Zhu Minshen & Top Group's business partner iFlytek blacklisted by the US Gov for human rights violations:NSW LPAB and Law Council Australia continue to supervise Zhu & Top's activities

by Ganesh Sahathevan

China’s AI champion iFlyTek brushes off US entity list inclusion with bullish profit forecast

In October 2019 Reuters reported that the China's iFlytek had been blacklisted by the US Government for "human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.”


The blacklisting " bars the firms from buying components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval."

In August 2019 this writer reported that Liberal & Labor donor Minshen Zhu's Top Group had entered into a commercial agreement with iFlytek (see story below).

Despite the above, Top Group and Zhu Minshen continue to remain part of the New South Wales and Australian legal establishment as a result of the NSW LPAB and Law Society Australia granting Zhu the"first and only" right to issue LLB degrees issued a private company which is not a university. With that right comes duties and obligations conferred pursuant to Australian laws that can be used to determine who may or may not practise law in Australia, even after degrees have been conferred. 

Being under the patronage and supervision of the NSW LPAB, which is chaired by the Chief Justice Of NSW Tom Bathurst, and the Law Council of Australia provides Zhu and his Top Group a high degree of credibility and status in Australia, regardless of what anyone might think of the iFlytek MOU. 

The NSW LPAB, the Law Council and the Chief Justice have all chosen to ignore the growing number of questions about their dealings with Zhu Minshen and Top Group.

END 

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Liberal & Labor donor Minshen Zhu's Top Group will fund business with China's iFlytek using Commonwealth of Australia FEE HELP funding: iFlytek is being considered for blacklisting in the US, like Huwaei

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

A few other Australians can be spotted in footage of the event, which was attended by Xi Jinping and Politburo Standing Committee Member Wang Yang. Here is Zhu Minshen, who famously paid Sam Dastyari's travel bill, shaking hands with Papa Xi 4/-Alex Joske

@alexjoske

3:59 PM · May 31, 2019·

China-HK protest on Australian campuses but not at Minshen Zhu controlled campuses-Are legal profession admission rules being used (again ) to suppress complaints and protests

The Sydney based Hong Kong listed Top Education Group Ltd,which is funded in part by Australian Commonwealth Government FEE HELP   courtesy of among other things the "first and only"license granted a private entity to issue LLB degrees, informed the Hong Stock Exchange  yesterday that Top had entered into a MOU with two Chinese state supported companies, iFlytek, and its associated company , Jingle Magic:  




The board (the “Board”) of directors (the “Directors”) of the Company is pleased to announce that,  on 21 August 2019, the Company signed a memorandum of understanding (the “MoU”) on the potential cooperation of the international educational artificial intelligence project with iFlytek Co Ltd. (“iFLYTEK”) and Jingle Magic (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (“Jingle Magic”). Pursuant to MoU, TOP will introduce smart classroom products and related educational artificial intelligence product systems and services from iFLYTEK and Jingle Magic, and iFLYTEK and Jingle Magic will assist TOP in evaluating the smart campus plan, work out an executable plan by leveraging the strengths of iFLYTEK and Jingle Magic, and help TOP complete the development of smart campus. 

The Board believes that this cooperation will take full advantage of the technological strength of iFLYTEK and Jingle Magic in artificial intelligence and assist TOP to achieve 2 its own strategic goals and build Australia's first higher education institute with full coverage of artificial intelligence, which will become one of the symbols for the integrating education with industrial production. It is also a demonstration base of an overseas joint smart campus for iFLYTEK and Jingle Magic. The extension coverage of the artificial intelligence higher education will extend to TOP’s possible expansion targets and related cooperative teaching platforms in China.



In July tis year the  South China Morning Post detailed iFlytek links with the Chinese Government:

iFlytek’s focus on AI technology and its state support has put the company at the forefront of the tech war being waged between the US and China, with Washington deliberating whether to add iFlytek to a blacklist that would bar it from purchasing US components or software without US government approval, Bloomberg reported in May citing a person familiar with the matter.

“Huawei and iFlytek are very similar in DNA. Both are the kind of companies persistent enough to take 10 years to sharpen one sword,” Hu Yu, who takes the title of rotating president of iFlytek, said at an public event in May.

This deal further confirms the Communist Party China links of Top Group's CEO and major shareholder, Minshen Zhu.

