RE: RNS Out26 Jun 2018 08:36
Part three.......................
On 22 December 2017 we announced we had finalised legal and commercial negotiations apart from a few minor commercial and contractual issues. On 28 March 2018 we announced that the outstanding commercial and contractual issues has been agreed and that we were awaiting the client's internal approval process to complete. On 7 May 2018 the client finalised its approval process and the contract was signed. The contract is structured so that the effective date commences on the exchange of formal board letters between us and the client, which was expected to take place within 8 weeks of contract signing. The purpose of the exchange of letters is to allow both parties time to ensure everything is in place before commencing operations whilst giving both parties comfort that the contract was finalised, and terms could not be changed.
"Unfortunately, on 8 May 2018 President Trump made an announcement that the US was unilaterally withdrawing from the JCPOA agreement and re-imposing sanctions. Whilst none of Westminster's proposed equipment or services is subject to any existing or proposed sanctions, the US action has implications for finance and banking and has created uncertainty in the international business community.
"The other signatories to the JCPOA agreement, being China, Russia, Germany, France and the UK, have all stated their continued support for the agreement, as have the European Union (EU), the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency and most other leading countries around the world. Germany, France and the United Kingdom have jointly vowed to uphold the JCPOA agreement and on 4 June 2018 wrote to the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, regarding exemptions for EU businesses and certain banking issues. Also, as widely reported, the EU is considering putting measures in place to protect and support European companies against US extraterritorial actions, which is expected to be in place before 6 August 2018.
"Given the initial uncertainty, and following discussions with our customer and commercial partners, the Board made the decision to place the project on hold whilst it seeks clarification on the impact of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the implications for the Company's banking, finance, insurance, its supply chain and the possible impact on the Company's other business and therefore to date there has been no formal exchange of board letters to make the contract effective. We have also placed on hold a second smaller contract in Iran for €2.65 million Euros signed at the same time for the same reasons. This decision, which we hope will be temporary, was prudent and sensible as it would have been irresponsible for the Company to commence these projects until such time as we are certain that issues emanating from the US withdrawal would not prevent a successful implementation.