In the few days at the end of December, Wang Ye raced from one board meeting to another for several group companies.
Yukos Group, Gazprom Industrial Group, United Aviation Group, Russian Automobile Industry Group, Polar Bear Investment Company, Siberia Gold, Little Eagle Group...
Of these, Yukos Group alone paid Wang Ye an astonishing 2.8 billion US dollars in dividends!
Gazprom Industrial Group paid less. Since his shareholding there was not large, he only received 500 million US dollars.
Siberia Gold performed neither exceptionally well nor poorly, paying out 900 million US dollars in dividends.
Little Eagle Group, meanwhile, gave Wang Ye a pleasant surprise. Its profits for 2004 had reached as high as 1.8 billion US dollars!
After all, with its exclusive gambling licenses, the group had no competitors whatsoever. Its investment was low, while its revenue was high!
Moreover, with the introduction of ultra-luxury cruise ships and the opening of several new travel routes, it had tapped into the tourism markets of numerous countries across Europe and Asia. As a result, Little Eagle Group's performance had grown at an extraordinary pace this year!
Though the group was not particularly large overall, it was a rare cash cow—a genuine money tree!
After discussing it with Miss He and Konstantin at the board meeting, Wang Ye decided that in the coming year, 2005, they would focus on expanding their five-star hotel business and luxury shopping malls!
The gambling business valued quality over quantity and had considerable limitations. Managing the existing three gambling centers and one luxury cruise ship well would already be enough.
But five-star hotels and luxury malls possessed virtually limitless market potential and room for imagination!
Besides, Little Eagle Group already had the foundations for the hotel business. The Little Eagle Hotel in Moscow had originally been positioned as