Juan Mantal was not in good health, and the road was bumpy for most of the day. After arriving at Drake, he had to meet with various people in a hurry. Although he was still interested in discussing the specific details of the plantation promotion plan, Cao Cao
Mo still insisted that he go rest first, and there would be plenty of time to discuss the subsequent details.
In order to ensure that the Drake Regional Headquarters can have good office and accommodation conditions, Cao Mo has asked people to directly pay ten years of rent and rent out twelve nearby villas.
Drake Industrial and Mining has been in decline for ten years. The market situation is sluggish, and land prices and rents are quite low. If Akwa hadn't currently restricted foreign capital from acquiring fixed assets within its territory, Cao Mo would have wanted to directly acquire these villas as company funds.
.
Of course, if you rent it for a long time, there will be no hindrance to your use.
Iron fences are used to surround these villas into a small closed community, and new trails have been built between the fences of different villas.
As a result, in addition to the three villas near the main street that serve as the office headquarters of Ibogu Gold Mining Group in Drake, the other ten villas mainly serve as dormitories for dispatched employees, restaurants and event reception centers.
An independent villa was arranged for Juan Mantal, May Mantal, his daughter and the accompanying staff. The half-high hedge wall was entangled with roses, and the bright flowers were blooming.
It has not been completely renovated, but the electrical lighting fixtures and some furniture have been replaced in the villa, and the household items have also been replaced.
For the first time in half a month, Mei took a pleasant bath in a hot bath. She fell asleep in the bathtub unknowingly. When she woke up, the water in the bathtub had completely cooled down, but fortunately
At night in Drake, the weather was only slightly cooler, and there was nothing particularly unpleasant about lying naked in the cold water.
The whole villa was quiet, thinking that my father and the staff had already fallen asleep, and I didn't know what time it was at night.
Maybe the hot bath had eliminated all the exhaustion accumulated during this period. When she walked out of the bathroom, she didn't feel sleepy at all. Mei Yi walked out of the villa with her clothes on, opened the half-height wooden door, walked through the path between the hedges, and saw that there were still trees in the coconut grove in front of her.
There was a bright light coming out, and when I walked over, I saw Cao Mo, Bram, Xiao Jun, Kabuga and others who had not rested yet and were still sitting in the pavilion smoking cigars and chatting.
Mei Yi was startled for a moment, then straightened her clothes and walked over.
Stali was responsible for more things and left Drake two days earlier; Zhou Han was running around for half a month and was very tired, so he went back to his room to rest early.
However, Cao Mo is very leisurely in Drake these days. He is used to going to bed late and getting up late to keep up with the time difference in China. His main work during this period is to keep in touch with Song Yuqing and Shen Ji and follow up on acquisitions.
Matters concerning Beku Cement Plant and Xintaihua Grinding Station.
Seeing Mei coming over, Cao Mo gestured for her to sit aside. The topic of discussion with Bram and the others did not stop there, and he did not mind that Mei knew or participated in the discussion.
In addition to the $10 million the Cornero Food Association will directly spend to support the descendants of Drake's colonists to promote the construction of new plantations on the east bank of the Usan River, Cao Mo also plans to use $10 million to establish an entrepreneurial fund.
, used to support new secondary entrepreneurship in Akwa by descendants of colonists who once ran businesses.
This is to fundamentally sow the seeds of friendship that are closely integrated with the Democracy Promotion Front, which requires close cooperation from the Democracy Promotion Front.
When he saw that Juan Mantar was too tired before, Cao Mo didn't rush to mention it. Now when he saw Mei Yi coming over in high spirits after a long night of sleep, he told her directly.
"..." Mei Yi subconsciously gave Cao Mo a suspicious look.
Although Mei Yi was very controlled and did not show her inner suspicion too obviously, and even reached out and brushed the messy hair hanging down from her temples to hide her questioning eyes, Cao Mo could still clearly see what she was thinking.