It raises further questions about the approvals provided him by the AG NSW Mark Speakman, whose portfolio included security.
END 

Enterprises
China’s voice recognition champion iFlytek gets US$407 million funding boost from state investors

Company to invest 2.05 billion yuan in its AI speech platform, with 1.18 billion yuan coming from proceeds of the private placementSarah Dai


Published: 11:48am, 17 Jul, 2019


iFlytek, China’s national champion in voice recognition, has raised 2.8 billion yuan (US$407 million) via a private placement that brought in money from a state-backed industry fund and several provincial government funds.


The Shenzhen-listed company will use the proceeds to bankroll research in open platforms for smart speech, so-called next generation cognitive technology, and service robots, it said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.


The placement has pulled in investors including Anhui Development Investment Company, Anhui Railway Development Fund, Anhui Smart Voice and Artificial Intelligence Venture Capital, as well as an investment fund for state-owned companies under government-controlled investment vehicle China Reform Holdings.


Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hefei, the capital of the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, iFlytek has established itself as the country’s foremost developer of advanced speech recognition, speech evaluation and natural language processing technologies.





In 2017 the company was handpicked by the Chinese government to spearhead the country’s development in voice intelligence and take the lead in building an “open innovation platform”.


The firm’s AI speech open platform is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the new funds as iFlytek intends to invest 2.05 billion yuan in that project, with 1.18 billion yuan the amount coming from proceeds of the private placement.


iFlytek’s focus on AI technology and its state support has put the company at the forefront of the tech war being waged between the US and China, with Washington deliberating whether to add iFlytek to a blacklist that would bar it from purchasing US components or software without US government approval, Bloomberg reported in May citing a person familiar with the matter.


“Huawei and iFlytek are very similar in DNA. Both are the kind of companies persistent enough to take 10 years to sharpen one sword,” Hu Yu, who takes the title of rotating president of iFlytek, said at an public event in May.


Huawei Technologies, China’s telecoms national champion, was put on the blacklist in May although US President Donald Trump softened that stance after talks with Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in June.


China Asset Management and Harvest Fund Management, the country’s two top mutual funds, also backed the iFlytek offering, according to the filing. The new investors have a one year lock up period and cannot sell their shares until July 18 next year.

SEE ALSO 

The reports below from Hong Kong' s AA Stock Financial News quote Top Education Institute's Minshen Zhu informing investors in Hong Kong that he expects to increase fees at Top by 5-10% per annum.

Top also expects  local Australian students to constitute 30% of its student population and this will provide Top with a steady Commonwealth funded cashflow for Top has been granted access to Commonwealth funding, in the form of Commonwealth student fee assistance.

The Commonwealth Department Of Education has made clear to this writer, in response to queries, that it will not object to private colleges charging any amount in fees; the Department considers only the decision by students to bear  the debt to the Commonwealth to be  of relevance.

However, despite the guaranteed Government funded cashflow Top's annual operating cash flows are barely positive,and profit margins have been declining.

(See Bloomberg data https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/1752:HK?in_source=DirectQuote)

Approvals from the Chairman TEQSA,Nick Saunders  and the LPAB NSW,which is overseen by the AG NSW  and chaired by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court NSW  are critical to Top's business success. Both have refused to answer queries regarding TOP.

The AG's evasion is particularly troubling for he and his LPAB can and have  used  Rule 19  of the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015    under the Legal Profession Uniform Law to discredit any complaint from law students enrolled at law schools in NSW, and it particular private law colleges. The story below from The Australian 17 January 2019 provides an example.Documents provided readers will show that the background to what was reported in The Australian was a series of complaints and stories about another private college, the College Of Law Sydney,

 As with the College of Law, the AG and his LPAB appear not to have taken any action against Top with regards the issues raised in this story in 2016. 

'Internships' at PwC advertised by Top Education Institute for thousands of dollars

End 

See also 

TOP Education Institute's Bachelor of Laws : Political donations,HK Stock Exchange IPO seem to have left regulators confounded, speechless

Australian courts could decide that reporting a case similar to Shi Pei Pu & Bernard Boursicot is defamatory :Well known facts might be considered a case of interfering with a foreigner, but not spying

by Ganesh Sahathevan

In the mid-1960s, Shi was a mildly successful actor and Beijing opera singer when he met French diplomat Bernard Boursicot.






Those of us old enough will remember the story of the French diplomat who had a long term sexual affair with a man who he thought was a woman, who turned out to be a Chinese spy if not a plant by the Communist Party. 
Shi was voted Time magazine's Person Of The Year 2009.Time's memorandum about Shi states:

Shi was a Chinese opera performer who met Bernard Boursicot, a French embassy accountant, in Beijing in 1964. They always made love in the dark, which Boursicot attributed to Chinese modesty. Shi even produced a child, whom he claimed was their offspring. To improve Shi's position with the Chinese Communist Party, Boursicot began passing embassy documents to Chinese officials. In 1983, the two were arrested in Paris and later convicted of espionage. 

