Reborn in Russia as a Big Shot

Chapter 99 The Oil Business

On January 1, 2008, Moneybookers and Deutsche Bank (Russia) officially signed an agreement to establish a joint venture payment company, Skrill.

Skri Mountain I has launched as a new, independent brand in Russia.

Moneybookers, known as a "gambling wallet" in Europe, has launched a new brand, SkrilI, to shed this stereotype and expand into e-commerce, retail payments, and other fields.

Skril is a slang term for money in English.

This wasn't a sudden whim of Li Xiang's; in his previous life, MB had also changed its name and reshaped its brand image to become the famous Skrill.

Deutsche Bank does not accept individual customers in Russia; a minimum deposit requirement must be met to open an account.

After SkrilI went live, users could get a Deutsche Bank (Germany) quasi-bank account by simply registering online and spending a few minutes.

SkriII is headquartered in London and regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). Funds received in Russia are held in escrow in Deutsche Bank accounts and monitored by Deutsche Bank.

This all-European background gives it a clear advantage over local wallets like Yande.Money in terms of brand image.

The British betting industry has long embraced the internet and gone online; with SkrilI, you can place bets directly in the UK without leaving home.

It includes not only sports events such as football, horse racing, rugby, and snooker, but also political betting, film and television awards, celebrity events, and even betting on whether it will rain tomorrow.

MB grew by partnering with British betting companies, which is also the most important foundation of SKRI.

Russia's gambling reforms meant that all casinos would have to close down in July 2009. While it might be okay to gamble in border regions during holidays, what would happen on other days?

The wide variety of betting options in the UK has filled a gap in the market to some extent, and Skri is riding the wave of policy benefits.

The cooperation between Vietnam and the Foreign Trade Bank has just begun and further progress is needed.

Foreign banks (in Vietnam) are state-owned enterprises, and they operate in a step-by-step manner with multiple layers of approval. If a matter is not finalized by the end of the day, the outcome remains uncertain.

Ho Chi Minh City.

Shopee Vietnam Branch.

Ruan Mingda, wearing a floral shirt and a large gold chain he bought on the roadside for a few dozen yuan, walked into the office looking radiant.

"Mr. Da, your work hours are getting later and later every day. You used to come at noon, but now it's almost closing time."

"You should have come two hours later, right at the end of the workday."

"Then we might as well come back tomorrow."

"You really think Mr. Da comes to work? He's here to get reimbursed."

"You guys only dare to act like this with me." Ruan Mingda had a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air about him, was unpretentious, and quite popular within the company. "Don't leave after get off work."

"Working overtime?" came a complaint.

Ruan Mingda said with a beaming smile, "I quit my job and started my own business. I'm treating everyone tonight. Bring your families if you have any. Don't be shy, treat me to a good meal."

The company's colleagues were confused, but cheers still broke out.

Chen Qiucao noticed what was happening outside and waved to Ruan Mingda through the glass window. Ruan Mingda was also going to look for her anyway.

Upon entering the deputy manager's office, Ruan Mingda casually crossed his legs and sat down on the sofa.

Chen Qiucao pulled up the blinds. "What's going on here?"

Ruan Mingda clapped his hands excitedly and shared with Chen Qiucao, "Mr. Li set up something in the US—an anime website, broadcasting Japanese cartoons there."

"My brother wants me to quit my job and open a toy factory to make high-quality replicas of Japanese anime merchandise and supply Shopee. My buddy is going to be his own boss."

"6

"Where did you get the capital?" Chen Qiucao asked in confusion.

"Sign the contract first, then open the factory. With Mr. Li's long-term purchase orders, I can ask my brother for a loan." Smoking was prohibited in Chen Qiucao's room, but Ruan Mingda lit a cigarette without hesitation and continued, "All that work I did before wasn't for nothing, was it?"

"Although things weren't handled quite to Mr. Li's liking, he can see my filial piety."

"You're shameless, even going so far as to claim someone as your father and call yourself a filial son." Chen Qiucao was speechless.

Ruan Mingda said, shaking his leg, "Can you do me a favor? Tell HR to fire Xiaomei."

"You men are so unreliable! You've only been pursuing her for a few days, and before you've even made any money, you're already turning your back on her?"

Ruan Mingda explained, "If I take her away, I can get some severance pay by unilaterally firing her, like three months' salary. I'm too embarrassed to accept it given our relationship, but she doesn't care."

Foreign companies already offer salaries that exceed those of Chinese citizens, and Chen Qiucao, being in management, earns more than Ruan Junying. But people always strive for better opportunities, and it's inevitable that one will always be looking for something better.

Nguyen Minh Tat noticed Chen Qiucao's envy as well. He tossed his half-smoked cigarette into his water glass and continued, "You always say you want to buy a house and settle down in Ho Chi Minh City. With your meager salary, can you keep up with rising housing prices?"

"Use your brain more. The invoices I collect every month earn me more money from reimbursement than my salary. Take them when you should, don't be shy."

""

"You're a relative, so as long as you don't go too far, no one will dare to interfere. But once that relationship is gone, no matter how well you follow the rules, you'll still have to cut ties, and they'll still fire you."

Although Chen Qiucao did not agree with Ruan Mingda's approach, she did admit one thing: everything she had at the moment was a castle in the air, and it was very likely that a gust of wind would blow it all away.

Peter had been eagerly awaiting Li Xiang's return, and finally he did.

"Where did you hide Elena?"

"What?" Li Xiang feigned ignorance.

"You definitely know where she is. Without your help, do you think she could get the money out of there?" Peter kindly reminded her. "The old man is too busy to care right now, but you'll be in for a world of trouble after his surgery. This isn't over yet. I'm ashamed to even go out like this, let alone him."

"It's also his own fault. He was blinded by lust and insisted on handing over financial power to outsiders. If he had given it to Dalia, none of this would have happened."

Li Xiang said, "I'm an outsider too."

"You know that's not what I meant," Peter said mysteriously, changing the subject. "I recently found a very lucrative business: exporting oil for Sidanko."

Sidanko is Russia's fifth-largest oil company.

During Yeltsin's era, Soviet state-owned assets were auctioned off, and Khosn acquired 78% of Yukos's shares for $300 million.

During the same period, Potanin not only acquired Norilsk Nickel, but also bought a 51% stake in Sidanko for a bargain price of $100 million.

In just two years, Sidanko's market value exceeded five billion US dollars.

However, during the 98 Asian financial crisis, the global economy suffered a severe blow, and Potanin's assets once fell into negative territory. In order to survive, he had to sell Sidanko to raise cash.

The one who stepped in to take over was Potanen's old friend Friedman.

"Do we need you for normal exports? Smuggling, you know?" Li Xiang didn't know much about Russian oil.

Peter said smugly, "Smuggling is stealth, but what I'm doing is aboveboard, it's called transshipment."

"I can't quite explain it, but it's like this—Russian oil taxation is gradual; the more you earn, the higher the tax rate you pay."

"Therefore, a middleman needs to be set up."

"First, they transfer oil from one hand to the other, exporting it at a low price to overseas middlemen, and then having the middlemen resell it at a higher price."

"This way, a portion of the profits can be diverted overseas, and Russia can pay significantly less tax. All energy companies do this, so it's fine."

"Friedman introduced me to this business. He takes the lion's share of the profit, but the rest is enough for the two of us to split."

"Isn't that great? You're the first person I think of when something good happens."

Russian oligarchs make money in such a crude way, which not only involves tax evasion but also harms the interests of minority shareholders in the long term.

Friedman's profits from oil price differences obtained through "grey re-exports" are unlikely to be shared with Sidanko's minority shareholders.

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