Chapter 7 The Bankers
After receiving Gorbachev's authorization and assistance, Sergey took a secret mission to fly to London on a Soviet civil aviation flight to participate in the ongoing negotiations on the Soviet-UK gas agreement. Vertex novels are updated the fastest, and before that, Karim had already set off from Zurich to London to assist Seryozha in this operation.
Karim's gallery business has been doing very well in the UK over the past few years, so she has met many celebrities in the high society, political and business circles. Seryozha did not have any connections in the UK, and he needed Karim to create connections for him that would allow him to talk to the cabinet. Seryozha knew very well that simply doing a good job in the coal export business would not make Gorbachev look at him differently. It would be to facilitate Gorbachev's visit to London and to persuade Britain to actually abandon the sanctions and embargo against the Soviet Union. ultimate purpose.
Although Seryozha had already made a promise to Gorbachev, and this matter is completely feasible in theory, Seryozha did not think about how to operate this matter. Although Seryozha came to the UK as a natural gas negotiator, he did not live in the same hotel as the entire negotiating team, because there must be Americans watching over there, which is not conducive to Seryozha's actions.
When he first arrived in London, Seryozha decided not to rush for a while. Anyway, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the conflict between the coal miners' union and Thatcher's cabinet is irreconcilable. Unless a miracle happens, a coal miners' strike across the country is inevitable. The longer the delay, the better for Seryozha. Xie Liaosha thinks that it is better to adopt the strategy of business first and government later, and is now attracting a group of enterprises that are seriously affected by the rising coal price as a breakthrough, such as the power industry and the steel industry.
In the next week, under the leadership of Karim, Seryozha began to participate in some business and social activities. These can only be regarded as temporary cramps. Seryozha could not reveal that he was a Soviet in these activities. Status, the Soviets have not been very popular in England since the Iron Curtain speeches. However, Seryozha has not entered the social circle of the British business circle after all, and Karim is a woman, so she can only talk about art and other topics with those ladies at parties, so the effect is not great, but Seryozha There are still gains, at least he has received more and more invitations. It was at a banquet held by the British Bankers Association that Seryozha met a guy who helped him a lot.
"Mr. Ulyanov, it's nice to see you again. When did you come to England?" A voice suddenly came from behind Seryozha, causing Seryozha to almost choke on his drink. He is here How could anyone call him by his name when he didn't know anyone? Thinking of this, Seryozha quickly turned around, and Karim, who was chatting enthusiastically with several British ladies, noticed the situation on Seryozha's side and hurried over.
"Hello! You..." Sergey turned around and saw a man about his own age enthusiastically standing behind him. When he saw Sergey turned around, he quickly raised his hand Serezha touched the wine glass lightly with him, and then wanted to ask the other party's identity with some embarrassment. This was simply too rude, but Seryozha really couldn't remember when he had seen each other.
"Hi! James, I really didn't expect to see you here. Didn't you go skiing in Switzerland?" Karim took the other person's hand first, then let go, and introduced to Seryozha: "This is Baron James, the member of the Rothschild family who helped us acquire the Canadian agricultural company in the United States!"
Fortunately, Karim came in time enough, and Seryosha was not so embarrassing about asking the other party's identity! He hurriedly held my opponent's hand to hide his embarrassment and said, "James, I haven't seen you for a while, you look really good!"
"You look good too! Mr. Ulyanov, are you coming to England for business or vacation?" James asked casually.
"I have both, but my business is mainly in the United States, and this is the first time I have come to England." Seryozha replied.
"Then you must come to our family's castle as a guest and give us a chance to entertain you! Of course, if you have any good business, don't forget to take care of our Rothschild Bank. We look forward to working with you again! Your this time Are you here to buy some company in the UK?" James said warmly.
"Actually, I want to pay attention to the British coal market. I have a large amount of raw coal, and I want to find some strong long-term customers here!" Serezha replied truthfully. The two gentlemen who were talking enthusiastically with the others on either side of him turned suddenly and joined the conversation between them.
"James, won't you introduce me to this gentleman?" said a potbellied old gentleman, turning around and holding out his hand to Seryozha.
"Mr. Ulyanov, this is Mr. Atkins of Barclays Bank!"
"Hello, I'm Belford from the Royal Bank of Scotland!" another old gentleman with thin hair introduced himself
"Nice to meet you!" Seryozha hurriedly shook hands with them to show their friendship.
"Let's continue the topic just now. I just heard that you have raw coal in your hand and want to sell it?" Belford asked in a low voice.
"Yes, I have a relatively large amount of coal, and I want to find a long-term buyer!" Seryosha emphasized.
"To tell you the truth, I'm also interested in the coal you have. A steel company we've granted credit to has been in a downturn. Now that the government has made such a move, it's almost impossible to read the financial statements!" Mr. Atkins said. Said sadly.
"We are the main bank of the British National Electricity Corporation. If you have sufficient supplies, we hope to sign a long-term supply contract. The price is easy to negotiate. I only have one request, and that is not to cut off the supply!" Belford also said Get it from a company that grants credit to your bank. Although the coal supply problem mainly affects industrial and power companies, as the banks behind these companies, if their credit recipients are in trouble, the blow to the banks will be huge, and loans may be difficult. take back.
"But to be honest, sir, this is the first time we have met. I don't know if you have enough raw coal to supply both of us. We own large enterprises. If the supply is cut off, the loss will be immeasurable. !” Atkins asked a little worriedly.
"Don't worry, I think James understands me. I'm looking forward to working with your bank-backed business. My collier will arrive in Manchester tomorrow, and there are several more ships on the way. If If the two gentlemen are interested, you can go to the port and have a look!" Seryozha said confidently.
"James, who is that guy?" After hearing the conversation here, a caring person pulled James aside and asked in a low voice.
"I don't know the specifics, but I think it should be a senior partner of Glencore!" James replied uncertainly. (To be continued..)