America: My Time

Chapter 1132 The Allure of Energy

Chapter 1122 The Allure of Energy
How could those guys in Japan feel at ease having their energy lifeline controlled by others? Don't be fooled by their apparent emphasis on cooperating with John; they prioritize improving themselves even more. After all, Japan is a country severely lacking in resources, and the insecurity of its own energy supply makes it vulnerable to being held hostage by others—something they are unwilling to face.

The reason these Japanese guys initially agreed to let John establish a stock exchange in Osaka was to leverage the opportunity to meet their own resource needs and more easily control prices—but they were overthinking it. John had no intention of giving them that opportunity or those benefits. Although Osaka already had a considerable amount of resources, it was still far from enough to meet Japan's needs!
However, the Great Hanshin Earthquake brought considerable benefits to Quantum Mining. Sales of iron ore, steel, and timber were all good. The resources needed to rebuild a city are enormous, and it was also because of this earthquake that 7-Eleven convenience stores quickly captured a large share of the market.

Just as those guys in Japan were trying to figure out John's plan and understand why a company like Phoenix Investment had suddenly appeared and controlled so many assets, they were eager to find out the reasons behind it all. Unfortunately, before they could figure it out, John had already left Tokyo for Taiwan.

That's right. After completing his arrangements in Japan and causing such a big incident, John left Tokyo for Taiwan, where he also had many things to deal with. However, this time John wasn't accompanied by any beautiful women. Precisely because of this, the Japanese were even more convinced that John's trip to Tokyo had a specific plan and purpose, making them even more eager to find out what was behind it all.

John's trip to Tokyo was brief; he spent less time in Japan than in South Korea. This naturally attracted more attention from the Japanese, who were now scheming and plotting, and had even begun to set their sights on Sakhalin Island.

The greedy Japanese were unwilling to let others control their energy resources, but unfortunately, they had no chance at all. John had no intention of engaging in deeper exchanges with them. These Japanese guys still thought John was the same as before, assuming he would stay in Japan longer and have more time to make various arrangements. Unfortunately, what they received was news of John's departure, catching them completely off guard and thwarting all their calculations!

Once those guys in Japan calmed down, John's trip to Taiwan was over. He made some minor arrangements and changes before heading to Hong Kong. Hong Kong couldn't afford any problems during the Asian economic crisis, especially since John had considerable assets there, particularly in real estate.

Although John's real estate development in Hong Kong has been slow in recent years, he still managed to seize a significant amount of assets from the British in the past; otherwise, those British would be vehemently criticizing him for being cunning and treacherous. If the Asian economic crisis were to impact the Hong Kong market, John would also suffer considerable losses.

To protect Standard Chartered's interests, John has begun instructing the bank's investment arm to liquidate its stock holdings, arguing that the funds should be reinvested in energy projects, particularly in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, given the repeated successes in those energy sectors.

Many people didn't pay much attention to Asian Energy initially, since it hadn't made many oil field discoveries for a long time. However, with the discovery of the Kashagan oil field, and soon after, the South Yorotan gas field was discovered in Turkmenistan, Asian Energy needed a huge amount of funding. At this time, Standard Chartered Bank's decision to sell its shares and fully support the development of Asian Energy was not unacceptable. Although Asian Energy is no longer officially John's asset, that's just on the surface; everyone knows what's really going on.

When Standard Chartered Bank launched its operation, it didn't bring about any major changes. The Hong Kong stock market remained very stable. However, the development of the South Yorotan gas field attracted the attention of many, especially those in Japan, and even the Koreans were tempted. After all, it's the world's third largest oil and gas field, and who wouldn't be tempted by such enormous profits!
However, before they could act, Standard Chartered Bank began to change course, starting to gather funds. This directly disappointed the Japanese, who had originally intended to invest, knowing that Asia Energy didn't have much capital left. The Koreans, also aware of this, were eager to participate, each harboring an insatiable greed for a 'cooperation' with John. With Standard Chartered Bank's intervention, their hopes were dashed. Getting everything they wanted from John was impossible; acquiring a stake to destroy the Yorotan gas field was also out of the question. With Standard Chartered's full support, the funding problem was instantly solved. But good news always comes in pairs. News also arrived from Pakistan: another gas field had been discovered. Most shockingly, Asia Energy's project in India also yielded results: the Manla gas field had been discovered.

