Charles Jillings, CEO of Utilico, energized by strong economic momentum across Latin America. Watch the video here.
Dozzawba; the problem is there are not enough people prepared to ask the hard questions of either the Mongolians or the UK authorities. Simply keeping fingers crossed and hoping is not going to cut it. There are however some working in the background to try and resolve the various challenges. Like you, it would benefit the cause of more we’re prepared to persistently ask the hard questions and highlight the gross inconsistencies here. Well done and keep it up!
I too am convinced this will ultimately come good. The problem is that PIs may not be beneficiaries in this equation. If the corruption prevails we will undoubtedly lose out.
At the root of this delay are several corrupt, influential politicians who are effectively holding MATD to ransome. They are intent on getting a piece of the business and unless they do the delays will continue. What is evident is that even the most senior politicians are either complicit or turning a blind eye, otherwise the project would have gone ahead. There is only one way to get this moving forward and that is to try and expose this corruption. It is clear the UK Embassy is not interested in challenging those in power to resolve the issue. This is nothing short of a dereliction of duty on their part. They are there to protect British interests. If they are unwilling to do so because they seek to curry favour with those behind the corruption there is little chance of this being resolved in favour of private investors. Investor voices should be raised to challenge this intolerable position not to make endless purple excuses. One does wonder whether those shouting loudest are simply ignorant or involved.
When will the penny drop that this continued delay is down to corruption, nothing more, nothing less. Endemic in Mongolia it finds its way into all aspects of business. Petro Matad is no different. It has been widely circulated that two MPs in the current parliament are obstructing the development of PMs business with the aim of securing benefits from the project, which is unlikely to go ahead until their wish is realised or the government is forced to take action against those holding the business to ransome. The British Embassy has been aware of this for some time, but as yet has failed to take decisive action to get the matter resolved. Progress is unlikely until such times as they do so.
In a country where corruption is rife it is doubly important that companies keep shareholders fully and adequately informed. I and many others fear that this has not been the case with Petro Matad. RNSs are little better than sophistry, whilst what is left out is likely more important than what is included. Irrespective of any pressure (likely) being put on a CEO it is time to come clean. Not to disclose material information is a criminal offence and one which costs companies, individuals and shareholders dearly.
Dozzawba, the only problem is that the corruption appears to be political. It is difficult to know who exactly is behind this and what it will mean for the company and shareholders. It is not unknown for powerful Mongolians to wrest control of businesses from their rightful owners. If such a move is underway there are ways and means of dealing with such challenges. Regrettably I don’t see any evidence suggesting that this delay is being dealt with adequately.
There is clearly more to this delay than meets the eye. Mongolia is notorious for corruption, including using nefarious means to acquire assets. I have no doubt that the LP will be granted. The only question is who will own the asset when it is. It may well not be the current shareholders. In the absence of any communication regarding what is truly taking place it is impossible to make objective decisions regarding investment strategy. Hoping and praying won’t cut it.
There is of course the opportunity to try and gain a better understanding of what is going on. Mongolia has a rather influential and effective investigative journalist, Jargalsaikhan (Defacto). Were he to look into this I am sure more would be revealed. If anyone knows how to contact Jargalsaikhan it might just be worth it.
i am a long term holder (approx 10 years) yet i believe that there is an increasing recognition that all is not well. corruption appears to be at play, which is ironic when in 2023 the mg has made a commitment to root out corruption. if they are sincere in this commitment then perhaps the justice minister should look closely at what and who is ******ing progress.
Dinger, there is no question over this resource being exploited; it will be.
There is however a serious question over who will be the beneficiary. Mongolia is mired in corruption and the difficulties being experienced by Petro Matad follow an all too frequent pattern. There are numerous instances of valuable projects facing seemingly intractable challenges - in many cases
foreign owned projects, but not exclusively.
Powerful players (politicians and others) with designs on the projects can readily find ways of preventing progress. Recruiting vocal agitators and opponents is a common theme. Through these and similar techniques pressure is exerted in order to gain control over, or involvement in, the project. Once achieved opposition to the project melts away and the projects proceed. The only way to counter such moves is to expose the corruption, where this is evident, and or secure support from the authorities of the country which represents the company, in this case the United Kingdom. The UK Embassy has a responsibility to support UK industry where it is being disadvantaged through nefarious means or treated unfairly by the host nation. Representations should be made to the relevant embassy. With application the embassy is more than capable of dealing with these challenges. With sufficient lobbying their attention can be brought to focus on the challenges faced by Petro Matad with a view to securing a resolution to the company’s problems.