Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 641: What’s Meant to Come Will Come_1

Chapter 641: Chapter 641: What’s Meant to Come Will Come_1

The meeting had progressed to this point and, according to the agenda, it should have ended already.

Before adjourning the meeting, Wang Ye casually asked, "Does anyone have anything else to say? If not, this will conclude the meeting..."

Before his remarks could fade away, a committee member raised his hand. "Chairman, I have something to discuss."

Wang Ye nodded in acknowledgement, not paying much attention.

He wasn’t very familiar with that committee member, knowing only that this was Alexander, a member from the second faction, another commonplace name.

Alexander seemed to be in his forties, tall and burly, with brown hair, a vibrant face, and a predisposition to smiling before even speaking, making him appear quite amiable.

He apologized beforehand, "I’m sorry, normally I should inform the chairman about this matter and then bring it up in the meeting. But it happened so suddenly, I only knew about it just before the meeting, hence I had to raise it as an urgent issue."

"It’s fine, Member Alexander, please proceed," Wang Ye dismissed his concerns nonchalantly.

"Well, as the main liaison to the Ministry of Energy, I received a draft bill just before this meeting. The bill outlines new regulations for standardizing the energy industry exports. It plans to revoke certain private enterprises’ energy export rights and turn them into state-owned so as to enable the Ministry of Energy to centralize the management of energy exports..."

Alexander recounted cheerfully.

Wang Ye, as well as all other people inside the meeting room, straightened up in their seats.

This was it!

From the surface, it didn’t seem a big deal, but they all understood whom this proposal was targeting.

Without doubt, it was aimed at Yukos Group!

And Yukos Group was owned by Khodorkovsky.

Mikhail was Khodorkovsky’s nephew...

In essence, this was still being directed against Mikhail!

This was far more severe than Ajiv jumping out to instigate a quarrel.

Ajiv was simply trying to gain an upper hand just verbally, showing a lack of respect.

However, this proposal was sabotaging Yukos Group’s livelihood, and obstructing the financial supply of Mikhail and Khodorkovsky!

...

Wang Ye was well-prepared, but with the calm passing of time, he thought the opponents were just brewing their plans, or perhaps they had gotten wind of something and he assumed the matter would have quietly passed.

Unexpectedly, it still came to the Duma.

Only that, it was Member Alexander who raised this issue, which came as a surprise to Wang Ye.

Because Alexander belonged to the second faction.

Wasn’t this issue instigated by some people from the first faction? How did it involve a person from the second faction?

It seemed the matter was more complicated than he had imagined.

After Alexander finished speaking, he took out a folder, naturally the one dispatched from the Ministry of Energy, and handed it over to Wang Ye.

Wang Ye didn’t have to look to know what it contained.

His right hand pressed onto the file, gently tapped twice and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke up:

"So it seems...

Has the Ministry of Energy confirmed this?

Our country has been encouraging the development of private economy these years, and there are quite a few large companies in the energy industry that perform remarkably well, contributing a high amount of tax revenue to our nation.

Now with this proposed change in the industry scenario, wouldn’t it be better to convene representatives from enterprises within the industry and discuss it before making a decision?

If we make new rules and regulations on a whim, causing earth-shattering changes in the whole industry, and if those changes are detrimental, it certainly goes against the intentions of our Economic Committee.

You should know, the energy industry is the economic lifeline of our country, we can’t afford to be careless..."

So he started to play dodge ball, avoiding the issue with words. Who couldn’t do that?

And again, Wang Ye had not outright denied the new regime put forward by the Ministry of Energy, but only advised to be more cautious and more objective and democratic.

Summoning those large companies in the energy industry to discuss whether the new system is feasible and whether it is more beneficial to the development of the industry.

Doing so, no one could find any flaw with that.

But, it would take a considerable amount of time...

And with that time, the stock reorganization of Yukos Group should be completed, and then the situation would change dramatically once more!

That’s the authority he held as the chairman of the Economic Committee.

Could it be that Alexander was going to force Wang Ye to approve the Ministry of Energy’s request right away?...

...

As expected, Wang Ye’s statement made Alexander’s smile freeze on his face.

Beforehand, he might have considered how Wang Ye would respond.

The most likely response would be opposition, after all, Yukos Group was the main source of wealth for Uncle Khodorkovsky and nephew Mikhail, so he couldn’t possibly let go of this company.

But as long as Mikhail firmly opposed, Alexander could come up with things to say, even more committee members would jump out after that.

Even the situation might arise, with Mikhail, the director of the Economic Committee, facing the "siege" of several committee members!

No matter the outcome, Mikhail, the chairman, would lose face...

Of course, there was also a possibility. To maintain his authority as Chairman of the Economic Committee, Mikhail might have to reluctantly agree to this proposal.

That would make things much easier!

But he never thought that Mikhail would handle it this way, playing his cards close to the chest, neither expressing approval nor opposition, and resorting to delay tactics.

Alexander could not find fault with this either. Because Mikhail was not wrong, it was of utmost importance in the energy industry to widely solicit "public opinion" when implementing a new system that could change its structure.

Shouldn’t it be treated with caution?

Shouldn’t representative companies in the energy industry be allowed to participate in discussions?

This is the attitude of truly getting things done!

Outsiders who hear this will only give a thumbs up, praising Chairman Mikhail for being rigorous in his work!

After hesitating for a long time, Alexander finally came up with an emergent solution, "Let me handle this matter. I have been responsible for the energy industry for a long time, and I am familiar with both the Ministry of Energy and major energy companies. I will arrange a meeting, and we can all sit down and discuss this new system.

Oh, I remember Member Mikhail, you have a close relationship with Yukos Group, so maybe you need to recuse yourself from this matter..."

Since Mikhail wanted to delay, he couldn’t let himself be controlled by him, but seize the initiative!

Tomorrow...

No, as soon as the meeting finishes today, I will issue a notice in the name of the Economic Committee, summoning the Ministry of Energy and all major energy companies, and hold a meeting tomorrow!

And we can’t let Chairman Mikhail join in.

There was sufficient reason for this, after all, Chairman Mikhail’s relationship with Yukos Group was widely known.

It’s all about avoiding conflicts of interest!