African Entrepreneurship Record

The Nobel family’s eagerness to acquire the industries relinquished by East Africa is primarily aimed at countering American conglomerates and consolidating their advantages.

In the past, competition in the Baku oilfields was intense. The Nobel family, the Rothschild family, and several small Russian local oil enterprises formed a coalition to oppose American and East African capital.

Indeed, they viewed both the United States and East Africa as threats. The value of the Baku oilfields had been increasing over the years, with overall oil production reaching over sixty percent of the entire Europe, becoming a lucrative industry during wartime.

The investors in the Baku oilfields, such as the Nobel family and the Rothschild family, although their interests were not entirely aligned, had been operating locally for a long time. Naturally, they were not eager to share profits with the newcomers from the United States and East Africa.

Take the Nobel family, for example. They began investing in Baku’s oil industry as early as the 1870s, while at that time, East Africa had just established a nation and was far from being able to carry out large-scale foreign investments.

Initially, these indigenous forces in Baku mainly saw competition from European internal capital. Later, with the rise of the American economy, they came to see American capital as their rival.

By the time East African capital entered Baku, it was already relatively late. By then, the existing oilfields were almost completely divided, leaving East Africa to invest in local refineries to cut costs.

East Africa mostly imported Baku oil from enterprises with non-East African backgrounds, since the oilfields were primarily under their control, and East African companies had no interest in finding new oilfields locally.

Therefore, collaborating with local oil enterprises was the primary way for East Africa to bring in Baku oil. The Nobel family, for example, had numerous collaborations with East Africa, and before the outbreak of war, their oil was mainly exported to East Africa.

This made it easy for East Africa to relinquish its oil industry in Baku, especially since East Africa had not invested much in the oil industry there.

Furthermore, East African oil investment activities have shifted over the past few years, moving from European regions to Nanyang, Venezuela, and Beibu Gulf territories.

After the final confirmation with Billy, Altehoffen asked, "Mr. Billy, are you interested in some of our other industries in Baku?"

East Africa’s investments in Baku, aside from oil, also include other sectors such as catering and entertainment, as this area is the wealthiest in Russia, with strong consumer capabilities.

Altehoffen’s words piqued Billy’s interest, and he asked, "Does your company have other industries in Baku?"

"Of course, Billy, old chap, do you know the Heart of the Caspian Hotel in the city center? That’s one of our assets."

"After all, the recent difficulties in the oil trade have forced us to pivot to other industries."

Billy indeed had heard of the Heart of the Caspian Hotel. Despite Baku’s rapid development in recent years, its population had reached around thirty thousand.

A city with a population of thirty thousand could be considered a major city in Europe, as many European cities had populations that did not even reach ten thousand. Before World War I, even Germany, as developed as it was, had fewer than fifty cities with populations exceeding ten thousand.

Moreover, apart from the large population, Baku’s uniqueness lay in the high income of its ordinary workers, which was considerable compared to other regions in Russia.

Correspondingly, the prices and rents in Baku were much higher than in other parts of Russia. The Heart of the Caspian Hotel was one of the central hotels in a place where every inch of land was precious. If managed properly, it could be a fine asset.

Thus, Billy did not rush to leave but continued negotiations with Altehoffen.

"It seems your company is truly planning to withdraw from Baku, judging by your moves. It seems you’re going to liquidate all your assets."

Altehoffen did not deny this, instead saying, "Our withdrawal from Baku is mainly due to our pessimism about the current situation in Russia, particularly the threat posed by the Ottoman Empire, which cannot be underestimated. We fear the war might spread to Baku."

Billy dismissed Altehoffen’s explanation, saying, "Mr. Altehoffen, you overestimate the Ottoman Empire’s capabilities. If the Ottomans truly had such power, our Nobel family would have fled long ago."

"Although Russia is currently at a disadvantage, the Ottoman Empire is not in a position to provoke us. Moreover, we’ve received intelligence from Saint Petersburg indicating that the new government plans to negotiate peace with the Allies, which is one of their governance strategies. Therefore, the war in Russia will soon end."

"Consequently, we need not fear an Ottoman attack on Baku. At most, they will only extend their influence to the Caucasus mountains."

Altehoffen did not refute Billy’s words, knowing well the nature of the Ottoman Empire. His reason for leaving Baku was just an excuse.

Thus, Altehoffen did not argue further on this topic but instead asked, "Your family seems well-informed in Russia. How well do you understand the Russian Labor Party?"

Billy replied, "The Labor Party? Of course, they’re a horrible lot, just a bunch of disorderly rebels. They may be basking in temporary glory now, but by next year, they’ll surely be wiped out."

"They’re merely a group of brainless workers and soldiers incited by people with ulterior motives. Even though they’ve seized Saint Petersburg now, the nobility and the wealthy won’t stand idly by,"

The Nobel family, being one of the most affluent families in Russia, naturally looked down upon the Labor Party, which was predominantly composed of workers.

Billy continued, "Moreover, even if the Labor Party were to secure their position, it wouldn’t be a concern, since they have no way of marginalizing our Nobel family. Without us, half of Baku’s oil wells and factories would come to a standstill."

"During Nicholas II’s era, we were the major taxpayers local officials depended upon, creating significant social wealth for Russia and providing substantial employment opportunities..."

From Billy’s words, it was clear he didn’t believe a group comprising workers, soldiers, and peasants could govern this nation effectively. Most of them couldn’t even write their names, let alone understand business administration and management or economic development.

Billy concluded, "Talent is crucial for a nation, and as possessors of knowledge, the Labor Party will inevitably be unable to exclude us."

It could be said Billy’s attitude represented the Nobel family’s stance towards the Labor Party, mainly focusing on two aspects: firstly, the Labor Party would unlikely succeed in Russia, even though they had captured Saint Petersburg and other key cities.

Secondly, should the Labor Party manage to succeed, governance of the country would necessitate reliance on entrepreneurial figures like them.

Clearly, the Nobel family did not yet have a deep understanding of the "threat" posed by the Labor Party.

In the previous era, all of the Nobel family’s assets in Baku were claimed by the Labor Party as public property, leading the Nobel family to resist the Labor Party government upon their exit from Russia.

Nonetheless, Billy’s words provided insight for Altehoffen on the Nobel family’s daring to act as the "receiver" of assets.

Seeing this, Altehoffen felt more at ease negotiating business with Billy, eventually reaching a mutually satisfactory price for selling all assets to the Nobel family, including a refinery, a hotel, an office building, and so on.

Baku was just a microcosm of East Africa’s divestment strategy. In other major Russian cities like Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, etc., East African state capital and the Heixinggen conglomerate were withdrawing in an orderly manner. After all, if they didn’t leave at this point, these assets would soon serve as bridal gifts for the Russian Labor Party.

In reality, even if East Africa let go of these assets, the Russian Labor Party would likely end up acquiring them from the ill-fated "receiver." But this was not East Africa’s concern, for it’s better to save oneself than another.