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08 Oct 15. Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, in a tight race to be the country’s next prime minister, said on Thursday his party is open to foreign investment in Bombardier Inc. as long as it protects the country’s interests. Trudeau made the comments after he was asked whether a Liberal government would allow a Chinese firm to buy a majority stake in Bombardier’s CSeries passenger jet program.
“We are always open to global investment in a way that respects and defends Canadian interests, and that is the approach we will take on foreign trade and foreign investments,” Trudeau told reporters during a campaign stop.
“We understand how important it is to draw in global capital to invest in our companies and continue to keep us competitive on the world stage, but we will do that in a way that protects Canadian jobs and Canadian interests.” Trudeau’s comments followed a similar message from the provincial government in Bombardier’s home province of Quebec. Officials signaled they are open to foreign investment after the embattled Canadian plane and train manufacturer’s talks to sell a majority stake in the CSeries program to Airbus failed.
The Airbus talks were the latest blow to Bombardier, which is saddled with debt as the CSeries program limps toward commercial service in 2016, years late and billions of dollars over budget. The company has been struggling to sell the narrow-body jet and has not announced a new firm order in more than a year.
Quebec’s Economy Minister Jacques Daoust on Wednesday hinted that a majority stake held by overseas interests would not be unusual and stressed that the most important issue for him was that the company’s head office stay in Montreal.
Bombardier had already approached an unnamed Chinese company but those discussions ended three to four weeks ago, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Any deal involving the sale of the CSeries to Chinese buyers would likely trigger a federal government review.
Lawyers and bankers warn that any such deal would attract intense government scrutiny as Canada has spent heavily over the years to support Bombardier’s plane sales overseas, and a Chinese investor is perceived as being likely to want to move jobs overseas.
(Source: Reuters)
08 Oct 15. Aselsan seeking to grow South African business. Turkish defence company Aselsan is looking to grow its presence in South Africa by seeking partnerships to form a private company out of its local branch Aselsan South Africa. Aselsan South Africa was established as a branch of the Turkish company in 2011 after Aselsan had acquired a local engineering firm which it had contracted to develop high end electro-optical systems for airborne military use. Aselsan South Africa now designs, develops and manufactures high performance electro-optical systems for its owner and also for the South African military aerospace and maritime markets. Aselsan SA specialises in advanced opto-electro-mechanical design and related systems engineering including electronic and software engineering and image processing design. Products designed and produced by the Aselsan South Africa over the past 4 years include high performance airborne thermal imagers, multi-spectral airborne sensors, in-flight boresighting systems and targeting electro optical payloads for airborne applications. The company assembles, tests and does low volume production of its designs and products. Currently large volume production will be done at Aselsan Turkey but this is will be reassessed with the planned growth of the company in South Africa. Speaking at the Denel Aerospace, Maritime and Defence conference last week, Oguz Yemisciler, Manager: Business and Market Development – Middl