Chapter 9 Qatar

After dinner on the ninth, Su Yehao, who had received an invitation, accompanied his father on a flight to Qatar in the Middle East overnight.

This country isn't large, but it's rich beyond imagination.

Not an exaggeration.

Qatar is truly overflowing with oil.

Its natural resources are relatively limited, consisting of only oil and natural gas. It holds 20% of the world's proven natural gas reserves, but with a population of only two million, the abundance of resources is spread across a small population, making life incredibly comfortable.

As early as 1984, Qatar's per capita GDP exceeded $20,000, while South Korea, which now boasts of its progress, only had $1,500 at the time.

Su Yehao remembered a joke he saw online.

Someone said they insisted on working three hours a day, sometimes even working overtime until 2 p.m. Qatar is like that country, working overtime until 2 p.m.

There's no way around it. The Middle East, floating on oil, is in the sweet spot of the modern energy industry. They simply dig up oil and become rich, with resources so abundant that one can't help but be impressed.

When the plane landed in Qatar, a local official greeted them and took the father and son to the Sheraton Doha Hotel.

At noon on the tenth, local time, a representative from the mainland, wearing a suit, specifically came to greet Su Yehao and his father.

Su's father, speaking in somewhat broken Mandarin, shook hands with the man and said with a smile, "Congratulations! We've been waiting a long time for this day!"

Nearby, Su Yehao almost started singing along; the familiar melody echoed in his mind.

He also shook hands with the man, saying with a smile, "Yes, congratulations on joining the World Trade Organization. Reform and opening up have turned a new page. You must have put in a lot of effort."

The middle-aged man waved his hand, sighing, "Don't mention it. It gives me a headache. We had bilateral negotiations with more than thirty member countries, twenty-odd rounds with the United States, and a dozen rounds with Europe, spending years on it. Fortunately, we've achieved a good result. Tonight, entrepreneurs from various countries will hold an exchange meeting, and I hope Mr. Su and young Mr. Su can help us secure some orders."

Waving his hand, Su's father replied casually, "No problem. My son and I have always been optimistic about the economic development of the mainland. Now that it's about to join the WTO, opportunities are everywhere. I think those representatives came here with investment plans anyway. Let my son handle it; he has more influence than I do now..."

The Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization is being held in Qatar today.

Tonight, the instrument of ratification for joining the World Trade Organization will be formally submitted. Since it has already been approved according to the consensus plan, it's just a formality.

According to regulations, one month after submitting the instrument of ratification, the mainland will formally become a member of the World Trade Organization.

Su Yehao and his father, as commercial delegates, received invitations and came to Qatar to attend tonight's business party. As for the formal activities, they could probably attend if they wanted to, but he wasn't too interested.

After a brief greeting, the father and son went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Su's father, dozing off, said, "I knew I should have slept longer. Hong Kong is five hours ahead of here? I don't feel well today. The hotel bed is too soft for my age, and my English isn't good. I'll find an excuse to slip away tonight. You're responsible for covering for me."

Glancing at his father, Su Yehao asked speechlessly, "Then you could have just found an excuse not to come. Isn't it a waste to come if you're not going to participate in the activities?"

"How can it be a waste? I've never been to the Middle East before. I plan to take the opportunity to travel and have fun for a few days. People specifically called to invite me, so I couldn't refuse. Anyway, they only care about you, the world's sixth-richest man. I hardly know anyone."

His tone was a little sour.

Although he hoped his son would succeed, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward that his son had easily surpassed the results of his hard work over the past twenty or thirty years.

Su Yehao only replied, "Okay, the chain shopping center and the Si Hai Casino Hotel must have kept you busy. It's good to travel and relax. Remember to find a guide. Their customs are different from ours. Be careful not to break any taboos. There are Aman resorts under Qingying's name near the Egyptian pyramids and Dubai's Jumeirah Beach."

"I know, I've traveled all over the place. Do I need you to remind me? I want to drive an off-road vehicle this time and take a trip in the desert. I'll skip the pyramids. The feng shui isn't good there."

"..."

Su Yehao was speechless, unable to keep up with his father's train of thought.

He ordered a plate of spiced rice in the restaurant. The menu said it was based on Arabian chicken rice, with the addition of lamb and beef for a richer flavor.

He originally thought it was delicious, but when the waiter brought his father's large steak, Su Yehao suddenly felt that his rice wasn't as fragrant as before.

Two huge bone-in steaks looked very appetizing.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva to calm himself, Su Yehao then said, "Why don't you come with me to Saudi Arabia tomorrow? There's also a large desert there. We can go back to Casino together afterward. I have business in Saudi Arabia. I'm preparing to open an asset management company in partnership with Kingdom Holding Company, which is quite powerful there."

Chewing on his steak, Su's father asked curiously, "Another new company? By the way, how's your 5S Asset Management Company in the mainland doing lately? It crashed a few months ago, dragging Meidi Group down with it. Don't screw over my friends. Those uncles and aunts put their money in your hands because of me."

Su Yehao's mouth twitched.

Rolling his eyes at his father, Su Yehao said while eating, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. After the suspension of state-owned shares, the stock price soared. There are also rumors of a stamp duty cut. The index has risen 7% in the past half month. The companies I invested in have performed well, so I haven't lost investors' money. I'm talking about the investors who stayed. I can't do anything about the ones who couldn't hold on and ran away early."

The performance of 5S Asset Management Company this year has indeed not been good.

It's not just them; other companies have performed even worse. The entire market has fallen, and funds are restricted to the mainland, unable to short or hedge. Even if Su Yehao had the ability to reach the heavens, what could he do?

The funds managed by 5S Asset Management Company decreased by 9 billion RMB in this stock market crash. Fortunately, he had the foresight to cash out early. Otherwise, Su Yehao would have had to take money out of his own pocket and put it into the company as working capital.

The newly launched QDII fund has made a profit of five or six points in the Hong Kong stock market, but its total size is only a little over 500 million RMB, which can't make any waves at all.

Not much money was earned, and even Su Yehao's investment acumen began to be questioned.

Su Yehao didn't care. There were bound to be some twists and turns when trying to make money with investors' money. Fortunately, the worst was basically over. As long as the invested companies performed well enough, he believed they would soon be able to turn losses into profits.

Excellent companies are still excellent; the only difference is that they have become cheaper and need time to grow and develop...