"There is no free lunch in the world. We are willing to use this money because we have our own business intentions, but if it does not mean that we have business intentions, it is dirty and untrustworthy." Cao Mo took out the money from his pocket.
I bought a gold coin from the ancient Ghana Empire while shopping. I threw it on the table and stared at Mei's face and asked, "Miss Mei, can you tell whether this gold coin is dirty or clean?"
"Can you tell me what your business intention is for doing this?" Mei Yi did not retort tit for tat, but opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at Cao Mo and asked.
“First of all, we maintain a broad and deep friendship with the Democratic Promotion Front to ensure that our business investment in Akwa can proceed smoothly, but more importantly, during the five or six years I worked in Kanem, I saw that Kanem
After the end of the military rule, the descendants of the colonists have performed very well in the economic field. I am thinking that Akwa will also have such a development trend in the future..." Cao Mo said frankly.
Even if Akwa relaxes restrictions on foreign capital, foreign companies are more interested in energy, mineral development and infrastructure construction in Akwa, and investment will be concentrated in these limited areas, making it impossible to penetrate quickly.
to every corner of its national economy.
The descendants of the colonists who have mastered technology, management experience and are more open-minded in thinking have nothing to tie their hands after the liberalization of the policy. Even if they run low-level industrial, mining and commercial enterprises, they are destined to be more difficult than the local Akan people.
The Wa people have better and faster development.
Establishing two small-scale funds can sow the seeds of friendship while also obtaining generous returns from Akwa's foreseeable economic recovery. It is undoubtedly the best of both worlds.
"In this world, people like Mr. Mantal who have high moral character and serve the public interests wholeheartedly and at the expense of themselves are naturally worthy of respect, but Mr. Mantal is one of the very few after all, and this does not mean that those who live for their own interests
People are shameful and despicable," Cao Mo looked into Mei's eyes and said, "Compared to you, what I admire more about Mr. Mantal is that he can find the interests of most people and do his best.
Try to promote something that is beneficial to the most people. Even if it is a small thing, it is better than screwing up everything!"
Mei Yi's pretty face felt a little hot.
Cao Mo hasn't seen Mei Yi much these days. After the supply of supplies to the camp was interrupted, Mei Yi came to rescue her, and Cao Mo asked Xiao Jun to handle it.
It was today that Juan Mantal came over, and Cao Mo actually discussed the follow-up resettlement measures. He was undoubtedly warning Mei that her ideas that were too idealistic and too non-convoluted would be completely unworkable in this chaotic and gloomy world.
Mei sat for a while and then left. Cao Mo held his head and said to Bram: "Of course it's pleasant to spend a lot of money, but it's not pleasant if the money is spread too hard and you're stretched thin."
The US$40 million to acquire 53% of Stru Gold Mining Company will completely drain the cash pool as of mid-March.
In Xinhai, Song Yuqing has also formally signed an acquisition agreement with the Lu family for the Beku Cement Factory and the Xintaihua Grinding Station. The purchase price of 40 million US dollars is agreed to be paid within two years, so there is no need to consider it for the time being, but Beku Cement
After the plant and Xintaihua Grinding are merged into the new Conero Cement Group, another US$20 million in renovation and construction funds will be needed to truly enable the Conero Cement Group to reach an annual production capacity of two million tons by the end of June.
.
This means that Cornero Cement Group cannot provide Cao Mo with new financial support before the end of June.
However, in Drake, in addition to the two "10 million US dollar" entrepreneurial support programs, the more terrifying black gold is the exploration and mining of copper and gold mines on the east bank of the Usan River.
Drake's industrial and mining facilities have seriously fallen behind. Even though there is still a narrow-gauge railway connecting Pemei Port, a freight station and storage yard need to be rebuilt on the east bank of the Usan River to ensure that the ore can be transported smoothly and quickly.
Peme Harbor.
Drake's thermal power plant is overwhelmed, and it is necessary to invest in the construction of a small hydropower station in the upper reaches of the Usan River to ensure the power supply of the copper mines, and to ensure that the copper mines in the middle and lower reaches of the Usan River are not affected by floods.
