Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 1287 - 1043: Epoch-Making Product_2

Chapter 1287: Chapter 1043: Epoch-Making Product_2

As for his sales prediction, they were certainly not wild guesses but rather the actual historical sales figures of the Apple phone from Wang Ye’s previous life...

Contrary to what many imagined, Apple phones did not become a worldwide sensation with skyrocketing sales upon their initial release.

The first-generation iPhone was only sold in the North American region. Coupled with an incomplete supply chain and the fact that their in-house mobile operating system had not yet officially launched, the sales were not very high—only slightly over 1.3 million units.

It was nowhere near the levels of contemporary mobile giants like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and others!

But with the second generation, the iPhone 3G, which came equipped with Apple’s proprietary iOS 1 and started selling in more countries, sales began to surge, reaching over 11 million units for the year.

By the third generation, or the iPhone 3GS, sales had doubled from the previous year, exceeding 20 million.

The fourth generation, the iconic iPhone 4, was the first to feature Apple’s self-developed A-series processors, the first with a Retina display, the first to include FaceTime video calling, and the first to use dual strengthened glass for both front and back panels. It was the iPhone 4 during Boss Qiao’s era that opened the gates to the Chinese market!

Sales doubled once more, hitting the 40 million mark.

The fifth generation, Boss Qiao’s swan song, the iPhone 4S, saw sales of over 70 million.

The sixth generation, the first new device of the Cook era, the iPhone 5, sold 120 million units!

And beyond that, there were 150 million, 200 million...

The phone had become the core business of Apple, and due to the global success of the iPhone, the company’s market value soared year after year, becoming the first behemoth to reach a market value of one trillion US dollars, and the first to surpass two trillion, three trillion...

At its most glorious, Apple actually accounted for more than 100% of the worldwide mobile industry’s profit!

This might sound ridiculous and absurd, but that’s only because other mobile manufacturers were struggling so severely that many brands not only failed to profit but also incurred huge losses. As a result, the industry’s total profit was less than that of Apple alone...

...

When Boss Qiao heard that Wang Ye couldn’t come to the company headquarters, he was a bit disappointed but understood.

He responded with a chuckle, "Well then, this product is about to go into mass production soon. However, due to time constraints, we’re planning to sell it in the North American region only for now, and the product launch is tentatively scheduled for early November. If you happen to be free at that time, you could attend the launch. After all, that day will be a historically significant one for Apple."

If Wang Ye were to decline again, it might seem a bit inappropriate, considering Boss Qiao was extending a genuine invitation, hoping that he too could witness history.

So Wang Ye agreed with a laugh, deciding he could just fly directly to the launch event when the time came and then fly straight back after it was over...

...

Wang Ye’s trip to Kiev had resonated not insignificantly on a global scale.

Not to mention the neighboring countries, but members of the Economic Mutual Assistance Organization and Collective Security Organization, originally hoping to cling to Russia’s coattails, now saw the so-called integration agreement signed between Russia and Ukraine and became eager.

This prompted them to wonder whether they should also enter into a similar agreement with Russia.

Every matter has its pros and cons, and the integration agreement was no exception.

The upside was, of course, the opportunity to rely on Russia’s comparatively stronger national power and economy to aid in their own country’s faster development, allowing the integrated nations to exchange resources, trade freely like the countries of the European Union, and potentially even unify their currency in the future, banding together to form a strong entity!

This would mean that whenever they faced significant risks, they wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to withstand them with so many brother countries at their back.

The downside, however, lay in the fact that within this integrated organization, Russia was the "big brother," and as a "younger brother," many aspects, such as military and foreign affairs, would have to align with "big brother," consequentially reducing a great deal of autonomy...

Each country’s rulers had naturally different thoughts on whether or not to proceed with integration with Russia.

Some countries were not pondering deeply, eagerly wanting to join this integration, such as Belarus...

And some countries were not too interested in integrating with Russia, or to put it another way, they had too many concerns for the time being, and wanted to further discuss many details with the Kremlin and Wang Ye before deciding whether to join or not.

This stance was naturally represented by several Stan countries.

Speaking of Belarus, also commonly known as Three, one must mention Lukasenko!

He was a tough character, just over fifty, and had already served two terms as the president of Belarus, a true "giant" in the Minsk political scene!

This year, he had just triumphed in the General Election, commencing his third term as president. During the inauguration, his father-in-law had personally visited to celebrate with him.

Lukasenko was a staunch "pro-Russia" Faction member, with very close ties to Russia.

In fact, back in the 90s, he had already proposed to advance integration with Russia, but because the situation in Russia was quite chaotic at the time, the matter remained unsettled.

As a result, Ukraine got ahead by a step, being the first to sign a formal agreement to proceed with integration with Russia.

Lukasenko then grew impatient. He directly called the Kremlin, his words containing some complaints, implying that Wang Ye hadn’t visited them in years, questioning whether his disregard was due to Belarus being too small and weak...

Given his relationship with the Kremlin, it was not inappropriate for him to say these things, so his father-in-law just smiled and explained on behalf of Wang Ye that he would immediately visit Minsk after returning from Kiev to discuss integration matters with Lukasenko face-to-face.

The previous absence of visits to Minsk was because Wang Ye had not been responsible for foreign affairs work for very long, and had primarily been involved in the Economic aspect.

Truth be told, Wang Ye was aware that Three and Russia had the closest relations, yet he really hadn’t given Belarus a particularly important position.

Because it was truly too small and lacked any significant strategic importance, with an area of two hundred thousand square kilometers, a population of just eight million, and clinking poverty. From every aspect, it was a "burden."

The reason he was so active in Ukraine’s arrangements was that Ukraine had a large population, abundant resources, and a good industrial base, making it a significant boost once aligned!

So Wang Ye aided Yanukovych and Yulia’s Elections, invested heavily in Ukraine’s revival, and was now personally pushing for the integration process between the two countries.

All of these would yield substantial returns in the future!

But what could Belarus bring to Wang Ye?

After much consideration, aside from the well-known beauty of its women, Wang Ye could not think of anything else Belarus had left...

Upon returning from Kiev and reporting the visit to the Kremlin, his father-in-law mentioned Lukasenko’s complaints with a smile, asking Wang Ye when he planned to travel to Minsk to sign the integration agreement.

His father-in-law could not be more satisfied with Wang Ye’s efficiency.

Whatever the task, once it was in Wang Ye’s hands, it could be done quickly and well, sometimes even better than expected!

With such a capable assistant, his father-in-law truly felt more relaxed and had fewer worries.

He had shifted his main energy to integrating the internal Faction dynamics. The Hilarwick Group was a conglomerate with many people and issues. Although he was the soul of the Faction, he dared not claim to have full control over this large interest group.

Now, with Wang Ye taking on much of the work, he could focus "inwardly" and thoroughly "clean up" his own "backyard."