Should a similar case arise ,Australian journalists would have to very careful about how they report any of this, for unless there has a conviction, it may not be clear to an Australian judge that this was a case of spying. As this writer has noted:

In a recent hearing before the Federal Court in a defamation matter brought by Chau Chak Wing against the ABC the judge hearing the matter, Steven Rares J, commented:

"If you (the ABC)  had said foreign interference you'd not have a problem ... you've said he's a spy," 

Note from the Time memo that Boursicot began passing embassy documents to Chinese officials to improve Shi's position with the Chinese Communist Party.

There is nothing there to suggest that She was spying though he may been said to be interfering with a foreigner who got so enamoured that he volunteered information. In fact, given present day attitudes towards men like Shi, a judge could well determine that Shi was simply a persecuted member of the LGBTIQ+ minority who should not be described as a spy.

END 

Lee Kuan Yew's grandsons fight for the leadership: Li Shengwu's decision to abandon his defence of the charges against him may signal war in about 10 years between Li Shengwu and Li Hongyi

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Li Shengwu unfriends cousin Li Hongyi, pulls out of legal proceedings with AGC


Lee Kuan Yew's grandson Li Shengwu, the son of Lee Hsien Yang has posted a message on Facebook, reposted by his father and his aunt, Lee Wai Leng, in which he has declared:

"... I have decided that I will not continue to participate in the proceedings against me. I will not dignify the AGC’s conduct by my participation>"

This of course means that Shnegwu will be found guilty of the charges against him, which involve according to the Singapore AGC, “scandalising the judiciary” .
Once found guilty any return to Singapore will be impossible for he is more than likely to be jailed once within Singapore jurisdiction. That then will rule him out as a future prime minister of Singapore and the successor to his grandfather's legacy,leaving his cousin Li Hongyi, son of PM Lee Hsien Loong, the only likely successor. 

However, the past is a different country and a decade from now Li Shengwu could well be regarded as the hero in  exile who was wronged and who must return to lead his country. This may well occur after his cousin Hongyi becomes PM, or when he attempts to assume leadership.

While Shengwu has in the past denied any interest in being Prime Minister of Singapore, Singapore's majority Chinese  are as clannish as Malays in Malaysia remain feudalistic. The contest between the cousins seems almost pre-ordained, regardless of what they may say, think or feel.

Shengwu Li

16 hrs · 

I have an announcement to make regarding the Singapore state’s prosecution against me. As you may remember, in 2017, during the events widely known as ‘Oxleygate’, my uncle Lee Hsien Loong was accused by his siblings of abusing state power to bully them and to subvert his own father’s dying wish. Shortly after, the Singapore Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) started prosecuting me for allegedly “scandalising the judiciary” in a private Facebook post. This prosecution has continued for years, and during that time the AGC has submitted thousands of pages of legal documents over one paragraph on social media.

Recently, the AGC applied to strike out parts of my own defense affidavit, with the result that they will not be considered at the trial. Moreover, they demanded that these parts be sealed in the court record, so that the public cannot know what the removed parts contain. This is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of unusual conduct by the AGC. For instance, when arguing jurisdiction in the court of appeals, the AGC argued that a new piece of legislation should be retroactively applied against me. The court saw it as unfair for the new legislation to apply retrospectively.

In light of these events, I have decided that I will not continue to participate in the proceedings against me. I will not dignify the AGC’s conduct by my participation.

I will continue to be active on Facebook, and will continue to regard my friends-only Facebook posts as private. However, I have removed my cousin Li Hongyi from my Facebook friends list.

Garnaut's zero emissions policy failed to account for national oil companies (unless Garnaut 's models assume an invasion of China,Russia, the Mid East,South East Asia etc to seize and shut-down their oilfields)

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Continuing with series on Ross Garnaut's prophesy and his demands that Australia go for zero emissions by 2025 (or sooner). See first:

Economist Ross Garnaut failed to account for Australia's massive, proven capacity as a global climate sink, and the probability of catastrophic bushfires that can arise from mismanaging that asset: Government cannot ignore basic carbon accounting if it wants to combat climate change

Natural Resource Governance Institute states:
National oil companies (NOCs) produce approximately 55 percent of the world’s oil and gas, pumping out an estimated 85 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The World Bank has estimated that they control up to 90 percent of global oil and gas reserves, thereby serving as gatekeepers for international oil companies’ access to hydrocarbons. 


