Chapter 756 Big Treasure
In 1923, the main oil exporting countries were Russia and the United States, and the rest, such as Venezuela, Persia, and Romania, were either controlled by British and American capital, or had not yet been officially developed.
As early as 1886, the first oil field was discovered in East India. However, due to the limited strength of the Dutch, the oil field was not developed on a large scale.
After the Russians came to East India, East India's oil developed greatly. Now there are not only refineries and pipelines, but also dedicated transportation terminals.
Alexander's enthronement ceremony will be held on January 13 next year. Although he has not yet officially become the king of the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, Alexander has already begun handling government affairs.
After the fall of the Russian Empire, a large number of Russian nobles came to East India. Last year, the population of East India officially exceeded 5 million.
This statistics does not include the local indigenous people of East India, as well as migrant workers from Korea and Japan.
During DeYoung's administration, East India's economy developed rapidly and it has now become the only industrial country in East Asia.
While in Constantinople, Alexander only knew that canned fruits and fish in East India were pretty good, but he didn’t know much about other aspects.
On the way to East India, Alexander crammed in some information about East India, and finally had a general understanding of East India.
The current economic situation of East India is mainly based on exports, and the most important export commodities are natural rubber, palm oil, tin ore, etc.
The main export destination of East India is Russia.
After the establishment of the Free Trade Organization in Constantinople, East India immediately joined in the name of the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, and its export products were further enriched, including various tropical specialty products such as fruits, aquatic products, coffee, Cocoa, etc., is very popular in FTA member countries.
The interruption of the Suez Canal has had a huge impact on East India's trade. In the past, goods from East India could reach Europe smoothly through the Suez Canal. Now they either go around Africa or are transited through Russia.
Alexander decided to make a fuss about the deep processing of products.
The money earned from exporting natural rubber is definitely not as much as the money earned from exporting tires.
If tin ore can be processed into tin ingots locally in East India, it will not only keep more profits in East India, but also increase jobs and increase the overall income of East Indians.
Other fast-moving goods such as cans and coffee can increase exponentially in price as long as they are labeled with "Yuryev".
Oil -
Although the oil production in East India is not high, mosquito legs are also meat, and Alexander does not dislike it.
Alexander also has a trump card in his hand, which is Australia's iron ore.
As long as you want to develop industry, you cannot do without iron ore.
Although there are iron ores in East India, the grade is not high, the mining is difficult, and the reserves are not high.
George was deeply impressed by Australia's iron ore. As long as Alexander could control Australia's iron ore, the East Indies would have the capital to compete.
Many tragedies in this world are caused by lack of money.
The same goes for countries.
Alexander is still very satisfied with the current situation in East India.
More satisfied with Deyang.
After the end of the World War, it took Dejan three full years to wipe out all the resistance forces in East India.
During this process, East India not only completed actual control over various places, but also built a navy with impressive combat capabilities.
And a Marine Corps with a powerful combat capability.
East India equipped amphibious tanks earlier than the Amur Military District.
“Although our navy does not have battleships, it does have 12 cruisers, 40 destroyers, and 20 submarines. In this sea area, we are the invincible armada of Asia.”
De Yang Confidence in East India's navy.
"If the Navy wants battleships, I can think of a way-"
Although Alexander was not interested in battleships, he would be satisfied if the navy proposed it.
It takes three steps for a new official to take office. The most important thing for Alexander now is not to concentrate power in his hands, but to stabilize his regime and establish his prestige.
The advantage of the Grand Duchy is that not only can you get promoted and make a fortune, but you can also be granted a title and honor your ancestors.
During the Russian Empire, Dejan was granted the title of Baron by virtue of his relationship with George.
For De Young's power, a mere baron was really unmatched, so the position Alexander prepared for De Young was the first Earl of New Guinea.
Earls also have fiefs. The title of Earl of New Guinea does not mean that the entire New Guinea will be given to Deyan, but only a part of New Guinea island, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers.
Ivanov, Antonov, Kanunnikov, Marko, Musayev and others were also named counts together with Deyan.
Kanunikov was awarded posthumously, and he died during the World War.
"Battleships are too expensive for us -"
De Young was calm and practical from the East Indies.
"——We should buy more transport aircraft and build more transport ships."
