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Megachip, the blessed computer shop in Maldives has been one of the bloodlines of MDP during the run-up to the elections. Megachip, though a Maumoon loyal company, switch sides when it was sure Maumoon was going to fail. Major chunks of their funds was initially pumped to promote DRP and, not to keep the opposition too far away, MDP was handed out with just a minor portion of the allocated funds to ensure that deals came flowing whoever wins the presidential elections. Megachip took these as ‘Marketing’ expenses to ensure that their game of getting majority of government deals did not stop at the fall of government.
So after the elections, other computers shops saw Megachip winning lucrative deals from government organizations and companies where most MDP loyalists are the decision makers. Including STO where the Managing Director in cousin of Megachip family.
Megachip has won many deals where eyes brows have been raised and fingers pointed at them and various decision makers in those organizations. One of these deals is the controversial NEXBIS immigration border control deal.
Megachip was awarded the contract from NEXBIS to supply huge numbers of servers and computer systems months before NEXBIS was awarded the contract by Immigration Department. Since the deal was later put on hold by ACC, Megachip made a massive loss on this project.
The current government knows that in order to win 2013 they need funds. Loads and loads of cash to compete with their former allies and the opposition. Like the deal that was offered to Heavy Load, Megachip has been promised a deal.
Government has put forward a tender to purchase all the computer systems required for the government of Maldives and will be awarded to one single party for the entire year. Government has also plans to extend this contract to 3 years ensuring that Megachip wins and the blood supply of Presidential campaign can go on.
Megachip, with Parliamentarians, Government MD’s and Board Members, has set new heights in corruption and bribery that is done during day light and in front of masses.
For the past two years the Sydney technology company Nexbis has touted lucrative Asian government security contracts as the source of huge future long-term profits. Yet all may not be what it seems with the counterparty to the company's most lucrative contract.
Nexbis' market capitalisation hovers around $100 million, with more than $30 million of fresh capital raised last year from institutional investors, including QIC and Kinetic, on the promise of the 80 per cent margins on offer from sales of Nexbis' National Security Suite of secure identity document products.
But after starting this year with three big projects that one analyst thought might generate $100 million of profits next year, Nexbis is yet to deliver on its claimed potential.
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In recent months the company has had two big setbacks. First, a project to provide drivers' licences in Vietnam, which Nexbis had announced as being at memorandum-of-understanding stage, has been put out to tender by Vietnamese authorities. This puts paid to Nexbis' hopes of securing the contract by its preferred method of direct negotiation.
In discussions with investors, Nexbis representatives play up their ability to leverage a network of "high-level government connections" to win big contracts across Asia.
A deal with the Department of Immigration in Malaysia last year was secured this way. The company predicted the contract, when running at full steam, would generate annual revenue of $60 million to $80 million.
It was not to be. In the second recent setback for the company a Malaysian Government reshuffle and budgetary belt-tightening led Nexbis to announce last month a "temporary halt" to supply its identification cards under the Malaysian contract "pending receipt of assurances of payment from the Government".
Even before this, questions were being asked about the Malaysian deal. Analysts had been expecting Malaysian revenue of about $25 million to June 30, and were shocked to read in the Nexbis accounts that it was only $3.3 million.
With Malaysia on ice indefinitely and Vietnam out to tender, investor attention at Nexbis' AGM later this month will no doubt centre on the company's third big contract. The deal relates to supplying customer identity cards to track purchases and refills of gas bottles under the Chinese national gas tank project. Nexbis has provided no hint that that contract, announced last November, is off track. Printing of identity cards reportedly began in April, and Nexbis booked sales revenue of $43.7 million from the contract in the June half.
So far so good, but the China cash has been slow to come in. At year end Nexbis' balance sheet showed trade receivables of $42 million, compared with $3 million the previous year. The bulk of the receivables related to the China contract. It was not until this week that the first payment against the receivables balance was confirmed, $10 million having been received.
Managing director Johann Young had sought to allay concerns over the receivables by pointing to the quality of the company's debtors. From the start, Nexbis identified the China deal as being a technology licence agreement with the "Chinese Government".
More recently when discussing this year's financial results Young was quoted as saying: ''How many companies can report a substantial growth in cash and profits, backed by safe government debtors?''
Unfortunately for investors, it not be this simple. The fine print of the Nexbis accounts suggests that the counter-party to the China deal is the Hong Kong-registered China Inspection True Product Technology Ltd (CITP), a fact Nexbis confirmed this week. To refer to CITP as an arm of the Chinese Government is perhaps something of a stretch.
According to US Securities and Exchange filings, CITP is just 12 per cent owned by a Chinese government agency involved in the claimed gas tank project. Its majority 70 per cent shareholder is the technology tiddler True Product ID of Pennsylvania.
TPID has for years pinned its hopes on providing security identification technologies to Chinese industry. Indeed, it was making claims regarding its involvement in the Chinese national gas tank project a full year before Nexbis arrived at the party.
