201: Chapter 201 Preferential Policies for Pakistan

Following that, Major General Arif from Pakistan approached Li Yi. They had a greater need for weapons and equipment, but their domestic economy was struggling, relying primarily on agriculture, and they simply did not have much procurement capital.

"We intend to make our purchases using coal. Can it be used for payment?" Major General Arif asked.

"Yes. How much coal can you provide?" Li Yi said.

"One million tons of coal," Major General Arif said embarrassedly.

One hundred thousand tons of coal was indeed a small amount. Based on the current highest coal price of $124.65 per ton, it was only worth $120 million. Furthermore, the quality of Pakistan's coal was not very good; it was basically lignite, with high sulfur and ash content, and it was essentially unsellable.

Li Yi considered it for a moment and decided to support Pakistan. He said, "We can value the coal you pay with at $100 per ton, and you won't need to worry about transportation. How much coal can you extract and produce at most over three years?"

"Can it really be valued at $100 per ton?" Major General Arif knew that Pakistan's coal could not be sold, and coupled with inconvenient transportation, its costs lacked competitive advantage. Now that there was no need for transportation and such a high selling price, he found it hard to believe.

"Yes," Li Yi nodded.

"I need to consult with my country before I can confirm," Major General Arif said.

Major General Arif quickly received the preliminary estimated figures and said, "We can probably extract and produce 1 billion tons of coal. The first year will average about 10 million tons per month, the second year 30 million tons per month, and the third year 50 million tons per month."

The main thing was that there was no need to worry about sales or transportation; if only extraction and production were required, they could simply increase the number of miners and mining equipment. Pakistan had a relatively large population, so there would be no shortage of miners. By gradually increasing mining equipment, they could reach a production scale of 50 million tons per month within three years.

"Then let's calculate it based on 1 billion tons of coal. If there are changes in production later, or if you fall short or exceed the amount, we can discuss it then. This 1 billion tons of coal is worth $100 billion, all of which you can use to purchase weapons and equipment," Li Yi said.

When Major General Arif heard that Pakistan could actually use the 1 billion tons of coal they might produce in the future to purchase weapons and equipment, he was overjoyed beyond words. After all, this was $100 billion in capital, and the weapons and equipment purchased would be enough to re-equip more than half of Pakistan's military.

Major General Arif said, "We will draft the procurement plan immediately."

The procurement plan previously drafted for 1 million tons of coal could naturally no longer be used; they needed to recalculate the quantities of various weapons and equipment to be purchased. Soon, Major General Arif contacted the high-level military leadership of Pakistan to draft a new procurement plan.

They purchased 1,000 sets each of Tianlei Type I to Type II Anti-Aircraft Missile, and an additional 5,000 supporting missiles for each; 500 sets each of Tianlei Type III to Type IV Anti-Aircraft Missile, and an additional 2,000 supporting missiles for each; and 50 sets each of Tianlei Type V to Type VIII Anti-Aircraft Missile, and an additional 100 supporting missiles for each. They also purchased one set of the Tianlei Missile Defense System.

They purchased 1,000 sets each of Tianlong Series UAV Type I to Type II, 10,000 supporting air-to-ground missiles, and 100,000 bombs. They also purchased 1,000 sets each of Sky Arrow Type I to Type III anti-tank missiles, and 5,000 supporting missiles for each.

They purchased 1,000 units each of Fierce Rhino Type II to Type III tanks, and 70,000 supporting artillery shells of various types; 3,000 units each of Fierce Tiger Type II to Type IV armored vehicles, and 200,000 supporting shells of various types; 600 units each of Fierce Lion Type II to Type IV artillery, and 100,000 supporting shells of various types; and 200 million rounds of machine gun ammunition for the armored vehicles.

Li Yi calculated the total cost of the procurement plan and said, "It is exactly $100 billion. We will deliver this batch of weapons and equipment in three installments. Do you have any requirements for the weapons and equipment delivered in each installment?"

"The first installment will include the UAVs and half of the anti-aircraft missiles. The second installment will include half of the armored vehicles and the remaining anti-aircraft missiles, and the third installment will include the remaining weapons and equipment," Major General Arif said after consideration.

"Very well. We will deliver the first installment within one month, the second within three months, and the third within six months," Li Yi said. "But you must also accelerate the progress of coal extraction and production, and reach a standard of 10 million tons per month within six months."

"No problem. We will accelerate the coal mining arrangements and increase the number of coal mining areas as much as possible," Major General Arif said. "Then, how often will you transport the coal?"

"Once you have extracted 20 million tons of coal, we will arrange for a shipment," Li Yi said. If there was too little coal, he was a bit too lazy to go and collect it.

"Good," Major General Arif said.

As for the restrictions on the usage area of the weapons and equipment, all weapons and equipment could be used within the territories of Pakistan and India. Outside of these places, the purchased weapons and equipment could not be used. Major General Arif did not dare to say anything and agreed to this condition.

After all, the main threat Pakistan currently faced was India. As long as they could be used against India, there was absolutely no problem.

Li Yi and Major General Arif quickly signed the arms trade contract. This was the first time Li Yi had allowed a buyer a three-year payment period, but in order to support Pakistan, a longer time was acceptable.

After Major General Arif left satisfied, Lieutenant Colonel Hujiani from Afghanistan also approached Li Yi to purchase weapons and equipment. Afghanistan did not have much procurement capital. Although it had relatively rich mineral resources such as copper and iron mines, their extraction and utilization were relatively low.

This time, they had only prepared 100,000 tons of copper, which was only obtained after collecting all the copper that had been mined over the previous years. Li Yi directly calculated it at a price of $8,000 per ton, allowing Afghanistan to obtain $800 million in procurement capital.

Li Yi had originally intended to use the Pakistan model to give Afghanistan more procurement capital, but considering that the situation in Afghanistan was unstable and it was hard to say whether they could control the domestic situation, he ultimately gave up on the idea and did not mention it.

Lieutenant Colonel Hujiani was very satisfied with having $800 million in procurement capital and ultimately decided to mainly purchase the Tianlei Series Anti-Aircraft Missile and the Tianlong Series UAV, and would not purchase any other weapons or equipment.

They purchased 500 sets of Tianlei Type I Anti-Aircraft Missile, and an additional 2,000 supporting missiles; 100 sets of Tianlei Type II Anti-Aircraft Missile, and an additional 300 supporting missiles; 10 sets of Tianlei Type III Anti-Aircraft Missile, and an additional 48 supporting missiles; and 20 sets each of Tianlong Series UAV Type I to Type II, 200 supporting air-to-ground missiles, and 1,000 bombs.

The total procurement amount was exactly $800 million. All these weapons and equipment were restricted to use within the territory of Afghanistan. Soon, Li Yi and Lieutenant Colonel Hujiani reached an arms trade contract with a one-time delivery.