The statement is not hard to understand given that most of the Top 10 oil producers in the world are national oil companies.

1) Saudi Aramco – 10,963,091bbl/day

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, better known as Saudi Aramco, is the world leader in oil production with a production rate of over 10 million barrels of oil per day (mbbl/day).

The company has the world’s second-largest proven crude oil reserves with 261.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOe), which accounts for about 10% of the world’s crude oil supply.

Saudi Aramco is also one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, with a net income of $111.1bn in 2018.

2) Rosneft – 42,17,780bbl/day

Russian integrated energy company Rosneft is the second-largest producer of oil in the world, as well as the world’s largest publicly-traded petroleum company, with a production rate of over 4.2mbbl/day.

The company’s proven hydrocarbon resources are around 41BBOe, with a number of exploration operations increasing Rosneft’s resources in recent years.

Rosneft is the third-largest company in Russia, and accounts for over 40% of Russia’s crude and condensate production. These production levels are expected to continue through to 2021, bolstered by a number of discoveries and projects launched in 2018.

3) KPC – 3,412,203bbl/day

The state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) is the third-largest producer of oil in the world, with a production rate of over 3.4mbbl/day.

The company produces approximately 7% of the world’s total crude oil, with proven reserves of about 111BBOe.

At the end of 2018, KPC announced an investment plan worth approximately $115bn, as part of its intention to increase oil production to 4mbbl/day by 2020.

4) NIOC – 3,256,486bbl/day

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is an important company in the oil and gas market despite US-imposed sanctions on Iran, with a production rate of over 3.2mbbl/day.

While the sanctions placed on Iran due to the country’s nuclear programme have deterred overseas investments in Iranian oil and gas, the NIOC continues to invest in exploration projects to utilise the 200 undeveloped oil and gas fields in the country.

5) CNPC – 2,981,246bbl/day

The state-owned China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) is the largest producer of oil in East Asia, with a production rate of just under 3mbbl/day.

CNPC is also one of the largest oil and gas companies by revenue, with revenues of $326bn The company ranked #4 in Forbes’ Global Fortune 500 from 2017-2019.

The company’s international diversification in recent years has contributed to its influence in the global energy market, even with the ongoing trade dispute between China and the US.

6) ExxonMobil – 2,294,701bbl/day

As a member of “Big Oil,” American energy company ExxonMobil is one of the world’s most influential companies and the largest producer by oil in the US, with a production rate of 2.3mbbl/day.

ExxonMobil is also one the world’s largest companies by revenue, with revenues of $244.3bn.

The company has recently expanded its global portfolio through a number of overseas exploration and production projects, in addition to increased production in the US.

7) Petrobras – 1,987,950bbl/day

Brazilian multinational Petroleo Brasiliero, better known as Petrobras, is the largest producer of oil in South America with a production rate of just under 2mbbl/day.

Petrobras is one of the most influential companies in the oil and gas industry, ranking at #73 in the 2018 Global Fortune 500.

While the company has struggled with corruption scandals and debt woes in recent years, Petrobras has shown signs of recovery and is involved in a number of planned exploration and production projects.

8) ADNOC – 1,973,135bbl/day

With a production rate of just under 2mbbl/day, the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is a significant player in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The company works with overseas contractors and multinationals to expand the UAE’s offshore industry. Recently, this includes initiating exploration bidding rounds for blocks in the UAE and awarding a number of contracts to develop offshore oil and gas in the country.

9) Chevron – 1,830,537bbl/day

American multinational Chevron was one of the “Seven Sisters” that dominated the global oil and gas industry from 1940-1970 and continues to be an influential company in modern markets, with a production rate of 1.8mbbl/day.

In April 2019 Chevron signed a deal to acquire hydrocarbon exploration company Anadarko for $50bn, but this merger deal is likely to be terminated following Occidental Petroleum’s acquisition of Anadarko in May 2019.

10) Pemex – 1,813,360bbl/day

State-owned petroleum company Petroleo Mexicanos, better known as Pemex, is one of the largest companies in Latin America with a production rate of 1.8mbbl/day.

Although Pemex has had problems with debt in recent years, the company has invested in a number of operations over 2018 to mitigate its financial woes and boost its crude output.

Note that Exxon and Chevron rely heavily on good relations with national oil companies in order to access reserves outside the United States.These remain a significant part of their production.

The extent of state involvement and control gets clearer once the the ownership and business of the Top 250 Energy companies as ranked by Platts is analysed.

