Zhu Minshen re-assigns 70% of Top Education Group's IPO proceeds for "Intelligent Education" and working capital: Would NSW LPAB accept this type of financial management from any other Australian law school? Meanwhile Top's share price has not recovered from spectacular crash,but NSW LPAB Chairman Tom Bathurst seems unconcerned

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                               Ambassador Cheng Jingye Pays an Official Visit to the State of                                                            New South Wales (2016/08/16)



Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group Ltd informed the HKEX on 27 February 2020 of a  change in use of 70% of Top Education's IPO proceeds:


The actual net proceeds raised from the Global Offering, including the Over-allotment option and after deducting underwriting fees and commissions and other expenses relating to the Listing, were approximately HK$171.7 million (the “Net Proceeds”). As at the date of this announcement, the Group had utilised approximately HK$51.4 million of the Net Proceeds, representing approximately 29.9% of the Net Proceeds.


As at the date of this announcement, the unutilised Net Proceeds amounted to approximately HK$120.3 million (“Unutilised Net Proceeds”). After due and careful consideration of the current business environment and development needs of the Group (in particular, the current business appetite and the combined economic and health circumstances in the PRC), the Board has resolved to change the use of the Unutilised Net Proceeds by reallocating a certain portion of these to the new business initiatives of establishing a virtual student experience centre and developing “Intelligent Education”, and the remainder towards general working capital.....


Utilising  70% of IPO proceeds for purposes other than that stated in the prospectus would be cause of great concern to investors and regulators in any jurisdiction; doing so when market capitalisation collapses to a third of what it was after listing would normally be cause for investigation by regulators. That however is not the case with the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board and its Chairman , The Chief Justice Of NSW Thomas "Tom" Bathurst QC, who was once one of Australia's leading commercial silks.
Zhu's Top Group IPO relied heavily on the "one and only" license to issue law degrees in Australia  granted a company that is not a university. That license was granted by
Bathurst and his NSW LPAB , who have subsequently in 2019 renewed that license.

The NSW LPAB and the Chief Justice have refused to answer all and any questions about their dealings with Zhu Minshen, and have in fact attempted to characterise  queries from this writer as a form of threat, intimidation and harassment.

TO BE READ WITH



Zhu Minshen's Top Group share prices continues to flounder despite TEQSA and the NSW LPAB (chaired by NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst) confidence : Dan Tehan must intervene to protect students, and investigate TEQSA & NSW LPAB's approvals for Australia's first private ,non-university law school

NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst will soon admit to legal practise Zhu Minshen's law graduates: Bathurst met with China Ambassador Cheng Jingye in 2016 & must explain what was discussed; Cheng's threat to harm the Australian economy demands that Bathurst provide complete details of dealings with Cheng,and Zhu.

Australia's loss per day from the lockdown almost same as Malaysia's but Australia's economy is 4 times larger -Is Josh Frydenberg reporting a lower loss in order to justify his lockdown?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Josh from marketing? 

Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, advised by his Department of Treasury, has announced that
Australia's coronavirus lockdown is cost ing AUD 4 Billion a week in reduced economic activity. The cost is in incomes lost as a result of workers being locked at home. Assuming a 5 day week  the  loss per day equals $800 Million.

In late April the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced that the loss per day to the Malaysian economy from his lockdown is RM 2.4 Billion  or AUD 861.15 Million.
The Malaysian economy is 4 times smaller the size of the Australian economy (based on 2018 GDP numbers, and little changed in 2019).

How then the loss per day from their respective and similar lockdowns could be approximately equal (in fact the loss per day in Malaysia is about 7% greater than in Australia) is curious and raises the question whether Treasurer Frydenberg and his department are understating their numbers. The possible reasons for doing so include the justification for the lockdown , that is, that without the lockdown the economic loss to Australia would have been far greater. Consequently demonstrating a wide a gap as possible between the cost with and without lockdown is good politics.

 TO BE READ WITH

Australia 

1.434 trillion USD (2018)

•

India

2.719 trillion USD
‌

•

Canada

1.713 trillion USD
‌

•

Australia

1.434 trillion USD
‌

Malaysia 

358.6 billion USD (2018)

•

Singapore

364.2 billion USD
‌

•

Malaysia

358.6 billion USD
‌

•

Philippines

330.9 billion USD
‌

Are Kerry Stokes and Twiggy Forrest exhibiting symptoms of the Suzhou Syndrome: Singapore's Suzhou debacle and its aftermath may provide clues to Stokes & Forrest's embarrassing defence of the Communist Party China.

