Chapter 292: Desolate Stock Market
For ordinary people, an economic crisis is a disaster, but for capitalist tycoons, its an opportunity. Franz is now one of those tycoons, reaping the rewards of the capital market.
As the Emperor, he still paid attention to appearances, neither cheating people nor inflicting undue hardship upon them.
Money is never enough, but theres no need to sacrifice your reputation for profit. Acquiring companies will certainly invite hostility, but when it comes to investing in stocks, its a different story.
Nowadays, everyone is short of money, so how could they refuse investments? The concept of investment companies was pioneered by Franz.
Human energy is limited, even with a mature management team, unlimited expansion is not possible.
In such a situation, abandoning non-core industries becomes inevitable. After all, its all about making money. As long as theres proper oversight to safeguard interests, theres no need for controlling stakes.
Looking at the thick stack of acquisition proposals in his hand, Franz was filled with complex emotions. Every page contained goals commoners had fought for a lifetime to achieve but now does not arouse his interest.
After listening to the supervisors report, Franz calmly said: Lets stop investing in the textile industry. The British advantage in this field is too great, their position cannot be shaken for at least 20 years, no need to engage in vicious competition with them.
In the future, we will focus on metallurgy, shipbuilding, mining, machinery manufacturing, and other areas to increase our economic influence.
The shares of the canal company are about to be issued. Send people to secretly acquire them, both domestically and internationally. Well buy as much as we can as long as the price increase is less than double.
Making money is only one aspect of the imperial enterprise; its also crucial to increase its influence on the domestic economy, which is a form of preparing for the future.
Franz had even unconsciously gathered some nobles to form business consortiums, and there was more than one consortium.
Of course, on the surface, these consortiums have no connection to each other or to the public. They appear as ordinary commercial consortiums, even competing with each other.
Everyone was very professional at using fronts. There are many other ways to shine, so theres no need to stand out in this regard.
Jung was a retainer of the House of Habsburg, and his service to the royal family could be traced back seven generations. With strong personal abilities and loyalty that gave Franz peace of mind, he became one of the main supervisors of the imperial enterprise.
Jung cautioned, Your Majesty, investing in the canal company involves considerable risk. It is too early to get involved now, it would be wiser to wait a few years.
Once capital reaches a certain level, the importance of seizing opportunities begins to diminish. Even if you enter the market a step late, you can still pave the way with substantial financial resources.
The investment in the Suez Canal was massive, and whether it could be completed smoothly was a question in itself. Then there were the uncertain political factors.
The Egyptian government originally held a 15% stake. With Austrias involvement, however, its ownership rights were effectively converted into dividend rights. While the Suez Canal is nominally going to be jointly managed by France, Austria, and Egypt, in reality, the Egyptians have already been sidelined.
It should be noted that the British opposed the digging of the Suez Canal. Who can guarantee that the Egyptian government, with John Bulls possible interference, wont sabotage the project for its own interests?
Without the cooperation of the local authorities, where would they find so many free laborers to build the canal? Even if they were to resort to capturing slaves in Africa, it would still incur costs.
Obviously, like most people, Jung is unaware of the determination of the French and Austrian governments to dig the Suez Canal, or he wouldnt have these concerns.
As long as France and Austria remain resolute, the Egyptian government wouldnt dare make trouble. If relations soured, the British would not be able to protect them.
John Bull is not a reliable ally; its impossible for him to directly betray his allies, but hes very likely to stab them in the back.
Franz explained: Theres no need to worry about the project; the Suez Canal is crucial to the future strategic interests of both France and Austria, and we will not abandon it.
Once the canal is open, our route to the Indian Ocean will be much shorter and we will no longer be dependent on the Strait of Gibraltar.
There is even less need to worry about profitability. Maritime trade is growing very rapidly currently. In the future, this golden waterway will be the most lucrative canal in the world.
Seeing that Franz had made up his mind, Jung didnt argue any further. Investing in the Suez Canal may seem like a big deal, but when you break it down, its not that significant.
For the royal family, its only a matter of a few million guilders, and even if something unexpected happens, they can handle it. Its also unlikely that they can buy a ton of shares as there are smart investors besides Franz.
Moreover, for some shipping giants, even if the Suez Canal doesnt make money, they still have to participate because it affects their future development.
The Vienna Stock Exchange, once bustling with activity, became deserted after the onset of the economic crisis.
For half a year, no new stocks were listed here, and the stockbrokers were dispirited; without trades, where would the commissions come from?
The exchange manager, Mark, shouted angrily, You lazy bunch, gather around me!
Jrgen, you fool, did you not hear me? Dont you dare fall asleep!
As he spoke, he gave them a push.
If you dont want to be unemployed, all of you better snap out of it.
As soon as he heard the word unemployed, the drowsy Jrgen woke up. In times of economic crisis like these, losing your job meant hard times ahead.
Seeing everyone regain their focus, Mark said sternly, Listen up, three days from now, the shares of the Suez Canal will be listed on the stock exchange. Now, get ready. If anyone messes up, Ill skin them alive.
Days without trading were hard. Not only were there no new listings, but even the existing stocks were mostly in a slump, falling into the category of having value but unsellable.
The upcoming listing of new stocks signaled the end of the cold spell, and the exchange couldnt afford to take it lightly.
Austria didnt just have one stock exchange; Vienna alone had four. Throughout the New Holy Roman Empire, there were dozens of exchanges, large and small, all competing against one another.
Jrgen asked with confusion, Boss, isnt the Suez Canal a government project? Why would they raise funds on the stock market?
Mark glared at him and said: That is not something you need to worry about. What you need to do now is inform the major clients of this news and then try to persuade them to buy the shares.
After realizing he was in for a bad time, Jrgen wisely decided to keep quiet. As a top-tier stock trader, he enjoyed many privileges, such as sleeping on the job or coming in late, but challenging the authority of his superiors was definitely not one of them.
In an era before phones and cars, communication relied on walking and shouting. Notifying all major clients within three days was no easy task.
During a bullish market, they wouldnt even need to personally inform clients; just publishing the news in the newspapers would attract customers in droves.
But things were different now. With the market in turmoil and countless stocks down, everyone was worried about making ends meet. Who had time to think about new stock listings?
This meant that Suez Canals shares were likely to struggle to fetch a good price in the market and may even fall below their issue price.
Under normal circumstances, nobody would choose such a time to list their stocks, and thats what puzzled Jrgen.
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