These two items alone have increased the investment in a medium-sized copper mine to US$120 million.
This is still preliminary. It only ensures that the annual mining volume of raw ore reaches 10 million tons and the preprocessing volume of copper concentrate reaches 800,000 tons. By then, 800,000 tons of copper concentrate with a mineral grade of 20% will be produced through Peimei every year.
Port shipped out of Akwa.
At the same time, Cao Mo also planned to start the construction of a gold mine in the northwest mountainous area of Drake.
Stru Gold Mining Company began exploration operations in this area ten years ago. The gold reserves are as high as 300,000 ounces. However, just mining and refining costs are high, so Stru Gold Mining Company has never started mining.
Of course, the cost is also relative.
According to the materials retained by the Stru Gold Mining Company, the production cost of extracting gold from this area and transporting it to Lonta for refining may be as high as $600 per ounce of gold.
Not to mention the price ten years ago, even the current gold price is not profitable at all. However, with the completion of the second phase of the Ibogu gold refinery, the comprehensive mining and refining rate has increased to more than 90%, and the cost can be reduced to 50% per ounce.
For less than one hundred, fifty or sixty dollars, there is still a fairly stable profit to be made.
Of course, the investment in this mining area must be at least 20 million US dollars.
The reason why Cao Mo wants to expand more in Drake now is to lay a stronger foundation in Drake and ultimately defend their mining rights on the east coast of Wusang.
And if the existence of a super-large copper-gold mine can be confirmed on the east bank of the Usan River, the narrow-gauge railway originating from the Kruno oil field and passing through the Mangba coal and iron production area and Drake will then encounter a capacity bottleneck, and
To build a new electrified railway between Kruno and Pemme Port would require an investment of at least four to five billion US dollars, and the construction period would be quite long. It is not a task that Cao Mo can complete independently now.
"The Felician Family Gold Mining Company will be completely reorganized into Ibogu Gold Mining Group this time. After the reorganization is completed, in addition to Ibogu, Oguta Gold Mine and the unified operation of Stru Gold Mining Company in Naeguin, Benin
Mine, as well as our newly developed gold mine and copper-gold mine project in Drake, we will also strive to reach cooperation with the Akwa authorities’ Fanye River gold mine in the Mangba region and the Emerald Mountain gold mine in the Maritime Province, which will then become
The second largest gold mining group in West Africa," Cao Mo said to Brahm, "In order to achieve this goal, we need to raise at least 150 million US dollars for the construction of the next project. According to the promise, Ibogu Gold Mining
The group will release 5% of the investment share to the Rupert family. The Rupert family has no funds for the time being and there is no problem. The price is US$15 million and the initial investment right of 5% of the shares. I can reserve two shares for the Rupert family.
Year……"
Bram nodded. It was impossible for Cao Mo to give them 5% of the shares of Yibogu Gold Mining Group for free. After all, other investors, including Cao Mo himself, had given real money.
They retain 5% of the initial investment rights within two years. If the international gold price remains stable, they can choose to give up the investment rights; and if the international gold price rises sharply again in two years, they can even directly sell the investment rights and obtain huge profits.
In short, retaining the investment rights of 5% of the shares for two years is beneficial to the Rupert family.
"It's easy to say, but do you have a specific plan to raise such a large-scale investment fund as Drake?" Brahm asked, "Now all parties are urging the Akwa authorities to let foreign companies participate in investment.
The first batch of pilot projects should be concluded soon, and in response to the pressure of domestic public opinion, the Akwa authorities will inevitably require foreign companies participating in the cooperation to raise funds in place within a limited period..."
"Draculamo Power Group's acquisition of my 30% stake in Cornero Energy shouldn't cause any controversy, right?" Cao Mo asked.
The Drake copper-gold mine project can finally be obtained, and the construction also needs to go through a process. Cao Mo initially planned that a start-up capital of 40 to 50 million US dollars would be enough, but this fund was misappropriated by him to acquire the project.
shares in Stru Gold Mining Company.