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                                                Stokes and Forrest cannot be taken seriously



First, the Suzhou debacle, as reported by The Economist in 1998:

Five years ago, the city-state of Singapore, a dot on the end of a not entirely friendly peninsula, set out in search of a hinterland. This was in the heady days of the “China boom”, when China's success—and much of East Asia's for that matter—seemed to be teaching the rest of the world a thing or two. In turn, Singapore's leaders, never short of self-regard, thought they had something to teach the Chinese about running society. The result was a $20 billion plan to create Singapore's graven image on some 70 square kilometres (27 square miles) outside Suzhou, an ancient merchant town to the west of Shanghai. On this field of dreams the Singaporeans would build a super-city for 600,000 contented people who would enjoy first-world infrastructure, clean government and low taxes.

From the beginning, Singapore's leaders said they would arrange things in the “Asian way”; this was not the table-thumping style of westerners, but a quiet, behind-the-scenes approach based on mutual trust and understanding. The prospect of part of unruly China being placed under Singaporean management seemed irresistible—until, that is, the region's financial troubles made it plain Asian values can work no greater magic than anyone else's. Rather, Singapore, like some other foreign investors in China, has got its fingers burnt by being over-ambitious.

(However by December 1997 Lee Kuan Yew seems to have changed his mind).Mr Lee criticised local officials for persuading foreign investors to come to the New District, not the SIP. He also attacked the central government, for failing to spot “municipal shenanigans”. And for good measure he threw in criticism of flip-flops in central-government policy, notably an imminent about-turn on tax exemptions for imported machinery. “In a period of less than one year,” remonstrated Mr Lee, “you turn left, and then you turn right.” Singapore, runs the undercurrent of Mr Lee's comments, did not prosper by doing things so inconsistently.




The deal was a bad one for Singapore:

The Singaporean chief executive officer of the China-Singapore park said recently that the park had lost an average of $23.5 million a year since 1994 and that its loss would reach $90 million by the end of 2000.




One would think that the Suzhou debacle would have ended Singapore and Lee's Suzhou ambition, but no. First Singapore was forced to give up control:

The agreement to transfer ownership looks like a partial exit strategy. The Singapore consortium, made up of 12 companies, many government-linked, will lower its share of the project to 35 percent on January 1, 2001, from the current 65 percent. It will sell facilities like power and water-treatment plants to the Chinese partners. Over the next 18 months it will lead the development of eight square kilometres, not the 70 square kilometres it had originally planned, and then let the Chinese side lead whatever comes next.

And then, accept that the SIP is a success,an example to emulate:



Top officials from Suzhou visiting  Singapore this week have lauded a joint industrial project in the eastern Chinese city as a model for  China’s economic cooperation with other countries.
Lan Shaomin, Suzhou’s freshly appointed Communist Party secretary, said the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park was an “important window” for China as it opened up to the world.
The park was the brainchild of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and illustrated the “complementary relationship” between the two nations, Lan said.
“Our relationship has come very far,” he added.

Lan was speaking at a symposium in Singapore on Tuesday at which prospective investors from Suzhou were eyeing business deals in the Southeast Asian city state. The official, who was on a five-day introductory trip after taking the reins as Suzhou party chief in September, had earlier met with Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

The fairytale is often repeated in Singapore without any reference to the past(see Strait Times story below).

The Suzhou Syndrome then is essentially this: getting so badly burned and tricked by your Chinese business partners (who are invariably part of the Communist Party Of China or the PLA) that you have no choice but to sing their praises. If not, even that which has been salvaged will be lost.

Both Stokes and Forrest lead public companies; their recent statements in support of China suggest that the financial position of Seven and Fortescue ought to be re-evaluated, their books looked at with fresh eyes. 