How a zero emissions policy, indeed any level of "de-carbonisation" of the Australian economy is going to influence of or affect the output of any of the above is hard to understand, unless of course one lives in one of Garnaut's economic models.

The degree of irrelevance is more stark when one considers that Australian policies  are not likely to matter to NOCs in the neighbourhood: 

1. China

China is the biggest oil producer in the region by a substantial margin, accounting for nearly 4 million barrels of oil per day. It is responsible for almost half of Asia's total production and announced in 2019 that it would increase capital investment in oil production by 20%. China hopes to increase its output by 50% to 6 million barrels per day by 2025 to become more energy independent, as the country imports roughly 10 million barrels per day to meet domestic demand.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The biggest oil producers in Asia are China, India, and Indonesia.
• China accounts for almost half of the total production in Asia and imports additional oil to meet domestic demand.
• Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are also among the largest oil producers in Asia.
• Overall oil production in the Asia Pacific is declining because new discoveries are not enough to offset the lost output from aging oilfields.
• Demand remains strong, however, with the Asia Pacific consuming 35% of the world's oil production.

The oil industry in China is led by several of the largest energy companies in the world: China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, known as Sinopec; China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC; and PetroChina. These three companies combine to produce more than two-thirds of the country's total annual production.

2. India

India accounts for production of about 2.5 million barrels per day. While production growth has steadied in recent years, oil consumption in India continues to grow by leaps and bounds. India ranks as the third-largest oil importer in the world after U.S. and China.

Oil production in India is dominated by the state-owned enterprise, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which accounted for roughly 75% of domestic production. Cairn India Limited, the Indian subsidiary of the British oil and gas company, Cairn Energy PLC, is the second-largest contributor to India's oil market.

3. Indonesia

Indonesia comes in behind India with the production of about 835,000 barrels per day. In the 1990s, when production was at a high, Indonesia produced between 1.5 million and 1.7 million barrels per day. Since that period, however, production has followed a nearly unbroken downward trend to the current level. In 2009, the combination of declining production in aging oil fields along with rising domestic demand compelled Indonesia to exit the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which it had been a member since 1962.

PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia, a subsidiary of the American energy giant Chevron Corporation, is Indonesia's biggest oil producer, accounting for an estimated 40% of production, while Indonesia's state-owned energy company, PT Pertamina, is responsible for an additional 25%. Foreign oil companies including Total SA, ConocoPhillips, and CNOOC are also significant producers in the region.

4. Malaysia

Malaysia produces about 661,000 barrels of oil per day, most of which is extracted from offshore fields. Over the course of more than two decades since 1991, production in the country fluctuated between 650,000 and 850,000 barrels per day. According to the Energy Information Association, the recent downward production trends can be attributed largely to declining output at aging oil fields. The Malaysian government is responding by encouraging investment in recovery technology and new field development.

Petroliam Nasional Berhad, also known as Petronas, is Malaysia's state-owned energy corporation. It controls all oil and gas resources in the country and is responsible for development of those assets. International integrated oil and gas companies, such as Exxon Mobil Corporation, Murphy Oil Corporation, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, are involved with Petronas in oil production activities in Malaysia, including partnerships in enhanced oil recovery projects at aging oil fields.

5. Vietnam

Vietnam has maintained oil production volumes between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels per day since 2000 and daily production in 2018 amounted to just over 300,000 barrels. In 2011, offshore exploration and drilling activities raised Vietnam's proven oil reserves from 600 million barrels to 4.4 billion barrels, rocketing it into third place in Asia after China and India. Industry analysts expect further discoveries as exploration of Vietnam's offshore waters continues.

80.5 Million

The number of barrels of oil produced each day globally.

Vietnam's state-owned oil and gas company, PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation, is involved in all oil production in Vietnam via its production subsidiary, PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation, and its joint ventures with international oil companies. Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and the Russian company, Zarubezhneft OAO, are several of the largest international producers operating in Vietnam.

6. Thailand

Oil production in Thailand has been steady around 250,000 barrels daily for the past decade. However, when it began oil production in 1980, the country generated only 1,300 barrels per day. Despite this growth, Thailand must import large quantities of oil to meet domestic demand.

Chevron is the main oil producer in Thailand. It operates Thailand's largest oil field, Benjamas, and has investments in many other important production sites in the country. Thailand's state-owned oil company, PTT Exploration and Production, is the country's second-largest oil producer. Other international companies involved in oil production in Thailand include Coastal Energy Company and Salamander Energy PLC.