Deyan's positioning is very accurate. Compared with countries like Russia, the Grand Duchy of Yuriev is just an errand boy. The advantage of the free trade organization is that each member country can choose a part of its role according to its own national strength. Only Russia is qualified to be large and comprehensive.
If East India grows food, even if it has three crops a year, it cannot compete with those countries that have one crop a year.
For food, take rice as an example. The longer the growth cycle, the better the taste. It has a lot to do with the region. Even if Wuchang rice is brought to East India, it will not taste like Wuchang rice.
The staple food of Russians is potatoes and bread, while in East India, various tropical fruits and aquatic products are available. Although there is a market for rice, the demand is not high.
In this way, East India only needs to grow sugar cane to produce sucrose, and then use the sucrose to exchange for rice, giving full play to the advantages of each member country.
Of course, although the rice in East India does not taste good, it cannot be planted at all. Even if all the rice grown is exported, food security must be ensured.
“Why buy, we have to produce it ourselves.”
Under the influence of George, Alexander can be self-sufficient and never ask for help.
Not even Russia.
"Victor will not be happy -"
Dejan was happy, that's why he wanted Alexander to come to the East Indies and become king.
East India is dependent on Russia. Although it has not been discriminated against by Russia, it always feels like being dependent on others. When East India companies compete with Russian companies, they will inevitably lack the confidence.
With Alexander as king, East India companies can be on an equal footing when dealing with Russian companies.
Victor is also George's cousin and the general manager of Yuriev Airlines.
"If he has any objections, let him come to me."
Alexander gave Dejan his support. Only competition can lead to development.
Why was Russian oil export tepid during the Russian Empire?
One is because of monopoly operation and lack of motivation.
Another reason is that there is insufficient demand for oil in various countries' markets, and Russians are not very good at doing business. Shell, one of the Seven Sisters, started by selling and transporting Baku's oil.
Although Yuriev Airlines is unique in Russia, its technological leadership in the same industry has begun to decline compared with during the World War. It is time to stimulate companies like Amur.
After George got Amur, in order not to arouse the hostility of St. Petersburg, he chose emerging markets as much as possible and did not compete with his uncles and brothers for food.
After the end of the world war, Britain, France, the United States, and Italy all established airlines, and they all intensified their research on aviation technology. If Russia did not take action, the first-mover advantage it had finally obtained would be lost. It won't take long to fall behind across the board.
The situation in East India is very different from that of Russia. Russia is a land-based country and can effectively connect the country with its railways.
East India is a country of ten thousand islands. Although it has the third largest island in the world, the most effective means of transportation are airplanes and merchant ships.
The day after Alexander arrived in East India, a storm hit Borneo and Semporna suffered heavy losses.
"If there is anything bad here, it is that there are too many geological disasters."
Deyang is used to it and immediately orders disaster relief.
“What kind of wind energy is so serious?”
For the first time, Alexander knew that a house could be blown away by the wind.
East India is not only vulnerable to tropical storms, but also prone to earthquakes due to its location at the junction of tectonic plates and active geological activities.
There are more than 400 volcanoes in East India. Due to abundant rainfall, local disasters such as floods and mudslides are also prone to occur.
Alexander finally understood why East India was so rich in products, the climate was so pleasant, and the scenery was so beautiful, but it could not retain the Russians.
“Since wooden houses are easy to be blown away, we try to build houses with reinforced concrete.”
Alexander does not believe in evil, and infrastructure construction is the magic weapon for economic development.
Russia’s post-war reconstruction started with infrastructure construction.
Compared with Russia, the conditions in East India are better.
When Russia is rebuilding, foreign workers must be hired from Korea and Germany to solve Russia's human resource losses caused by the world war.
Although the total population of East India is only 5 million, it is located in a region with the richest human resources in the world, and the labor cost is ridiculously low.
Compared with the period of Dutch rule, the infrastructure construction in East India has been greatly improved. More than 80% of the households in Coconut City have access to electricity. There are 42 cities with more than 20,000 people in East India.
Basically all of these cities are ports.
"The population is still too small. If we can have 50 million people, we will become the overlord of this sea area."
De Yang is a little regretful, this matter cannot be rushed.
Compared with the quantity of population, Alexander cares more about quality.
Lack of quantity can be made up for by quality. The efficiency of an engineering machine can exceed 100 workers. The improvement of automation level will greatly reduce the dependence of industrial production on workers.
Of course, no matter when the population grows, the more the better.
(End of this chapter)