Chapter 306 Rentier Group
Chapter 306 Rentier Group
"I'm flattered," An Rushong did not behave like a guest. He saw a pot of brewed tea on the table, so he took it over, and then took two cups from a tray in front of him and filled them one by one.
"When I was still running this izakaya, I was best at searing flounder flank, truffle wagyu sushi, tuna snake belly, and shirako sushi," Kwon Ji-hye was busy inside, and did not forget to introduce her skills to An Rusong. "Today I prepared a very good cod. President An, you can try the shirako sushi I made. I think it will suit your taste."
An Rushong thanked him, then picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip.
It can be seen that Quan Zhihui's izakaya is definitely very high-end. Apart from anything else, the snake belly tuna and shirako sushi that she mentioned are not something that can be enjoyed in ordinary sushi restaurants.
However, compared to tasting the other party's cooking skills, An Rushong felt that the woman herself was a feast for the eyes, especially her intellectual look, coupled with the evening dress that showed off her figure, combined with the dim and ambiguous lighting in the izakaya, and the Japanese-style decoration layout, all of this combined together, he actually felt like he was in a Japanese comic.
At this moment, it seems that the comics of Kazuo Koike and Norika Inoue have come true.
There is no doubt that this Ms. Quan Zhihui is a woman who is good at creating atmosphere. If it was when he was just reborn, An Rusong would be so proud and forgetful in such a situation. But now, after experiencing so many women, he can now calmly deal with this level of temptation.
The two of them were sitting on both sides of the dining table, one inside and one outside. Quan Zhihui seemed to be fully devoted to making sushi, while An Rushong was sitting on a high stool outside, drinking tea contentedly.
There was silence in the small hall for a long time, until An Rusong ungentlemanly took out a cigarette and lit it with a lighter. Then Quan Zhihui said, "President An, don't you have anything to ask me?"
An Rusong took a puff of cigarette, and in the swirling light blue smoke, he looked at the woman opposite him who was slightly bowing her head, and said, "Of course, and I have a lot of questions to ask."
"Oh?" Perhaps because she was busy with her head down, a strand of Quan Zhihui's hair came loose from her bun and hung down at the left side of her temple. Under the light, she now looked a little more charming.
"However, compared to satisfying curiosity, I prefer to abide by the rules," An Rushong's gaze swept across the other person's smooth forehead and quickly fell on the lace hollow on the other person's chest. From his angle, he could vaguely see a seemingly bottomless ravine in the hollow.
"So, I won't ask those unnecessary questions." His eyes stayed there, and he said calmly, "I'll just tell you what I think."
Quan Zhihui's hand movements slowed down, but she did not stop. It was obvious that she was waiting for An Rushong to continue speaking.
"Since my company has already gone through the first round of financing, it is impossible for me to transfer equity without informing my investment partners due to the relevant share agreements. Therefore, I have no way to use real equity to set up a dividend equity pool," An Rusong reached out and took an ashtray not far away and put it in a handy place, while speaking in a steady tone, "So, the solution I can give is to set up a virtual equity pool."
"Virtual equity pool?" Quan Zhihui's long, neat eyelashes trembled, and he repeated the concept proposed by An Rushong.
"Yes, a virtual equity pool," An Rusong nodded and said, "Suppose I inject 3% of the shares of NGN Company that I hold into this equity pool. These shares do not really exist, but they can be reflected in the form of cash."
"According to the current estimate of NGN's total market value of $2.5 million, I will need to inject $750 million in cash into this equity pool," he tapped his cigarette on the ashtray and continued, "You can take this money or use it as a fund for investment. The right to use it is in your hands."
"It sounds tempting," Kwon Ji-hye said with a smile.
She said this lightly, and it was obvious that she didn't mean it.
"Of course, this is just the beginning," An Rusong said. "Now NGN is developing rapidly and has a bright future. If nothing unexpected happens, the company will conduct a second round of financing by the end of this year. According to my estimation, when the second round of financing begins, the company's valuation will exceed 20 billion US dollars. Of course, this is a conservative estimate."
Quan Zhihui stopped what she was doing and looked up at An Rushong.
