Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Trump's tariffs- Was Qantas decision to end its decades long relationship with Boeing in favour of Airbus an "act of a friend"?

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 


Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a trade union and political operative who has never worked in anything outside of politics, has described Trump's tariffs "not the act of a friend"

It is understood that Trump's tariffs are only the opening gambit in a rebalancing of US trade interests, and in that regard the question that Australians ought to be asking themselves is why  Qantas chose to end its decades long relationship with Boeing, and chose instead Airbus as its preferred supplier of aircraft.   As Modern Airliner reported:

This announcement will certainly hurt Boeing which is already reeling from challenges they have faced with the Boeing 737 MAX. QANTAS has been a customer of Boeing now since the 1950s, even at one point being the only airline in the world that had an all Boeing 747 fleet

Clearly the US would not consider  that the "act of a friend". 

TO BE READ WITH 

Airbus seals the deal to reinvigorate the QANTAS Fleet.

In an historic agreement between Australian flag carrier QANTAS and European aircraft maker Airbus, a new deal has been forged to reinvigorate the carrier's aging domestic and short-haul fleet. QANTAS has been a big supporter of the Boeing 737 for the last 30 years, flying models such as the 737-300/400/700 and of course the current workhorse, the 737-800. Competition between Boeing and Airbus for this lucrative deal was fierce with Boeing putting forward their 737 MAX as a logical upgrade option for the QANTAS Fleet.

The Qantas Boeing 737-800 has been the trusty workhorse of the domestic and short-haul QANTAS fleet for many years now.

The Qantas Boeing 737-800 has been the trusty workhorse of the domestic and short-haul QANTAS fleet for many years now.

With the average age of the QANTAS fleet of 737-800s being 13 years, it was time to update to more economical and eco-friendly modern airliners. Of course, when you're going shopping it is best to go hard or go home. The QANTAS team took this rationale on board as they dangled a large order in front of both Boeing and Airbus. Not only was the QANTAS fleet of Boeing 737s up for replacement, but they also brought into the deal a requirement to replace aircraft in their subsidiary operators, QANTASLink and Jetstar.

Ezoic

So what have QANTAS and Airbus agreed to for the updated QANTAS Fleet?

The deal that QANTAS and Airbus have agreed to is the largest single aircraft order in Australian aviation history and will be fulfilled over the next decade. So what is the deal exactly?

QANTAS Airbus A220-300 made its maiden flight on 01 March 2024 from Melbourne to Canberra, aircraft registration VH-X4B.

The Airbus A220-300 is the larger of the two variants of this type, the other being the Airbus A220-100. The A220 was originally designed and built by Bombardier of Canada and is finding great traction in the regional and short-haul market.

Ezoic

The 737-800 workhorse will be replaced by the Airbus A321XLR which is the largest member of the A320 family as well as the longest range. XLR stands for EXtra Long Range. The Airbus will carry 15% more passengers than the 737 it replaces. The other part of the order involves replacing the aging Boeing 717s operated by QANTASLink. QANTASLink is one of three airlines left in the world that still operate the 717. These aircraft will be replaced by the Airbus A220-300, the larger of the two variants of the type.

  • Committed to buying 20 Airbus A321XLRs to replace the current Boeing 737-800s.

  • Committed to buying 20 Airbus A220-300s to replace the current Boeing 717s.

  • Further options for 94 more aircraft.

  • The selected engines are Pratt and Whitney.

QANTASLink is one of three carriers that still operate the Boeing 717. This derivative of the original Douglas DC9 has been a popular regional and short-haul aircraft.

QANTASLink is one of three carriers that still operate the Boeing 717. This derivative of the original Douglas DC9 has been a popular regional and short-haul aircraft.

This announcement will certainly hurt Boeing which is already reeling from challenges they have faced with the Boeing 737 MAX. QANTAS has been a customer of Boeing now since the 1950s, even at one point being the only airline in the world that had an all Boeing 747 fleet. The change will mean that the Boeing 787 will be the only aircraft in the QANTAS fleet from Boeing. That was the result of a fiercely contested race between Boeing with the 787 and Airbus with the A350 back in 2005.