It seems TPID's technologies are set to provide identification tags for the 130-million or so gas bottles in use in China.
This is not TPID's only Chinese contract win. Backed by the 96 per cent shareholder James Mackay, a Scottish-born businessman with a colourful track record in the internet porn and technology industries, TPID has followed in the footsteps of many Mackay companies in promising much but delivering little. At one point TPID said a contract with the China Painting and Calligraphy Organisation "had the possibility for greater potential revenues than the company's projected $1.3 billion gas tank contract with the Chinese government".
TPID has a market capitalisation of less than $1 million and is yet to report a single dollar of revenue from any source. Accounts for the nine months to March raise doubts regarding the company's going concern status.
Nexbis said this week it had received assurances from CITP that it had no connection with TPID. But curiously Nexbis also says it has no knowledge of CITP's ownership structure, raising questions as to how the company felt comfortable in saying the gas tank contract was with the "Chinese Government".
Nevertheless, if TPID's relationship with CITP is correctly recorded in SEC filings, the Nexbis team is to be commended on receiving even a $10 million payment in relation to the Chinese contract.
The quality of the Chinese contract lies at the heart of Nexbis' value and management credibility. Until the ownership of CITP is made clear, it is hard to give credence to management claims over the long-term value of this contract.
Just few weeks ago I received a call from a relatively new company who calls them selves "ZEBRA CROSS'. They asked for an appointment and as we always encourage new businesses, we gave them an appointment.
They cam in right on time for the appointment, They were well informed about their product and the ideas were brilliant. Thee product that they were trying to market was 3 versions of Yellow Pages. A print version, online version and a mobile application.
There marketing materials were designed with care and a lot of professionalism expect for a large number of typo errors. They had three separate brochures for their 3 products and on one of them, the print version of the yellow pages and on pages 2 and 3 I noticed something unusual.
Well, the company is owned by Mr. Mohamed Luveiz, Mr. Abdulla Ziyath and Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Didi.
The Profile says that Mr. Mohamed Luveiz and Mr. Abdulla Ziyath both hold positions at Invest maldives where Mr. Luveiz is the Head and Mr. Ziyath is the Assitant Director.
Strangely, Zebra Cross pvt. Ltd, owned by these two gentleman has been awarded numerous contracts by Invest Maldives. Including: Authentic Maldives branding campaign, IPA strategy, Marketing plan, copywriting and even the website www.investmaldives.org website.
This profile is enough proof that they abused their positions and they are constantly doing that by by using this profile to market their private business.
We have received confirmed news that STO board members were back dating board resolutions to avoid charges against corruption. ACC has moved in couple months ago and when asked for board resolutions they have in fact back dated these resolutions with instructions from both Shahid and Soarey.
If ACC is doing their job properly ACC needs to investigate these resolutions and hold the board members who are responsible accountable. Back dating resolutions should be considered as fraud and due process needs to be followed and justice served.
These are serious issues and corruption needs to be wiped out from this country once and for all.
Its been only 18 months since we all fought for democracy. After 30 years of oppression we finally were able to win back our freedom. But it gives me shivers to look into the future and think seriously of what our nation might become I come to one conclusion.
Adaalath. A Political party promoting nothing but Islam. Their Manifesto is Islam. So if our constitution says only Islam can be practiced in Maldives, the only party who can survive in the this, in the not so distant future, will be Adaalath Party. Anyone who defects from Adaalath could face the death penalty.
2013 will come. Those who love freedom should find ways and means to flee this country. Gather all you can. This is Afghanistan in the making and with the blessings from the very person who fought for our freedom. ANNI....
We have received information from trusted sources that there is going to be more votes of no confidence in the parliament. To ensure that these pass through several under the table deals is being done. Recently we came across the Education Ministry buddies Ahmed Zareer (who holds various high ranking posts in this Governement) and Abdullah Salih (who used to be Ahmed Zareer's boss at Min of Education during the time of Golhaa) taking calls and meeting up.
Abdualla Salih who is part of DQP is negotiating with Ahmed Zareer and Ilyas Labeeb to ensure that votes of no confidence passes through. Ilyas Labeeb seems to be a major key in getting Adduans together. We have information that the price Ahmed Zareer and Ilyas Labeeb is asking for is close to a million dollars for this switch from MDP to DQP. They have planned this as a surprise.
More parliamentarians are in talks with several other parties including Seafood Musthafa, who is negotiating with DRP, Colonel Mohamed Nasheed who is in direct talks with Golhaa himself, Bonda ibrey, Kubey and last minute switch over of some crook parliamentarians. Alhan Fahmy's role when his switched sides was to disperse MDP members to various different parties.
Opposition is uniting to bring an end to the rule of MDP. God bless this country. Maldivians should take this as a lesson, "Do not just vote for the person your party puts in front. Evaluate the person before you vote".
