India Blacklist Derails ST. Kinetics' Howitzer

Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (ST Kinetics), which was blacklisted by the Indian government in early June, said it has still not received any official advisory from the Indian authority on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the decision. The company said the blacklisting move came the same day as a decision by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to put off the trials of ST Kinetics' ultra-light howitzer guns, which were set for trials in India on June 5. "ST Kinetics has since approached the authority for clarifications and presented to the Ministry of Defence a list of all our business activities in India," said a company news release issued Tuesday. "While awaiting a response from the MoD, we have offered all cooperation to assist with any investigation as appropriate and hope that the MoD will quickly review the matter and clear ST Kinetics' reputation."ST Kinetics is one of seven companies blacklisted by the MoD on June 5; the move came after names from the firms surfaced in alleged corruption charges against Sudipta Ghosh, former director general of the Ordnance Factory, and has put on hold all acquisition cases in the pipeline for those companies.The MoD's decision followed advisement from the CBI, which is probing the corruption charges against Ghosh.Sources in the MoD say the 155mm/39-caliber ultra light howitzer gun program, for which ST Kinetics was a bidder, will now be put out for new bids.ST Kinetics said in its release, "If the reports are true, it would be extremely unfair to ST Kinetics, who has rigorously followed the tender process. As part of a public listed Group, ST Kinetics is a responsible company bound by stringent corporate governance. We reiterate that all our actions in the bidding process are above board,"The Defence Ministry last year issued the request for proposals (RFP) to purchase the ultra-light howitzer guns. The RFP was sent to Singapore Technologies and BAE Systems.ST Kinetics said in its statement that after being short-listed in the 155mm gun program, the company chartered a C-130 from Lynden Air Charter to transport the equipment from Singapore to India. "The equipment arrived in India on 29 May 2009. It was positioned and ready for trials on 5 June 2009. In the evening of the same day, the Indian MoD informed ST Kinetics of the trials postponement."

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