I am a master in India

Chapter 28 Black Market Empire
"It seems your company is doing really well."

"Actually, there's some of my personal savings in there, which I converted into US dollars a month ago."

Khad Khan laughed. "You knew the rupee would fall?"

"Of course not, but it's the nature of businessmen to chase rising prices and sell them when they fall."

"I like what you said." Hadhan lit a cigarette and seemed to be lost in thought.

This is the amount Ron earns in a month after converting the company's commission, service fees earned from tourists, and tips from brokers into US dollars.

The total profit was about 50 rupees. After deducting 10 rupees in the first week, there was a significant increase in the next three weeks.

This was thanks to the depreciation of the rupee, which attracted more tourists to Mumbai to spend money. The tourist off-season that Ron worried about did not seem to have arrived.

The 50 rupees were gradually converted into US dollars during the withdrawal process. The exchange rate at that time was not as high as it is now.

In addition to the original premium on the black market, Ron will also enjoy the benefits brought by the exchange rate difference. This time he made a lot of money.

"Ron, how much do you know about the black market?" Hadhan extinguished the cigarette in his hand.

"Not too much. This is where I've had the most exposure to the black market."

"Then let me ask it another way." Khadhan smiled and picked up his tea again. "At the bank, one dollar can be exchanged for 1 rupees. Why can we use, for example, 31 rupees to buy a tourist's one dollar?"

"Because we can sell that dollar for more than 35 rupees."

"Absolutely right, then why can we do this?"

"I think someone is willing to buy it at that price," Ron replied.

“Yes, but who are we going to sell it to?”

"This..." Ron couldn't give a detailed answer. So far, he had not been involved in this aspect of the transaction.

"The black market exists," Khadhan said in a deep voice, as if divulging a secret, "because the legal market is overly regulated, and merchants are greedy. When greed meets regulation, the black market emerges."

The rupee is a controlled currency and cannot be taken out of India. Rupees cannot be legally exchanged for US dollars anywhere in the world outside of India.

India has a large population, with tens of thousands of businesspeople and tourists leaving the country every day. These people are only allowed to take a limited amount of US dollars out of the country, and the amount of rupees they can exchange is limited.

The process is also very complicated, requiring the person to present a series of documents such as passport, plane ticket, etc. The US dollar can only be exchanged once per trip abroad, and there is no legal way for travelers to exchange more US dollars.

“In India, almost everyone has some black money hidden under their bed. It ranges from a few hundred rupees that workers fail to declare to the tax authorities to billions of rupees accumulated through illegal gains by the wealthy.

The scale of the black market economy is about half that of the legal economy. Those who hold large amounts of illegal money cannot go to the bank to check their accounts because they need to prove the source of the money.

The only option, therefore, was to buy dollars from black market money traders. Millions of dollars, pounds, marks, francs, and other currencies were bought and sold on the black market in Mumbai every day.

Ron had never understood this information and the ins and outs of the black market so thoroughly before. He was also surprised by the scale of the black market. Half of the legal economy? Absurd.

It would be a miracle if there were no corruption and crime in such a deformed market.

"So you understand the equation of black market transactions?"

Ron nodded. "We buy the US dollars from tourists at a higher exchange rate than the official one, and then sell them to those who need them at an even higher rate, making a profit from the difference."

"It's simple, isn't it? It's just that this process is broken down into many parts: tourists, you, me, and my customers."

"Me?" Ron vaguely grasped something.

"Do you know how we usually get US dollars from tourists?" Hadehan asked another question.

"Street broker?" This was the colleague Ron saw most often.

"Street vendors, tour guides, beggars, hotel managers, hotel waiters, restaurateurs, shop owners, airline executives, travel agents, bar owners, streetwalkers, taxi drivers"

Khad Khan listed almost all the occupations of people wandering the streets of Mumbai, and the more Ron listened, the more nervous he became.

He finally understood where the problem lay. He had never thought he would face such a situation.

"Ron, have you noticed that your company has linked almost half of the people here together?" Yes, he is the first checkpoint for receiving tourists. If tourists all exchange dollars with him, then it seems that others will be fine, right?
"Khaderbhai, let's sign an agreement. From now on, Mumbai Tourism Information Company will only sell its dollars here and will never look for other buyers."

Ron surrendered at lightning speed. How the hell was this going to work? The other party was a powerful figure in Mumbai, so how could he be so powerful?

This move is really like provoking trouble, and it is a disaster for us.

When Khaderbai heard his words, he was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help laughing.

His laughter was hearty and there was no anger in it at all.

"Ron, you're very clever and very astute. But I think you've misunderstood."

"Ok?"

"Do you think I'm going to be angry because your company takes dollars from tourists in advance?"

"Uh"

"No, no, no, not only will I not be angry, I will even be happy."

"Huh?" Ron was really confused.

"These people are not my men. If I want to take the US dollars from them, I still need to send people to collect the money, which involves a bargaining process.

But your company has saved all of this. Look, the dollars under your feet are more than what hundreds of people save in half a year. It’s simple and efficient.”

Ron blinked. "So, my company didn't cause you any losses?"

"I don't think so." Khadhan smiled and lit another cigarette.

"In that case," Ron breathed a sigh of relief, "what I just said still stands."

Hadhan glanced at him with his amber eyes and nodded, "Okay."

Ron stood up, knowing it was time for this conversation to end.

"Ron, your company is still too small. When it's big enough, I'll introduce you to another business. There are more ways to make money in the tourism industry than you think."

Ron nodded, stood up and left.

Downstairs, Anand had been waiting in a taxi for half an hour.

Because of the heat and his worry, beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.

Could it be a case of thieves robbing each other? After all, it's hundreds of thousands of rupees.

Just as Anand was debating whether to rush forward to save people or slip away to ask the police for help, Ron came down with a bag.

"nailed it?"

"120 million rupees."

Ron shoved the heavy duffel bag under his feet, and Anand stared at it, his legs stretched out and his breathing quickened.

"It's not all my money, there's also your share in there, so drive quickly!"

Ron cursed with a smile, and Anand immediately cheered and stepped on the accelerator.

"Ron, where are you going?"

"Go home and do the accounts first, then take me to other places in Mumbai."

"Hey, you want to have some fun? I know where there's an exciting show!"

“No, I just want to see what other businesses in Mumbai can make money besides tourism?”

A trace of worry crossed Ron's eyes, the conversation just now still lingering in his mind.

(End of this chapter)