Shadow Empire

Chapter 997 Chatting, Investment, and Relationships
During the Prohibition era, anyone involved in the brewing industry knew just how astonishing the profits from alcoholic beverages were!

Perhaps in some people's eyes, several times the profit might not be as high as the profit of certain special commodities, such as some high-end tobacco, or some compounds that Lancet is not familiar with, such as pharmaceuticals.

Medicines costing only a few cents can be sold for several dollars, resulting in profits of tens or even hundreds of times. The profit margins in these industries are far greater than those in the liquor industry.

However, there is actually a misconception here.

High profit margins do not necessarily mean high earnings. For example, some highly effective drugs that have now risen to three yuan per injection may only cost about ten yuan to produce, so a profit margin of thirty times is indeed considerable.

However, pharmaceutical factories cannot sell off their production capacity immediately. Apart from the high demand on the battlefield, the frequency of use within the Federation is not high.

After all, how many families can afford to use a three-yuan injection long-term?
This is why pharmaceutical companies deliberately ignore the problem, even though they know that some drugs can cause serious dependence in users.

Not all of the products produced can be sold.

You produced something worth 10 billion, but you can only sell a few million. The profit is high, but the income hasn't actually increased.

The wine is different.

In the best and worst of times, whether you're the worst or the best person, you need alcohol.

Alcohol can be a drink for celebration and to enhance the atmosphere, or it can be a remedy for sorrow and to help people temporarily forget their pain.

It is inexpensive and has few side effects, making it suitable for men, women, and children of all ages.

A drink after get off work, a drink when feeling down, a drink when feeling happy—it has so many uses that demand always exceeds supply, which is why it's so profitable.

If it can be sold 100%, the profit margin will be several times that of other high-profit products, which is equivalent to dozens or hundreds of times.

A state making tens or hundreds of millions in profit a year is no joke.

Governor Wade became very interested in the industry because he learned about these industries through Lance.

The president of Jinbiao Winery is an industry insider himself and has sold these wines before, so he is well aware of how profitable these wines are.

So the newly appointed president was a bit confused, and he asked Governor Wade directly, "Your Excellency, if I may be so bold as to ask, haven't you always had a cooperative relationship with the Lance family?"

"Gold Label Winery's failure in Indenau was due to the Lance family, and now you want to personally invest in Gold Label Winery, I don't quite understand."

Everyone knows that Governor Wade and Lance are in cahoots. Lance gave him a lot of help before the election, although it couldn't be called "decisive" help, it was still very important.

Everyone knows about the financial and personnel support, so it's baffling for the president that Governor Wade wants to invest in a company that has lost out in the competition.

Is the winner investing in the loser, planning to acquire Jinbiao Liquor Industry?

Governor Wade chuckled twice. "We had some disagreements over profit distribution. There's an old saying, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket,' and I think that's very true."

"The world never stops no matter who leaves. If the Lance family's wines can sell so well, why can't the Gold Label Winery's wines continue to sell?"

Upon hearing Governor Wade's words, the new president of Jinbiao Winery seemed to understand.

Unequal distribution of spoils is perhaps the primary cause of the eventual split of all cooperative groups, bar none.

"May I ask how much of a share you want from the Lance family?"

"Of course I won't disclose this to outsiders. I will use this information to persuade the board of directors and shareholders. You know, I am just the president and I cannot decide whether you can obtain shares in the company."

"I have to convince them!"

Governor Wade said in a lighthearted tone, “You’ve already been presumptuous twice, but it’s no secret that my requirement is twenty percent.”

The new president gasped. When they were competing with the Lance family, they knew that the Lance family had promised to "split the spoils" with the local mayor and government departments, with half of the money being used to bribe local officials and law enforcement officers.

In other words, the Lance family only gets half of the profits from the drinks they produce. If they give another 20% to Governor Wade, then their profits are down to 30%.

Of the 20 yuan profit, only 6 yuan belonged to them. After deducting costs and other expenses, they essentially worked for nothing.

No wonder they didn't have a pleasant argument. The new president felt that if Governor Wade had only asked for five or ten percent, they might have been able to maintain their cooperation.

However, 20% is indeed somewhat unreasonable.

But doesn't this just give them an opportunity?

"I will discuss this with the board of directors, and I will inform you as soon as I have any news."

Governor Wade hummed in agreement. “The liquor market in Indenor State is worth hundreds of millions every year. I wouldn’t dare say you can capture the entire market, but with my support, your competitiveness will obviously be stronger than Lance’s.”