"Even if calculated based on a valuation of 20 billion US dollars, 6000% of the company's shares is worth 5250 million US dollars," An Rushong smiled and said, "According to the dividend agreement, I will contribute million US dollars in cash to this virtual equity pool, and this money will still belong to you." Quan Zhihui pursed her beautiful and moist lips tightly, and her snow-white and slender neck twitched. Under the illumination of the ceiling light, one could see the sexy dimple on her neck moving slightly.
She stared at An Rusong for a long time, then she let out a breath and said, "You are right. NGN is currently developing well and has a bright future. Someone has done an assessment. If you start the second round of financing now, the company's valuation may exceed 15 billion US dollars."
After a pause, she continued, "Even if you say that NGN will not start its second round of financing until the end of this year, its valuation will only be 20 billion US dollars. What about the end of next year?"
"At the end of next year, we will still have a new round of dividends, just like at the end of this year," An Rusong said without hesitation, meeting the other party's gaze. "By then, this virtual equity pool may have 2 million or even more US dollars in cash injected into it."
"Will this equity pool always exist?" Quan Zhihui's breathing became a little rapid, but she still asked calmly.
"I'm not sure," An Rushong spread his hands and said, "Because this is not something I can decide alone. It depends on the abilities of both you and me."
"What do you mean?" Quan Zhihui asked with a frown.
"It's very simple," An Rusong said calmly, "NGN's development momentum must always be good, so that this equity pool can get dividends. Whether NGN's development momentum can always be good depends not only on the ability of NGN Company, but also on your ability, right?"
Although his words were rather obscure, his meaning was very clear. Obviously, if NGN went bankrupt, this virtual equity pool would naturally have no meaning to exist, because as the chairman of NGN, he would not be able to inject funds into the equity pool at that time.
Secondly, if Quan Zhihui and the people she represents are no longer able to provide assistance to NGN, there is no need for this equity pool to exist, because at that time, An Rushong will no longer need to spend money to support them. Most importantly, even if he continues to inject funds into this equity pool, they will not dare to take it.
Therefore, whether there is money in this virtual equity pool and whether there will always be money depends not only on whether the person who gives the money has the ability, but also on whether the person who receives the money has the ability. Both are indispensable.
Although Quan Zhihui is a woman, since she can play the role of such a broker, she must be smart. Yes, in An Rusong's opinion, this woman is definitely a broker. There must be a powerful guy behind her, and she represents the interests of not just one person, but a group of people.
There is no doubt that there are many brokers like this in the Korean political circle, and behind these brokers, there are naturally a group of public officials. These people may not be as high-ranking as Lee Min-bo, or Councillor Kong and Councillor Liu, but they are definitely a group of people who hold real power.
The public service system in South Korea is similar to that in Japan. In some ministerial-level agencies, the person who truly holds power is not the minister, but the deputy minister.
Take the Ministry of Justice for example. Every Justice Minister is appointed by the president who wins the election. These ministers are all politically-minded, not practically-minded. When a president steps down, it usually means the end of a minister’s term. In other words, the position of Minister is like a “flowing stream”.
The deputy ministers who are responsible for assisting the ministers are the ones who are truly proficient in relevant practices and who truly hold real power. They stay in relevant positions much longer than the ministers. Therefore, the bureaucratic system built by the deputy ministers is a real "iron camp."
Let’s take President Moon as an example. During his tenure, he wanted to limit the power of prosecutors, so he pushed for judicial reform. As a result, two justice ministers were sacrificed before this reform was pushed forward. This fact in itself is enough to illustrate the problem.
To put it in one sentence, "It is easy to see the King of Hell, but it is difficult to deal with the little devils." Behind the broker Kwon Ji-hye, there should be bureaucratic groups from a series of departments such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Korea Communications Commission, and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
Lee Min-bo's "IT Korea Future Strategy" was able to come up with a draft, and these departments should have been aware of it. In order to cut a piece of the 15 trillion won pie, these bureaucratic groups gradually came together to form a "rent-seeking" group. If Lee Min-bo's draft is to be passed, this group must be satisfied first. Similarly, if An Rusong's NGN company wants to benefit from this draft, it also needs to feed this group first, otherwise, it will be impossible to accomplish this matter.
(End of this chapter)