Computer Tablet Project Is In Jeopardy: Thailand

[webfact]

ELECTION CAMPAIGN'S PROMISE

Tablet project is in jeopardy

Chularat Saengpassa

The Nation

Delay in signing of contract and Chinese firm's backtracking on commitments put deal in doubt

BANGKOK: -- The Pheu Thai government's ambitious but troubled plan to hand out computer tablets to nearly a million schoolchildren is in danger of collapsing because the Chinese suppliers are reportedly putting off the signing of the contract, sources told The Nation yesterday.

Even if the contract does get signed eventually and the plan goes ahead, it is now almost certain that the government will miss its deadline by weeks, if not months, of delivering tablets to Grade 1 students. The Yingluck Shinawatra administration was planning to hand out tablets to 900,000 children when schools reopen mid next month. However, this timeframe is very unrealistic now due to a tug of war over the signing of the contract.

"If this project had been initiated by the bureaucracy, it would have been scrapped already," one source said. "But this is an election promise, so the government has no choice but to muddle through it," a source said.

The sources are blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development for the escalating uncertainties. The Chinese supplier has reportedly backtracked on a previously agreed two-year guarantee on its products, claiming that the battery could not possibly last that long. There have also been other instances of backtracking, like the firm cutting down on its post-sale service centres from 30 to just 12.

As it will take about 90 days after the contract is signed for the first batch of tablet PCs to be delivered, the government could miss its deadline by several weeks. And this is assuming the contract will be signed soon.

"Bureaucrats involved in the acquisition process are becoming doubtful," one source said.

When asked if it would be better for everyone if the project was just scrapped, he replied: "In that case, the whole government will be hurt."

The acquisition process has been plagued by problems from the very start. First the Information and Communications Technology Ministry announced that the bidding for the project had been completed, before denying it and then blaming the media for misinterpreting its first round of screening as the final outcome. The murkiness of the deal then intensified speculation about why a giant Chinese firm, an initial favourite to win the contract, had not won the bidding. Then the signing of the contract kept getting delayed. The initial explanation was that Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development was unable to get a bank guarantee in China. Yesterday was the first time that information emerged about how the Chinese firm and the Thai government were locking horns over contractual details.

"The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes," the source said. "Some of these changes are acceptable, but others are simply not consistent with our requirements."

According to the source, the Chinese have been going back and forth with different annexes, making it difficult for the Thai negotiators to catch up. At one point, the Chinese firm sought an advance guarantee from the Thai side so as to facilitate their quest for a bank guarantee. Then they demanded partial payment and called for some of the production burden to be absorbed by the government.

The sources said they had no idea how these differences would be ironed out in such a short period of time. Plus, the Thai side is getting restless now because the price of computer tablets is starting to swing considerably due to growing competition and new inventions are coming out virtually on a daily basis.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was given a Scope tablet to try out during her visit to China this week. It was a scene that belied the problems mounting over the project, which critics have dubbed wasteful due to the very young age of recipients and the short-life of technology gadgets nowadays.

Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap yesterday said it remained unclear as to when the purchase contract for 900,000 tablets would be signed. "The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft," he said. "We have to prepare all the necessary documents before the signing can take place". Anudith expected the first lot of tablets under the government's much-touted One Tablet Per Child project to reach schools in July.

He said although the contract would require the Chinese supplier to deliver all 900,000 tablets within 90 days, he believed the delivery of all tablets would be completed within 60 days after the signing of the contract.

-- The Nation 2012-04-20

[TheWalkingMan]

A one-year battery?

[Buchholz]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Buchholz

[KireB]

Amazing, they initiated this project about a year ago! How difficult can it be to purchase some tablets? I thought that the real challenge was the learning content and software on it, but it seems they are not even getting there! Might be the real reason for these delays actually, I mean what to do with them when the kids would have 'm?

[apetley]

Well as the old saying goes "You get what you pay for" and going for what can be graciously said to be a minor league player in Chinese electronics who just happens to be the cheapest bidder by far is bound to have consequences.

They have already bid for the spec so why are they now renegotiating? Simply because the spec cannot be met, never met I'd wager.

I'd be surprised if the battery even has a one year lifespan myself looking at many of the cheap products on offer in any market.

As for needing the letter of intent for them to get a bank guarantee it just goes to show what a two bit operation they really are.

Embarrassing and tragic are words that come to mind and if the tablets ever reach the kids farce and trash can probably be added too.

[zakk9]

How very surprising

[Ricardo]

The Thai Customs want to charge import-duties, shouldn't this have been made-clear & priced-in, when the project was put out to tender ? Or did the government-to-government deal then-proposed avoid them ?

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

Lastly these problems bode ill IMO, for the proposal to build the new high-speed freight-railway from China to Singapore, which is still currently intended to be open by 2015, and must necessarily run through Thailand for several hundred miles.

