the construction company for the infrastructure project.

***

David arrived in Korea two days later.

We immediately had drinks with IMF members working in Korea as well as employees of economic ministries.

And just a few days later.

The Ministry of Construction and Transportation officially announced the private investment project.

Naturally, no large domestic company came forward, and the Quantum Consortium came forward as the only bidder.

Dimon and Davey spent several days negotiating with the government.

I was finally able to sign the contract today and return to the office.

“thank you for your effort. “Negotiating with a country is difficult.”

“It wasn’t that hard. Rather, it was convenient because we could lead the negotiations from Party A’s perspective.”

Dimon had a very bright expression as if the result was good.

But David, who was supposed to be with me, was nowhere to be seen.

“Is David doing other work?”

“To celebrate the conclusion of the contract, I went to a dinner with officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. “I definitely take responsibility for the end of things.”

“Well, that’s David’s job. “Then let’s take a look at the results.”

David took out several contracts.

Among them, we started reporting on projects with the highest construction costs.

“We decided to invest in the subway line 9 project. The total construction cost is 3.5 trillion won, of which we will cover 900 billion won, and the government and Seoul City will share the rest.”

“The government provides more support than expected. “We were planning to invest the entire 3.5 trillion won, but we saved money.”

“I saved money, but I kept the substance. We have decided to take over the operation, including the minimum operating revenue guarantee (MRG), and the authority to determine rates for 30 years.”

“Of course, we will be in charge of selecting the contract recipient, right?”

“Although this part is a little tricky, it is not difficult for Taewoo Engineering & Construction to be selected as the main construction company. However, since the scale of construction is large, we have to give a certain amount of orders to other construction companies.”

Taewoo Engineering & Construction could not take charge of all construction.

If only the biggest and most important parts were won, the contract ranking would rise, so it was enough to hand over the smaller parts to other construction companies.

“That doesn’t matter. But there is something that bothers me a little.”

“The negotiations are perfect. “This is a contract that is completely advantageous to us. What part bothers you?”

“There is a problem with the design of subway line 9 itself. “Perhaps due to poor demand forecasting, quite a few sections are operated with two cars.”

Before returning, I often used the subway.

Since I had no money to buy my own car or take a taxi, I had no choice but to take the subway.

Therefore, I was well aware of the problems with Subway Line 9.

It is called the Hell Railway, and the most congested section in Seoul was Line 9.

Although it was a project started for SAVE Investment Company and Taewoo Construction, I wanted to create a normal subway, not a hellish subway, if possible.

“The consortium will invest more, so please change the contract to expand and build the subway a little more.”

“Under those conditions, we may not be able to properly recover construction costs.”

“In 30 years, there will be enough money left over. “A lot more people will use it than the government predicted demand.”

“If the CEO wants it, you should do it. The Korean government will have no reason to oppose it. “There’s no way they wouldn’t like it if the consortium said they would give us more money.”

It was also intended to gain greater profits.

As the number of users increases, the revenue coming to us increases.

If profits had not increased, I would have let Subway Line 9 go to hell.

“Then shall we look at the next contract?”

“It is not a confirmed contract yet, but it is a contract that will win over 90% of the orders to us. The Geoga Bridge project is the construction of a very large undersea tunnel and bridge connecting Geoje Island and Gadeok Island in Busan.”

“If it involves digging an undersea tunnel, the construction cost will be considerable.”

“It is a project worth 1.9 trillion won, and the construction period is 3 years.”

I have used Geoga Bridge once.

It was a bridge that must be used to go from Busan to Geoje Island.

The beautiful Geoje sea seen from the bridge still lingered in my memory.

And it remained in my memory as much for the expensive toll as for the beautiful sea.

“The scale of the construction is definitely large.”

“That’s why we haven’t heard a confirmation from the government yet. “The government seemed reluctant to share the construction costs because it doubted the necessity of Geoga Bridge.”

“Then say that SAVE Investment Company will cover all construction costs. Instead, extend the operating period to 40 years.”

“It’s a pretty good deal, but I’m not sure if they’ll give us the Minimum Operating Revenue Guarantee (MRG).”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t receive the MRG, just get confirmation of the 40-year operation rights. If you receive 20,000 won in toll fees, you will be able to recoup the entire amount within 10 years. Then, all tolls received over the next 30 years become our profits.”

Dimon tilted his head as if he didn’t believe what I was saying.

“Do you think we can extract construction costs of 2 trillion won within 10 years?”

“of course. “Geoga Bridge can generate 10 trillion won if operated for 40 years.”

“Should I use it to have to pay 20,000 won in tolls?”

“20,000 won is a rather cheap price. If you go back without using Geoga Bridge, it will take twice as much time, and the gas cost alone will cost 20,000 won more. So, we have no choice but to use Geoga Bridge.”

Supply and demand apply everywhere.

Even if the Geoga Bridge toll was expensive, it was always used as long as it was cheaper than using other transportation networks.

“Then we will begin negotiations immediately starting tomorrow. No. “I need to go to David’s drinking party right now and talk about it.”

“If you do, I would be grateful. “First of all, is it all about Subway Line 9 and Geoga Bridge?”

“There are about five more projects that we are still talking about, but it will take more time.”

“Take your time, Subway Line 9 and Geoga Bridge are enough for the time being.”

These were enough construction projects to keep what I said at the CEO meeting.

It was enough of an opportunity for Taewoo Construction to surpass Hyunjae Construction and take first place in the contracting industry.