"You should think about it carefully."

The two ended the call quickly. In fact, Governor Wade wanted more than just 20 percent of the equity; he wanted more, but this was a gradual process.

His ultimate ideal controlling stake is over 30%, or they could sign an additional agreement that would allow him to receive a larger share of the profits from the beverages.

The market is too big, and the profits are too huge; all he can think about is profit.

Perhaps this is the mindset of those in power that best reflects the federal government's perception: prioritizing interests above all else, with everything else being secondary.

The president put down the phone and excitedly lit a cigarette. If the governor really was backing them, then they wouldn't have to worry about "malicious competition."

Lance gives the local mayor a very high share of the profits, which means that if the Lance family engages in a price war with Lance, they will definitely not be able to hold on.

As a long-established company, they could easily sell their liquor at a loss in Indenau, forcing all competitors out of the market. Their home-field advantage puts them in an unassailable position in price competition.

Once these competitors exit the market, they will have pricing power, and they can set the price as they see fit.

He called the company's chairman of the board directly to discuss the matter.

The chairman of the board was also quite excited when he found out. It was a very embarrassing thing to be kicked out of his home turf by an outside winery.

Jinbiao Liquor has become a laughing stock in the industry, but if they can launch a brilliant counterattack at this time, everything will be rewritten!

“I understand about this matter. I will communicate with the other members of the board of directors and the shareholders.”

"You should try to investigate whether our new governor is reliable..."

After hanging up the phone, the new CEO was in high spirits. After thinking for a while, his gaze fell on the title of the open page of the magazine on the table: "New Hope Mining: Gold Hidden in the Rocks."

This report overlooked the fact that New Hope Mining had acquired a large number of mining rights in the Yalan region, including gold and copper mines, which are mineral resources with great mining value.

The magazine also included a considerable number of photographs, each taken with a recent newspaper article attached to the photo, clearly indicating to everyone that the photos were authentic.

There have been cases of photo misuse in the federal government before, which led to a series of problems. So, in various fields, if you want people to believe your photos, you have to do this.

Because photos cannot be faked, nor can the newspapers inside; it's immediately obvious whether the photos were taken recently.

Looking at the prosperous scene in the mine in the photos, seeing the gold ingots piled up in the warehouse, and some photos that were obviously purchasers signing contracts to buy ore or copper ingots, the president's heart was filled with excitement again.

This is a very suitable investment opportunity in the current market. The financial sector has begun to pay attention to New Hope Mining, which reportedly holds development rights to more than 20 mines. Annual net profit exceeds 40 million yuan, and these mines have a sustainable operating life of over ten years.

This means that these mines can reliably generate at least 400 million in profits. In some flawed mining board meeting minutes, they mentioned that they would continue to acquire more mining rights in the Alam region.

There are already about seven mines under negotiation, and if the negotiations are successful, the annual net profit will increase by about ten million.

This magazine reported a lot of detailed information, stating that New Hope Mining planned to establish an organization called the "Yalan Mining Alliance" to bring in all the mines in the Yalan region, forming a large-scale industry association and effectively monopolizing the market.

Any business activity that is associated with monopoly will bring unimaginable super profits!
The CEO also wanted to invest, but he didn't have much money and didn't dare to invest in such projects casually.

Moreover, investing 10,000 or 20,000 yuan in this kind of project is no different from not investing at all; if you're going to invest, you should invest a large amount!
He called a friend on Detland's financial district. As soon as the call connected and he identified himself, his friend exclaimed, "My God, have you heard?"

"Several banks are in contact with New Hope Mining, hoping to acquire them directly!"

"The entire market is about to go crazy!"

For the banking industry, industries with stable output are always their first choice, not to mention that these mineral resources are not only stable but also highly profitable, so they will naturally not let them go!
The banks joined in, which made the already lively atmosphere even more intense.

Those who still had some doubts completely lost them after seeing that the banks had also joined in, and they all started contacting friends to see if they could get some stocks.

New Hope Mining is not yet listed. They have just submitted their listing application to the Federal Financial Supervisory Commission and are expected to be listed on the three major exchanges by the end of the year.

The Financial Supervisory Commission has been saying that we shouldn't engage in these kinds of private transactions before listing, but how could those who play the financial game possibly put the law in their eyes?

Some describe Detland as a place where gold flows, but beneath the gold lies evil!

“Other companies may need contractors to go public, but this time, they definitely won’t!”