END 

Suzhou Industrial Park - pathfinder for Singapore-China cooperation - celebrates 25th year

PUBLISHED

APR 12, 2019, 6:29 PM SGT

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Lim Yan Liang



SUZHOU, CHINA - The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) has been a pathfinder for bilateral cooperation for the past quarter century, and it must strive to keep playing that role in China's development going forward, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

That SIP is today a hallmark of bilateral cooperation is the result of the strong sense of purpose and commitment shared by both the Singapore and Chinese governments, Mr Teo said in a speech on Friday (April 12) at a ceremony here to mark the project's 25th anniversary.

Started in 1994, SIP received the backing of top leaders from both sides. It was the first government-to-government project between the two countries, meant both for China to learn from Singapore's industrialisation experiences and to be part of Singapore's strategy to develop an external wing to its economy.


"The story of the SIP is also a story of our close bilateral relations, and can be traced back to the friendship and mutual respect between Mr Deng Xiaoping and Mr Lee Kuan Yew," said Mr Teo, referring to China's late paramount leader and the late first prime minister of Singapore.

At the ceremony, Premier Li Keqiang sent a congratulatory message on behalf of the central government, in which he lauded the joint project for being ahead of its time.

"It was very bold in pioneering and absorbing internationally advanced technologies and experiences," he said. "The SIP is proactively driving innovation, realising leapfrog development, and also contributed to the reciprocal cooperation between China and Singapore."



Despite some early bumps, SIP is today an unqualified success story. For three consecutive years since 2015, it has been ranked first by China's Commerce Ministry out of more than 200 Economic and Technological Development Zones, and regularly tops developmental indices.


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Suzhou Industrial Park has progressed rapidly to dynamic and innovative township: DPM Teo Chee Hean


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In 2018, Singapore-SIP trade grew 20.2 per cent from the previous year to reach US$2.02 billion, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Related Story
Singapore hopes to take ties with China even further: DPM Teo Chee Hean

The 288-sq km zone has also progressed beyond a traditional industrial park and seen steady growth of emerging high-tech industries such as biomedicine and nanotechnology, Mr Teo added, while noting that SIP's model has since been replicated in several Chinese cities from Chuzhou in Anhui to Khorgas in Xinjiang.

Related Story
China, Singapore agree to deepen ties in various areas

"Besides generating good jobs and income, the SIP has been widely acknowledged as an attractive city to live in," he said. "Over the years, many residents from the surrounding areas and beyond have moved to the SIP to enjoy the modern and well-planned facilities and living environment."


The SIP has also provided a platform for the two countries to build mutual trust and understanding. Mr Teo noted that several Singapore officials worked on the project before they became Cabinet ministers, and count many Jiangsu and Suzhou colleagues as old friends.

ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute senior fellow Lye Liang Fook said the far-reaching political impact of SIP endures today, as seen in the various institutional mechanisms for bilateral cooperation that came in its wake, such as the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation launched in 2003.

"To drive the SIP project, a high-level bilateral cooperation framework was created, which was subsequently upgraded to oversee all aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries," he wrote in a book to mark 50 years of bilateral ties in 2015.

Building on SIP's model, the two countries went on to launch the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in 2008 and the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity in 2015 to support China's Belt and Road Initiative and other development strategies, noted Mr Teo.

Looking back, the important lessons China learnt were in the software being transferred from Singapore, such as in innovativeness and a "pioneering and spearheading spirit" when it came to reform, said Suzhou party secretary Zhou Naixiang.

These ideas and principles, such as the need to have and stick to a masterplan, were initially difficult to accept and caused a deadlock in the early years of the project, noted Mr Lye.

But officials from both sides soldiered on and achieved consensus after one-and-a-half years of painstaking negotiations, said Business China chairman Lee Yi Shyan.

"We came to a resolution which was acceptable by both governments, and it was a turning point for SIP," he said. "Our relationship changed from being adversarial to one characterised by single-mindedness and teamwork."

For SIP to build on its legacy and successes, the industrial park should stay at the forefront, such as by being a testbed for new policy liberalisation across different sectors and to move up the value chain towards areas like innovation and start-ups, said Mr Teo.

SIP can also serve as the vehicle for both countries to expand cooperation into the region, such as to jointly develop similar high-quality industrial parks in third-party markets, he added. It should also continue to be a key platform to strengthen people-to-people ties, which are the bedrock of bilateral relations, said Mr Teo.

