Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 244: Only Two Countries_1

Chapter 244: Chapter 244: Only Two Countries_1

Wang Ye patiently explained:

"When making investments, it’s, of course, impossible to limit oneself to a single country, especially when it comes to the internet, which is a global industry.

Although we have some Internet enterprises in our own nation too, they are limited by the insufficient number of people who speak Russian, so we can’t expect the Russian internet to develop too impressively.

In my judgement, the countries with the most promising future in the internet industry are those where English is spoken, followed by those where Chinese is spoken!

Because these are the two languages spoken by the most people!"

There was a moment of hesitation before he asked, "The United States and China?"

Wang Ye nodded, "Yes, those two countries."

"Why do you hold these two nations in such high esteem? Oh, the United States goes without saying; everyone is confident about it. But China? The state of China right now doesn’t seem to be all that great," Gavriil questioned.

Regardless, even without the former Soviet breakdown, the United States would unquestionably still be the world’s number one superpower!

They are leading the world in all respects!

The internet was invented there and gradually began to spread.

So, it’s completely normal for Wang Ye to bank on the United States, considering that, as of now, nearly all internet enterprises are concentrated there, especially in Silicon Valley!

But why would he have faith in China?

Could it be just because he is Chinese...

It’s understandable if Gavriil underestimated China a bit. After all, China had just begun its Reform and Opening Up and the economy had not yet started to truly take off!

At that time, ’Made in China’ was synonymous with ’counterfeit and shoddy’...

Many people, including foreigners, had the impression that having something made in China meant it was ’cheap and of poor quality’; basically, it indicated that it couldn’t be any good.

When they spoke of China, it was synonymous with ’poor and backward’!

Even though Russia itself was economically poor, thanks to the rich legacy left by the former Soviet Union and the money made from selling energy, Russia still scorned China, with its average income being much stronger...

Yet for a country like China, which was regarded as ’poor and backward’, Wang Ye boldly stated his optimism for the development of its internet industry.

It was only elites like Gavriil, who somewhat understood China.

If you were to ask any ordinary Russian, they’d probably want to ask if they even have computers in China now...

Oh, or rather, has China been electrified yet...

......

In response to Gavriil’s question, Wang Ye could only give a helpless expression.

However, he could understand; apart from him, (a man who had ’returned’ from twenty years in the future), presumably no one in the entire world in the year 2001, could have imagined that China would be so powerful a decade or two later!

So powerful that it would effectually threaten the United States’ hegemonic status, throwing the country into a state of panic...

Nevertheless, these were things he couldn’t just say openly; even if he did, no one would believe him anyway.

Wang Ye started his explanation by saying, "China’s economy has already begun to take off, especially as they host a vast number of young laborers. What’s more frightening is that these laborers are educated and possess basic cultural knowledge. China has already begun to be referred to as the ’world’s factory’. As it continues to develop, it will undoubtedly become an industrial powerhouse."

This explanation seemed quite plausible.

However, Gavriil queried a bit skeptically, "What about India? They also have quite a large population and their common language is English. That gives them even more of an advantage when it comes to integrating into the Western world, doesn’t it?"

Hearing him mention India, Wang Ye scoffed dismissively, saying, "They should first solve their food and clothing problem. Discuss development? They’re still far from it."

He earnestly said to Wang Ye:

"Your thoughts are quite good, if the future really is as you said, then there is indeed a need to capture the first opportunities.

Investing in the internet companies of the United States and China poses no problem, but I hope you will also pay some attention to our domestic internet companies.

To my knowledge, these types of companies are unprofitable in their early stages, all relying on venture capital funds.

With the country’s present economic difficulties, those real oligarchs who are truly rich are not willing to throw their money into the bottomless pit that is the internet industry.

Thus, I hope that you could leave some ’sparks of fire’ for our nation’s internet industry."

The meaning behind his words was quite clear: that is, he hoped Wang Ye wouldn’t spend all his money on foreign countries; at the very least, leave a bit for his homeland.

Perhaps Russian internet companies genuinely lack an advantage in the English speaking Internet world, but at the bare minimum, don’t just give up the ’territory’ of the Russian Internet...

Wang Ye readily nodded, "I understand, currently, I have 2 billion US dollars of funds at hand that can be used for venture capital. Of this money, I will at least leave three to five hundred million dollars domestically, to support the growth of a few potential companies."

Actually, there is a great number of Internet talents here in Russia; additionally, there are quite a few experts in the field of mathematics and physics with numerous top-notch programmers.

Many people may not know that Saint-Petersburg State University in Russia consistently tops the ranks at the most authoritative international university student programming competitions, outperforming globally renowned universities like Stanford and California institute of technology and achieving numerous team championships!

The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology is even known as ’Russia’s MIT’.

Education wise, Russia really isn’t inferior to the developed countries in Europe and the United States.

The Former Soviet Union left an extraordinary legacy in the field of education; during the Cold War, they raised education to the strategic level of national security, investing vast resources in the establishment of a highly efficient talent-nurture system.

Culturally acclaimed scientists, physicists and mathematicians are universally honored in the same way that rock stars are in the Western World, with the government investing hefty funds into school STEM subjects. Even China learnt this education system from the Soviet Union in the fifties.

The grueling Olympic math competition that torments countless Chinese students was initiated by the Soviet Union in 1934...

When it comes to the proportion of its citizens who possess tertiary education, Russia leads the world too, consistently ranking number one!

It’s a shame that due to the ’sequelae’ of the Soviet Union’s disintegration and the economic malaise during the period of social instability, Russia missed out on the golden age of the Internet’s development.

This resulted in the exodus of most talents, and no big Internet companies managed to emerge from the country.

Ultimately, during that period, Russia lacked sufficient funds and the right environment!