Maps of Kuala Lumpur from the 1895, 1914 suggest that Sultan Of Selangor's holdings of real estate in and around Kuala Lumpur could be very extensive even if fragmented , but still worth very many billions

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

As reported:


DBKL and Jakel may well be dealing illegally with property that belongs to the Sultan Of Selangor

As explained:


There are likely to be very many parcels of land strewn throughout the Federal Territory, and in the Kuala Lumpur business districts that were never registered, or that are being used as places of worship, nature reserves and the like that have existed as such well before the Federal Territory was formed, or perhaps, like the Dewi Pathra Kaliamman Temple, well before independence in 1957. The Sultan Of Selangor is likely to be still the owner of those lands, thus preventing their sale or assignment to anyone for whatever purpose. 


In that regard the maps below from 1914 and 1895, which provide some evidence of the extent of unregistered land in and around Kuala Lumpur, suggest that the Sultan of Selangor's holdings of real property could be well be worth billions, even if fragmented. 

Readers are reminded that title to land in Kuala Lumpur (and the rest of the then FMS) is by registration, and the matter of the Dewi Pathra Kaliamman saga illustrates that the issue of who precisely holds title is not as straightforward as many assume.


Kuala Lumpur 1914



Kuala Lumpur 1895



Enlargements 





Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Maybank's Billion Ringgit loss in Australia the result of lending to PKFZ scandal linked Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy's son and daughter-in-law

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 



                                        Chan Kong Choy


As reported by The Edge:


Construction company Fajarbaru Builder Group Bhd (KL:FAJAR) has proposed to dispose of its 44.44% stake in an Australian property development company in a related party transaction.

The 44.14% stake in BFB Project Pty Ltd is being sold to Mayfair International Investments Pty Ltd — which owns the remaining 55.56% stake — for A$4.2 million (RM12.11 million), Fajarbaru said in an exchange filing.

BFB director Chan Jiaheng is also the director and shareholder of Mayfair. The other shareholder of Mayfair is Teh En Yee.

Chan and Teh are the son and daughter-in-law of Fajarbaru executive chairman Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy.


After this came the billion ringgit loss on the husband and wife team's other project  (see story below).

TO BE READ WITH 




Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Maybank's Billion Ringgit Australian Melbourne STH BNK scandal has links to the PKFZ scandal - Maybank backed Chan Kong Choy against whom PKFZ linked charges were withdrawn, Chan is Fajarbaru's executive chairman , his son Jonathan founding director of Beulah (Australia)


 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                         Former transport minister, Chan Kong Choy is now chairman of Fajarbaru. The PKFZ linked case against him was discontinued. 

                                             Kong Choy's son is a founding director of Beulah


Maybank's Billion Ringgit Australian scandal has links to the PKFZ scandal. As reported, Maybank is the  main backer of the failed Melbourne STH BNK project promoted by two children of well known KL Chinese business families. One of those families is that of former MCA Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy. While he is now executive chairman of Fajarbaru(which is promoting the project via Australian company Beulah), he was, in 2011 charged with cheating former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in matters related to the Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ). 

In 2014 the then Attorney General withdrew the charges,  prompting then Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang to write about  The tragedy and farce that is the PKFZLim said, amongst other things: 

Today, former MCA deputy president and retired minister Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy joined the long list of former ministers who were spared incarceration when prosecutors dropped three cheating charges against him in connection with the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.

The project was initially tagged at RM1.1 billion when it was first mooted in 1997, but more than quadrupled to RM4.6 billion by 2007. The final cost to taxpayers has been estimated at RM12.5 billion.

No one has yet been punished for the scandal.

An independent investigation of the PKFZ farce showed that the former MCA president was among a few who had committed serious breaches that had ballooned the project’s cost and led to billions of dollars in losses.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report in 2009 had singled out Chan, Madam O.C. Phang, the former general manager of the Port Klang Authority and board directors of the port agency for not carrying out their duties with adequate care.



TO BE READ WITH 


Thursday, March 20, 2025