His only financing channel in West Africa is the trust fund established by the United Bank of Oman for the owners of the Lonta plantation. However, the capital injected by Cornero Energy in return is only two to three million US dollars every month, and the scale is very limited.
At present, if he wants to obtain a large amount of funds at once, the most appropriate and feasible way is to sell the last 30% of his shares in Cornero Energy.
Conero Energy's operations are becoming increasingly stable. This year's profit is guaranteed to be more than 30 million US dollars, and the upstream and downstream business operation models are clear. There are no major uncontrollable factors. At the same time, Conero Energy has a considerable part of its electricity, which is through the West
Caidet Power Grid Company directly supplies the power of Draculamo Power Group.
Therefore, for Draculamo Power Group, the acquisition of 30% of Cornero Energy's shares is a deal that is easily accepted.
Although Draculamo Power Group is also operating with debt, its total assets are in the billions of dollars. It is not difficult to complete this transaction with US$50 to 60 million.
Of course, in addition to Bram and his father's help in brokering this matter, Shen Ji also needed help in communicating with Hexi Fund to terminate the performance gambling agreement in advance, or Cao Mo could use other methods to continue to fulfill the gambling agreement.
"Okay..." Bram agreed readily.
From overthrowing the Guidam family to funding the Front for the Promotion of Democracy to expose Ufo Bonya's military coup plot, the Rupert family has not contributed much.
However, in addition to the investment shares of the Gulf of Guinea Shipping Company and the mining company, this time we also obtained the investment rights of the Ibogu Gold Mine, which can be said to be a fruitful harvest. We even want to obtain more generous returns in the future. At this time, we should also provide more
Try to make the whole thing have a more satisfactory outcome.
Cao Mo introduced some other financing plans to Brahm, all of which were relatively small in scale, but better than nothing.
These financing plans are mainly related to the Tubman family.
One is the two small hydropower stations that Starry invested in the lower reaches of the Gray Crow River in the early years. Cornero Energy will invest US$5 million of its own funds to acquire them this time. The other is the Tubman family’s property in the northern suburbs of Draculamore.
He hopes to acquire the 2,000-acre oil palm plantation by Dongsheng Group for US$15 million.
These funds will be injected into Cornero Cement Group and Ibogu Gold Mining Group to supplement the lack of working capital.
"Can you consider transferring part of the shares of Cornero Cement? There are many investors in Draculamo who are more interested in Cornero Cement!" Brahm asked.
On the one hand, with the sudden rise in international oil prices, not only Kanem, but also the entire West African region's crude oil export revenue is rising steadily, which has prompted the infrastructure construction and cement demand in West African countries to continue to increase.
rise.
Even if the cement import restrictions may be lifted at any time, finished cement is extremely unfavorable for long-distance transportation. As far as the entire West African region is concerned, cement production is far from saturated.
On the other hand, it is also the production system advantage of Cornero Cement that connects upstream and downstream and supporting industries, which has also been noticed by the investors of Draculamo who are just around the corner.
"It's not impossible for Cornero Cement to transfer part of its equity, but the price won't be too low..." Cao Mo said.
Just like Conero Energy, Conero Cement's upstream and downstream production systems have been connected, and it has profit advantages that other competitors in the West African region do not have. It can even further reduce production costs and expand profit margins.
Cornero Cement's current total assets may only be US$150 million, and it still owes the Lu family US$40 million in foreign debt. However, after successfully digesting the Beiku Cement Plant (clinker production base) and the New Taihua Grinding Station, it will
The production capacity will exceed 2 million tons, especially after competitors have lost the ability to compete with Cornero Cement on price, and the annual profitability will be stable at more than 120 million US dollars.
In the future, he also plans to expand the production and sales system of Cornero Cement along the Gulf of Guinea to cover major port cities in West Africa. A compound growth rate of 20 to 30 percent per year is guaranteed.
In this case, even if a strategic partner is introduced, Cornero Cement’s valuation will not be less than US$600 million no matter how low it is...