[Pseudolus]

Exactly - they squeezed the price down and then said they would have to pay the import duties on them meaning they would make a loss. Scope also seem to think that a contract would not be worth the paper it is written on, and fully expect them to build 900k of these things and fore the Thai government to not pay / not want them in a trademark change of policy. Scope also appear to have decided that they will get so shafted by the needlessly complicated rules for them operating here that they do not want to open themselves up to having so many service centres here. All of this is totally justifiable, especially the letter of intent. The Thai reputation for the way they do business is well and truly proceeding them nowadays and the Chinese are not as stupid as the Thai Hi-So brigade take them for. I dare say they have already had to shell out a few million + baht to be at the table and they have no guarantees at all that there will actually be an order. Just a load of rhetoric aimed at the poor countryside folk. Either way, the corrupt tea money brigade already have their cash in the bank so they don't care; suits them fine to take the money and not then actually having to buy anything and do anything that might be classed as work.

[x5david]

Any hope for this government ever living up to their wild campaign promises is nil...this project like the salary increase promise were doomed from the start. All talk with no practicality or feasibility of making it happen is what they are all about.

[AleG]

A one-year battery?

Anyone remembers PDAs? Once upon a time I bought an HP Pocket PC, I have been using it daily for the last 8 years without having to change the battery.

The slow motion trainwreck proceeds, the damage it does to education will still be felt in the next few years.

[pipo1000]

I thought the cabinet had approved 1.000.000 tablets only a week ago,so now it are 900.000 again.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/547255-purchase-of-1000000-computer-tablets-gets-thai-cabinet-okay/page__p__5212181__hl__+tablets#entry5212181

[geriatrickid]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

.

More false allegations from you.

A Chinese supplier has reneged on its undertaking. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has done this and it won't be the last.

It's called Chinese Business Policy.

The fact that Thailand is being cautious is nothing to squeal about.

[geriatrickid]

Exactly - they squeezed the price down and then said they would have to pay the import duties on them meaning they would make a loss. Scope also seem to think that a contract would not be worth the paper it is written on, and fully expect them to build 900k of these things and fore the Thai government to not pay / not want them in a trademark change of policy. Scope also appear to have decided that they will get so shafted by the needlessly complicated rules for them operating here that they do not want to open themselves up to having so many service centres here. All of this is totally justifiable, especially the letter of intent. The Thai reputation for the way they do business is well and truly proceeding them nowadays and the Chinese are not as stupid as the Thai Hi-So brigade take them for. I dare say they have already had to shell out a few million + baht to be at the table and they have no guarantees at all that there will actually be an order. Just a load of rhetoric aimed at the poor countryside folk. Either way, the corrupt tea money brigade already have their cash in the bank so they don't care; suits them fine to take the money and not then actually having to buy anything and do anything that might be classed as work.

And you know all this because you are on the board at the Chinese company?

[blablablubb]

hmm, why were only foreign company's allowed to bid, and Thai companys were barred?

Maybe, because it would be much easier to blame/BS a foreign company about something and then refuse to pay, as they could do it with a domestic?

Wouldn' be the first time.......

My first thought, when I heard about this project, was:

"Which foreign, half-way clear headed company would really make a deal in this dimension, with the Thai government?" (without a huge advance, paid by the Thai-GOV first)

Edited April 20, 2012 by blablablubb

[Pib]

Who was the govt contracting officer for this goat-rope? Ronald McDonald maybe. Obviously a poorly written request for proposal, proposal evaluation process, contract, etc., combined with the winning bidder having no fear of the Thai govt being able (or probably willing) to take any legal action against the winning bidder other than possibly canceling the contract in frustation....I sure hope Ronald McDonald included a contract cancellation clause which favors the govt. Yeap, a self made goat-rope.

[slapout]

Having done business (supplying equipment/techonlogy) with both countries (government and private sector), they truly deserve each other. Both groups are probably changing their minds on specs/terms/etc, as well as payment terms.

If one group was not trying to line their pockets via kickbacks and the supplier was not trying to enlarge profit margin from the orginal agreement, a irrovokable letter of credit as a payment avenue would be issued. It will be interesting to see which side comes out second best. Probably the only gurantee is that the Thai education system/public will be dead last.

[Buchholz]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

More false allegations from you.

A Chinese supplier has reneged on its undertaking. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has done this and it won't be the last.

It's called Chinese Business Policy.

The fact that Thailand is being cautious is nothing to squeal about.

Cautious?

The scheme has been fraught with ever-changing goals and deadlines (by Yingluck's government) for months and months and months.

It started out as bogus when they claimed 11 million tablet computers (while implying they would be like the Samsung Galaxy Tab Yingluck held aloft on the campaign trail) for ALL primary, secondary, and vocational students and has gone down hill ever since.

.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Buchholz

[Thaddeus]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

.

More false allegations from you.

A Chinese supplier has reneged on its undertaking. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has done this and it won't be the last.

It's called Chinese Business Policy.

The fact that Thailand is being cautious is nothing to squeal about.

I would say it is more akin to cobra v. mongoose ...... make your own mind up about which country has the venomous fangs.