A memorandum of understanding that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Suzhou Municipal Government signed last September will strengthen bilateral exchanges through the attachment of Singapore government officials to Suzhou, he noted.

"Our people should continue learning from one another and deepen mutual understanding through frequent two-way exchanges," he said.

Jiangsu party secretary Lou Qinjian agreed, and said Beijing supports the SIP as being "the flag for China's modernisation drive".

"As a test-bed for China's reform and opening up, SIP will continue to liberalise minds, work hard to deepen reforms, and conduct pilots and experiments for innovation."

Latest Australian court decision finding Google a "publisher" of defamatory material suggests a worrying ignorance of freely available online databases available worldwide on the Net (and on Cth & State library websites)

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                                                 

Algorithms have been around for a long time but
is only recently that judges in Australia have decided
that algorithms can be a method of publication

An Australian court has again decided that Google can be found to be a publisher, and therefore liable for defamation.

In her judgement in the matter of George Deferos v Google LLC Justice Melinda Richards said:

"The Google search engine … is not a passive tool,"

"It is designed by humans who work for Google to operate in the way it does, and in such a way that identified objectionable content can be removed, by human intervention.

"I find that Google becomes a publisher of the search results that its search engine returns to a user who enters a search query."

This writer will not say more, for fear of offending anyone, especially learned judicial officers. He will however ask readers to consider databases such as Factiva and others which are available via say, the NSW State Library website, or the National Library's Trove website,

This writer has used Google since 1999,and then other databases accessible via the Net and housed at the libraries named above, and elsewhere. He cannot see a difference between those databases, and Google's search engine.

END 

SEE ALSO 

Ganesh Sahathevan -Review of model defamation provisions - Justice NSW

NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst will soon admit to legal practise Zhu Minshen's law graduates: Bathurst met with China Ambassador Cheng Jingye in 2016 & must explain what was discussed; Cheng's threat to harm the Australian economy demands that Bathurst provide complete details of dealings with Cheng,and Zhu.

By Ganesh Sahathevan

                          Ambassador Cheng Jingye Pays an Official Visit to the State of New 
                          South Wales   (2016/08/16)


The following has been posted on the Chinese Embassy in Australia's website: 

Chinese Ambassador to Australia H.E. Mr. CHENG Jingye paid an official visit to the state of New South Wales from August 9 to 11 (2016). During the visit, Ambassador Cheng had meetings with NSW Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice the Honorable Tom Bathurst, President of the Legislative Council the Honorable Don Harwin, and Leader of the Opposition Mr Luke Foley MP. He also attended the informal official luncheon hosted by Minister for Multiculturalism the Honorable John Ajaka on behalf of the NSW premier. The two sides exchanged views on China's relations with Australia and NSW.


In 2015 the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board (NSW LPAB), which is chaired by Bathurst, awarded the Communist Party Of China linked Zhu Minshen and his Top Group the first ever license to award law degrees granted a private company that is not a university. Bathurst and his LPAB have refused to answer any queries about their dealings with Zhu. That license was renewed in 2019.

The license also grants Zhu the power to decide who is or is not qualified to be admitted to practise law in NSW and Australia. This power has been granted despite the security issues that concern Zhu and his activities. 

This week Ambassador Cheng threatened the Australian economy in retaliation for demands that China adhere to international legal norms.  That threat implies a disregard for the rule of law for which Bathurst as Chief Justice is primarily responsible. Thus far Bathurst has refused to be held accountable for his decisions which have favoured an important link in China's apparatus in Australia. 
Cheng's threat makes that overdue explanation a matter of urgency. 

END

SEE ALSO 

Legal Profession Admission Board Annual Report 2015-16 deficiency : Is the Member for Cronulla, the AG NSW, a victim of regulatory capture by NSW Liberal donor Top Group?