"If you have some money, whether you want a stable, long-term income or to make a quick buck, I recommend you keep an eye on this stock. It will definitely create miracles!"

The president's friend's voice was filled with an unprecedented passion, as if he had already foreseen the miracle this stock would create here.

This made the president somewhat tempted, "But I don't have that much money on hand right now."

His friend said in a very peculiar tone, "You know what?"

"This is the biggest difference between you who are in the real economy and us who are in finance."

"In your eyes, money is just those colorful little pieces of paper, but in our eyes, there's nothing that can't be exchanged for money!"

"Houses, cars, bonds, gold, anything, even shares in your company—that's a lot of money, bro!"

"If I were you, I would find a financial company in your area that you can trust and sign a short- to medium-term loan agreement with them."

"Pawn all your valuables to them, even if they ask for a higher interest rate, it doesn't matter."

"Once you invest in New Hope Mining, your wealth will double very quickly!"

"This kind of thing happens all the time in Detland, and we are all very bullish on this stock!"

"I'm not afraid to tell you, I've already included everything in it."

"Okay, if you don't have anything else, I'll have to hang up now."

"You know I'm very busy right now!"

The president seemed to have nothing else to say. He said a few insignificant words and then hung up the phone.

A while ago, his friend would actively persuade him to buy this stock, but this time the friend only mentioned it briefly and didn't say that he absolutely had to buy it.

Sometimes people are just despicable; the more you're asked to do something, the less you want to do it, while you're more interested in doing things that others don't want you to do.

It's not uncommon for Detland's net worth to multiply overnight. Federal stocks don't have any so-called "upper or lower limit"; as long as you can rise, you can keep rising.

Similarly, if a stock crashes, it will continue to crash until it becomes worthless.

This insane mechanism, coupled with financial leverage, is why miracles can happen!

A stock worth a few dollars can become worth more than ten dollars overnight. If you add ten times leverage, a person's net worth can increase tenfold overnight!
It's impossible to achieve exponential asset growth in a short period of time by engaging in real-world industries. Perhaps this is why those in finance now look down on those in the real economy.

They work themselves to the bone their whole lives, and the money they earn in the financial world might just be a "fluctuation" of profit or loss.

The president's mind was full of "legendary myths" from Detland, and with the apparent conflict between Governor Wade and Lance, he might be able to get more equity dividends soon if they could seize this opportunity.

Although he didn't have any specific ideas for himself, he was already looking for various reasons to convince himself to work towards this goal.

Who can remain calm when their net worth increases several times or even ten times?
No one can.

He then called some other friends in the financial sector, who were all very optimistic about New Hope Mining's stock and unanimously believed that its share price would inevitably be several times its issue price within just two or three days.

Even before the stock is listed, people's enthusiasm has already pushed its price to a very high expected value. This means that as soon as it is listed, its price will explode, and there will be countless people doing this for free, without even needing to find people to prop it up.

Of course, Lance was unaware that their financial scheme had already begun and was preparing to make money; he had thought this would happen by the middle of next year.

He doesn't quite understand the federal government's financial harvesting. The reason the preparation has been so long is because the market reaction hasn't been good enough. If the market reaction were as good as it is now, three to five months would be enough.

This is actually related to the war; some people firmly believe that the Federation will win the final victory in this war.

However, some people also do not believe that the Federation can achieve final victory.

If the Federation is defeated, or fails to achieve the results it expects, a terrible situation could very well occur.

At this time, finding projects that can weather the "winter" is particularly important. A mining group with stable output is undoubtedly a very good project, which is why it is rumored that banks also want to buy New Hope Mining.

Banks also need these industries that are weathering the winter to ensure the safety and stability of their funds.

Although Lance wasn't entirely clear on these matters, he had heard that Governor Wade had contacted Gold Label Winery and seemed to be discussing a collaboration.

Lance knew that he was putting pressure on him in this way. If he couldn't hold on and compromised, Governor Wade would definitely deny it quickly.

But if he doesn't compromise, Governor Wade will definitely continue to push forward with the project.

This is a very ambitious guy with strong desires. Lance knew this when Sidney was able to use the opportunity of being nominated as a gubernatorial candidate to transfer the Wade family.

They have the characteristics of gambling addicts, and are ambitious and have strong desires.

These people cannot be maintained by "personal relationships." For him, every event is an isolated incident, which is also a view of the world that the federal elite class advocates.

Your helping me has nothing to do with my obligation to help you.

They may have been friends before, but at this moment, they may not be friends anymore; they could be competitors or even enemies.

(End of this chapter)