[bobl]

This is precisely how many Chinese corporations like to operate, ime...

We had several instances of contracts being thrown out the window even after they were signed, when it came time to pay they wanted to "negotiate" again.

At one meeting where vendors were invited to express their concerns over invoice payment delays, the guy in charge of the meeting blamed the vendors for "incomplete paperwork". He put up an invoice on the overhead projector and said "this is an example of how the invoices are supposed to be presented".

One of the vendors stood up and pointed out "That's one of MY invoices. And your payment on it is 3 months overdue!"

Funniest meeting ever...

[noitom]

This is an excellent case of the f---ckee and the f---or switching roles on each other. And then switching again and again. The Kingfish used to say, "I denies the allegations, and I resents the allegator."

[khunron13]

Som nom na!

[whybother]

The PTP can blame the Chinese company all they want.

But they should have thought have that when they promised the tablets last year.

[hellodolly]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

.

More false allegations from you.

A Chinese supplier has reneged on its undertaking. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has done this and it won't be the last.

It's called Chinese Business Policy.

The fact that Thailand is being cautious is nothing to squeal about.

True the fact that Thailand is being cheap on its approach to education is some thing to squeal about.

What ever happened to the one student one tablet promise now we get some day 900,000 students will have a tablet. But we must look for the cheapest one we can find and haggle over it rather than get a quality product.

Have they any intention of getting electricity into all schools or is that in the same category as the one tablet per student,

[drdoom6996]

PTP, and another bites the dust. Another Miracle??????????????????????????

[EyesWideOpen]

Having done business (supplying equipment/techonlogy) with both countries (government and private sector), they truly deserve each other. Both groups are probably changing their minds on specs/terms/etc, as well as payment terms.

If one group was not trying to line their pockets via kickbacks and the supplier was not trying to enlarge profit margin from the orginal agreement, a irrovokable letter of credit as a payment avenue would be issued. It will be interesting to see which side comes out second best. Probably the only gurantee is that the Thai education system/public will be dead last.

Spot on !!!! Pretty funny to think of the tea money battle going on in each side.....I am pretty sure Thailand is more surefooted when it comes to cheating western companies such as the German company that built the Don Muang expressway. Think they will find they are in a bit over their heads if they think they can cheat a Chinese company. It is a moot point however, as I am pretty sure blame will be placed upon the Chinese company, and the whole thing will fade away....

[Riggi]

A one-year battery?

Anyone remembers PDAs? Once upon a time I bought an HP Pocket PC, I have been using it daily for the last 8 years without having to change the battery.

The slow motion trainwreck proceeds, the damage it does to education will still be felt in the next few years.

They are just talking about the warranty for the battery. Buy any mobile phone or laptop these days and you will probably only have a 1 year warranty on the battery. That doesn't mean it won't last longer than 1 year.

Given that it will be school children using these devices with little vested interest in maintaining them well, I can't imagine they will be too concerned with ensuring they maintain the battery well with regard to not letting it run down to depletion before recharging etc.

[MobileContent]

The whole contract seems to be some how fishy.

First of all the payment should have been by L/C

(You can't trust the Chinese for 15% advance)

In an L/C it is clearly stated if it is FOB (Free on Board) or CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) Bangkok

If by L/C the payment or delivery terms can't be negotiated and if the supplier makes any changes he would be charged 0.5% of the value which can be a clause in the L/C. Why on earth the Thai government doesn't make payment by Letter of Credit (if L/C banks in China will finance or offer factoring services to the suppliers of the tablets).

and yes, Chinese tablets mostly make it 6 months for the battery but what I am missing is that they could have tested the untis for the past 4 months, running none-stop.

The Airpad tablet which is avaiable at Panthip Plaza for around 6000 Baht would have been by far a better option.

Finally why the government didn't used an L/C makes the whole deal questionable. They could have opened an L/C with Bangkok Bank, SCB or Kasikorn which all are well connected with local branches in Thailand but then again if you open L/C's the deal becomes very transparent.

[Crushdepth]

The joys of doing business in China.

[tragickingdom]

Why signing a contract with an unreliable unknown Chinese partner? It must be about the kickbacks. If you are on a budget, turn to India. In India they know 1. More about IT 2. Indian companies do not need government approval and 3. They deliver.

[anterian]

Having done business (supplying equipment/techonlogy) with both countries (government and private sector), they truly deserve each other. Both groups are probably changing their minds on specs/terms/etc, as well as payment terms.

If one group was not trying to line their pockets via kickbacks and the supplier was not trying to enlarge profit margin from the orginal agreement, a irrovokable letter of credit as a payment avenue would be issued. It will be interesting to see which side comes out second best. Probably the only gurantee is that the Thai education system/public will be dead last.

Indeed so, they are two of a kind, this situation has a distinct element of humour. I do a lot of buying on Ebay, it seems that many Chinese and Hong Kong companies refuse to ship to Thailand, I have to use my UK address.