In just a few days, the entire world's energy sector was shaken. These successive discoveries shocked many people with the good news about Asian energy. No one expected that Asian energy would make such amazing discoveries after lying dormant for so long, leaving them all astonished.

Not only was Asia in an uproar, but the United States and Europe were also shocked by this astonishing result. Unfortunately, no matter how much those guys had planned or had many ideas, it was useless, because the Japanese bank had provided a huge loan, and now Standard Chartered Bank was also providing full assistance, which meant that many people's plans had to fall through.

Of course, these guys were unaware that all of this was part of John's plan; without a legitimate reason, how could they obtain sufficient loans from banks across Asia? However, an unexpected turn of events occurred: once India's Mangala oil field was confirmed, these guys had many ideas and began negotiating acquisitions with Asian energy companies!
This is clearly a deliberate attempt to prevent Asian Energy from profiting from them. It should be noted that Asian Energy is the only company under John's umbrella that has invested in India. These Indians are indeed dishonest and have such greedy ideas again. After all, India is also a major oil-deficient country. How could they not be tempted by such an amazing discovery by Asian Energy?

"Boss, what do we do now? These damn Indians are clearly targeting us and don't want us to develop this oil field. These bastards have absolutely no integrity!"

"Don't be angry. This was expected. The Indians have no integrity whatsoever. I originally thought they would try to cover things up a bit more, but it seems I overestimated them. They've only just confirmed the existence of this oil field, and these guys already want to take it back from us. Since they're so unscrupulous, don't blame us for being ruthless. We'll announce that we're selling all our shares in the Mangala oil field. The US, Europe, South Korea, and Japan all have their own ideas, right? Let them participate. Now we'll give them that opportunity to get involved!"

John paused here, then continued, "After selling everything in the Mangala oil field, Asian Energy will completely withdraw from India and will never participate in any Indian investments again. No matter how eloquently these guys talk, we will not participate in any of their investments. We cannot have any illusions about dealing with such dishonest people! Everyone says that the Russians are dishonest, but the Indians are even less honest than the Russians. At least our cooperation with the Russians has never had any problems!"

John was also somewhat annoyed by the current situation. Although he had expected it, it all happened a little too fast. These guys didn't even want to wait a moment, which showed how greedy and crazy they were.

The news quickly sent shockwaves through the global energy sector: Asian Energy was selling its stake in the Mangala oil field to raise funds. While the news was somewhat unexpected, no one doubted Asian Energy's decision. They all understood that the series of major discoveries had significantly impacted Asian Energy's cash flow, making the sale of the Mangala oil field a logical step, as it was also the right choice to protect other investments.

When news broke that Asia Energy was selling its stake in the Mangala oil field, the energy giants were naturally very interested. But for the Indians, it was a bombshell. They had originally planned to buy back everything in the Mangala oil field from Asia Energy at the lowest possible price, but now it seemed their plan was not going to work. Without paying a sufficient price, they had no way to get the asset from Asia Energy, which made them all curse Asia Energy!
Cursing is useless. Now that this news has come out, everything is out of their hands. And at this point, the Indians dare not cause trouble, otherwise their reputation will be ruined, and no one will dare to invest in their country again. So even if they are furious, they must endure it and remain calm. After all, if they cause trouble now, the consequences will be even more serious, possibly causing investors to flee and never dare to invest in India again! Under these circumstances, even if it hurts deeply, they must persevere and endure. The Indians are suffering greatly and are very unwilling to accept this!
(End of this chapter)