Zhu Minshen's law school approvals involved the NSW Supreme Court administration but Chief Justice Bathurst and AG Speakman ultimately responsible- approvals & renewals granted despite Dastiyari scandal, Zhu's defiance of AFP directives

Zhu Minshen's law school approvals involved the NSW Supreme Court administration but Chief Justice Bathurst and AG Speakman ultimately responsible- approvals & renewals granted despite Dastiyari scandal, Zhu's defiance of AFP directives

Zhu Minshen's Top Group NSW LPAB review "went smoothly" despite not providing a cashflow statement LPAB ignores cashflow despite massive fall in market cap, falling cash holdings-Chairman of the LPAB was once a leading commercial QC,so LPAB actions hard to comprehend

"Glad" Berejiklian' lockdown based on advice from Atlassian's Scott Fraqhuar- Continued lockdown demands that the data,advice and modelling be made public; Atlassian is NASDAQ listed, may be compelled to disclose all to NASDAQ,investors shareholders

by Ganesh Sahathevan




"Glad" Berejiklian has decided that NSW businesses must continue to suffer the consequences of her lockdown, despite the national cabinet's decision to ease restrictions.
On 2 May 2020 The Australian reported that  Berejiklian's lockdown decisions have  not been based on advice from NSW public servants but from friend Scott Faqhuar and his NASDAQ listed Atlassian:

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian turned to tech billionaire Scott Farquhar during the darkest hours of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing­ that his data and modelling expertise put the state on an early war footing that helped prevent­ the horrific death tolls occurrin­g elsewhere.

As NSW eased its first social restriction­s on Friday, Ms Berejiklian spoke of how her personal relationsh­ip with Mr Farquhar and other leading industry figures had been key to moving early with social restrictions that flattened the infection curve and secured the state against disaster.

She said Mr Farquhar, co-chief executive of Atlassia­n, had stepped in at a time when the ­extent and severity of the virus was still unclear.

He assisted with establishing the initial modelling that informed Ms Berejiklian’s “war cabinet’’ to move quickly against the virus; it was also Mr Farquhar who urged the Premier to publicise as much data as possible, so the community would heed the message of self-isolation.

“Scott Farquhar is a legend,” Ms Berejiklian told The Weekend Australian. “You don’t just need to be a health expert to manage a pandemic, you need to be a data expert and know what modelling shows you — and he is amazing. He helped me in the early days of the pandemic with data and managing data.”
Mr Farquhar and Ms Berejik­lian are understood to speak often, but he took a central role in identifying the severity of the pandemic during late February, when most countries were still moving cautiously against the virus. At that stage, in Australia, the likelihood of mass infections was, to some, a possibility rather than a certainty.

NSW subsequently became one of the strongest advocates in national cabinet meetings of stronger lockdown measures and school closures.

Asked to confirm his role, the 40-year-old told The Weekend Australian that Atlassian, which assisted with building the COVIDSafe app, was always “willing and able” to assist the government. The company also assisted the federal government with its Whats­App messaging service bot.

“COVID-19 is one of the biggest issues that government and business have ever had to face, so we’re proud to work together and help out however we can,” he said.

Why Gladys needed Scott Farqhuar to help "with data and managing data" requires explanation for that is the job of any number of departments within the NSW public service.As reported, the modelling is not rocket science; the State Of Kerala in India was able to undertake some of the work using free open source software.

Now that Berejiklian insists that business and wage earners  must continue to suffer restrictions, business and the people of NSW are even more entitled to the data, models and advice underlying her decisions.

She is not likely to agree, but Atlassaian on the other hand has a duty to disclose its dealings to the NASDAQ.There are penalties for non-disclosure, so it is best that all interested parties look to the NASDAQ and US regulators for answers that can explain why businesses and the people of NSW ought to endure continuing losses.
END 

Beijing completely broke their promise on HK, says Martin Lee-by Leslie Fong's reckoning Martin is prime example of someone who has "succumbed to cerebral shampooing by the West"

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                                          Martin Lee SC launching a new political party.


Readers will recall this bit of advise from Strait Times Singapore former editor, Leslie Fong:
Anyone without scales over his eyes and who has not succumbed to cerebral shampooing by the West will have realised by now that large parts of its media are biased, if not outright antagonistic, in their reporting of China

Compare that to the words of Martin Lee SC:

“At the time Beijing was worried that people would all leave.  To win their hearts, it (promised to allow) Hong Kong people to rule Hong Kong and to have a high degree of autonomy.....They (are) now saying very clearly that the (Communist) Party would rule Hong Kong, not Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong. So we have to do whatever they tell us. This has completely broken their promise.” 

This writer prefers the Martin Lee.

To Be Read With 

A case of sheep be true, sheep be true from Leslie Fong, former editor of the Straits Times