Rebirth of England.

Chapter 1001 Privatization

In addition to these, the scale of Colo's arms exports is also expanding.

Currently, Colo already has a complete light weapons manufacturing industry, and even some light weapons orders for the British military are manufactured by Colo.

As for the African market, countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are already "old customers" of Colo's light weapons sales. Although they mainly purchase weapons using loans provided by Colo, these loans will also be repaid with the minerals and oil they produce.

Moreover, as time goes by, more African countries have begun to turn their attention to purchasing light weapons from Colo. After all, the products here are very cost-effective, and the payment methods are also very diverse, including minerals, gold, diamonds, and even coffee beans, cocoa, and cotton.

For those military leaders, the effect of making them feel at home was completely achieved, and there must be a way that suits them.

These payment items will be converted into products and marketed overseas after entering Colo's processing factory, thereby earning foreign exchange.

It can be said that this time, the "Vision 2020 White Paper" launched by Kolo President Thomas Kaboré, although it came from the Kolo Development and Reform Research Center, the timing of the launch of this "White Paper" also has some profound meaning.

After all, next year, that is, in 2015, there will be a general election in Kolo, and Thomas Kaboré still hopes to be re-elected in this election - he certainly knows that the "equity incentive" that can be obtained in the end after serving one term and two terms is completely different, and he also hopes that he can demonstrate the value of his service to the people.

Now that the "Vision 2020 White Paper" has been promulgated, not only has the personal income tax for citizens been abolished, but corporate taxes have also been greatly reduced, which will naturally win great favor from the people.

In addition, the construction of infrastructure including transportation, communication networks and water conservancy will not only continue to provide more jobs for Colo, but will also have a very obvious impact on promoting people's livelihood. This will also be one of his important political achievements for re-election.

……

"I have noticed that attitudes towards the European Union in the UK are somewhat worrying, Your Highness."

"Yes, I can indeed feel that, especially in the past two years, the British people's Euroscepticism is intensifying. This is also caused by many factors, sir."

Barron arrived in Paris very low-key, where he will accompany Ashley and her son for a while.

It was at Ashley Webb's home that he had a private meeting with French President Hollande.

During the conversation, Hollande expressed some concerns about the Euroscepticism in Britain. In response, Barron said:

"This is affected by the influx of refugees, and the high fees that Britain has been paying to the EU... Of course, I know that the refugee problem is something that all European countries need to face, and the obligations to the EU correspond to the rights..." He shrugged and said helplessly to Hollande:

"But it is important to note that young people today think differently from us. The technology and social environment that have been around since you were born are considered natural, just like we have experienced the huge impact of the Internet and mobile networks on our lives from their emergence to their development. But for them, it seems that the Internet and mobile phones should have existed in the world... British people always think that the benefits they get from the EU are their due. On the contrary, things that seem to damage British interests will make them resist the EU."

"As a major country, we must shoulder due responsibilities. Within the EU system, we need more cooperation from the UK."

So far, Hollande has entered his third year in office. During his term, France has been more concerned about their role in the international community, which is also reflected in their military intervention in Africa.

In terms of economy, although Hollande initially introduced a relatively radical tax increase policy in the face of economic difficulties in Europe and France, he began to lean towards a free market stance under strong opposition pressure. At this time, his policies were relatively friendly to domestic capital in France.

"I also believe that Britain and continental European countries, especially France and Germany, should work closely together. For example, our economic ties are becoming increasingly close, and we need to face many problems together..."

Just like in the construction of the UK's High Speed ​​Rail Line 2, Alstom provided trains and the entire signal system; and in the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, EDF and Alstom were both deeply involved.

However, in this private meeting, Hollande was more interested in the European Wealth Fund recently established by Barron. This super fund with a first-phase capital of 500 billion euros has not only participated in the acquisition of two Italian banks by Eurobank, but has also been active recently. Hollande also hopes that Barron can increase investment in France to promote France's economic recovery.

After all, Hollande's attitude has shifted towards a free market stance, and one of the measures is that they intend to sell part of the shares of Electricité de France.

Electricite de France is one of the world's leading electricity producers and has long been wholly owned by the government.

However, with the liberalization of the energy market and the increasing financial pressure on the company, the Hollande government decided to raise funds by selling part of its equity and introduce strategic investors.

This time, they plan to sell 20% of their shares to others.

"We have always had good cooperation with EDF. I also believe that selling part of its shares will not only ease the financial burden of the French government, but also promote the optimization of EDF's governance structure and enhance its market competitiveness. The European Wealth Fund will also participate in this share auction. Of course, we still need further research on the specific plan."

This is also one of the main purposes of Barron's visit to Paris to meet with Hollande this time. Not only the shares of Electricite de France, but also the Paris Airport Group (ADP) and the French water company Suez are on his investment list.

Both companies are currently held by the French government. The Paris Airport Group is wholly owned by the French government, while the Suez Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of GDF Suez, which was formed by the merger of Gaz de France and Suez in 2008. The French government holds more than one-third of the shares in GDF Suez.

(End of this chapter)