Chapter 1958

The eccentricities of the 'A-San' brothers are known to everyone; there is nothing you can't imagine, only things they can't do. Besides all sorts of bizarre and mysterious operations, they are also in a league of their own economically.

Especially in their ability to pit multinational corporations against themselves, they absolutely stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid, and they are the kind that leads the pack.

In 2007, they accused Vodafone of tax evasion and fined them 2.1 billion USD.

Vodafone certainly didn't accept it, feeling they were legal and compliant, so why should they be fined? Thus, this fine was dragged out for 12 years without being paid.

Then the fine doubled to 5.1 billion. Vodafone was almost furious; this was blatant robbery, so they ran to the International Court of Arbitration to sue the 'San' brothers.

They did win the lawsuit, but it was of no use at all. The 'A-San' brothers' sleazy operations kicked in; they modified domestic laws overnight, and retroactive taxation appeared.

"Let's see where you can run; no matter how long it takes, I'll get it back from you." Vodafone could only cry and accept their fate.

In 2003, the 'A-San' tax department extorted 256 million USD from Nokia on the grounds of violating fair competition.

In 2008, they fined Microsoft 7 billion rupees on the grounds of insufficient tax payment.

In 2013, they fined BMW 100 million USD for violating import laws.

In 2014, they fined Samsung 200 million USD for violating environmental and safety regulations.

In 2021, they fined Walmart 1.35 billion USD for violating foreign investment laws.

In 2022, Walmart couldn't take it anymore, withdrew from the Indian market, and ran away.

In the same year, the 'A-San' brothers fined Amazon 172 million USD for violating relevant financial regulations.

Still in the same year, the 'A-San' brothers said Google violated antitrust laws and fined them 275 million USD twice in one week.

Immediately afterward, Xiaomi and OPPO couldn't escape the bad luck either, getting their heads bumped by the 'A-San' brothers' extortion.

This is just the fines; besides that, you also have investments going down the drain.

In 2004, South Korea's POSCO invested 12 billion USD to build a factory in India.

Then the 'Bangzi' experienced the longest nightmare of his life.

The investment procedures and processes took a full 12 years, and not a single catty of iron was produced.

They were cheated out of everything, and the newly built factory was given away to the 'A-San' brothers for free.

And these are not isolated cases; GM lost 588 million and ran away.

Ford struggled for 10 years, lost 2 billion, and ran away.

Another famous victim of being cheated is Coca-Cola.

In the fifties, both Coke and Pepsi felt the Indian market had huge potential and had to enter.

As a result, after arriving in India, they found it was too damn poor; the common people would rather die of heat than drink cola.

Pepsi saw this and thought, "How can this work?" and turned around and ran.

But Coke was very stubborn and insisted on building a factory in the 'A-San' brothers' home.

At first, it went smoothly, but after they made money, how could the 'A-San' brothers let you take it away?

In 1974, the 'A-San' brothers announced the Foreign Exchange Management Act, requiring foreign shareholding not to exceed 40 percent.

Coke was stunned; isn't this just coming to my hand to rob me?

This certainly wouldn't do, so they submitted one asset-cutting plan after another to the 'A-San' brothers.

But it was of no use; all of them were rejected by the 'A-San' brothers.

Coke struggled for several years, and having no other choice, Coke ran away.

Immediately afterward, in the late nineties, Coke stubbornly ran back again.

I guess they were thinking of getting back up where they fell.

But the reality is, Coke did stumble and get back up, growing fat and strong.

Then, the 'A-San' brothers raised their knives again, and with one slash, they knocked Coke down; blood flowed like a river, and Coke ran away again, covered in scars.

The 'A-San' brothers' home is a famous graveyard for foreign enterprises; that is definitely no joke.

Zhou Andong said he was going to invest in India, but of course, it wasn't true; it was a smoke bomb.

Seeing Jian Qiu always felt Zhou Andong had ill intentions, but she couldn't figure out where the problem was.

"Husband!" Seeing Jian Qiu called out in a sweet voice.

Zhou Andong shuddered violently, moved his body to the side, and looked at Seeing Jian Qiu with a vigilant face.

"What do you want to do?"

Seeing Jian Qiu snuggled up to Zhou Andong, her voice even gentler.

"Husband, are you really going to build a factory in India?"

"Build a factory in India?" Zhou Andong chuckled, "The 'A-San' brothers' home is a big pit; whoever invests there will be unlucky, without any exception. To put it more directly, whoever makes money in India cannot take it back; it all has to stay there."

"That can't be right." Seeing Jian Qiu looked puzzled, "Is India's investment environment that bad?"

In this era, information was not well-developed, and the 'A-San' brothers hadn't reached the level of perfection they would in later generations, so the nickname 'graveyard for foreign enterprises' hadn't spread yet; Seeing Jian Qiu naturally wouldn't know.

"It's more than just bad." Zhou Andong exclaimed, "You can look up how Coke was cheated out of everything after entering India in the fifties and ran away with a head full of bumps."

Seeing Jian Qiu still didn't quite believe it; the Indian market is so big, and it's also a capital market; how could the Indian government cheat multinational corporations? Weren't they afraid of ruining their country's credibility?

"If that's the case, why are you still going to invest in India?"

"Why do products 'exported for domestic sale' sell so well? Even if they are products from manual workshops, even if the workmanship is rough, as long as they wear the hat of 'exported for domestic sale,' there are still a large number of people willing to pay for them?"

Zhou Andong grabbed Seeing Jian Qiu's hand, "Wife, why do our Jiang Xiaobai and Jiang Xiaomei sell so well, especially in Xiangjiang, where they are actually in short supply?"

Seeing Jian Qiu understood, "You mean, going to India to invest is actually a publicity strategy?"

"Right!" Zhou Andong nodded, "And you have to do the acting thoroughly. I will also organize an inspection team to go to India, release some news every few days, and carry out vigorous publicity in both places.

Future Cola building a factory in India—such good news will not only boost the sales of Future Cola domestically but also greatly boost the confidence of the stockholders there.

Besides, Zhao Hongxing hates me to the bone. Once I make a gesture of entering the Indian market, that guy is very likely to follow up quickly. So, he is releasing this smoke bomb also to attract Zhao Hongxing."

Seeing Jian Qiu frowned slightly, "Didn't you say Coke was cheated in India? Could it be that because of Zhao Hongxing, they would re-enter the Indian market?"

"They will!" Zhou Andong's tone was very certain, "There are always some people who remember the eating but forget the beating. No matter what the 'A-San' brothers' credibility is like, anyone who sees that piece of meat in the market will drool.

As long as someone proposes a plan to re-enter the Indian market, Coke is very likely to agree. It's just that whether it's led by Zhao Hongxing or someone else, that's hard to say."

As for whether they will re-enter the Indian market, this is beyond doubt; after all, the Coke of the previous life had stubbornly done exactly that.

Zhao Hongxing lost to him domestically; it just depends on whether that guy falls for it and has the guts to open up a foreign battlefield to take revenge.

If that guy really falls for it and leads Coke to re-enter the Indian market, then it will be fun.