Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do business

[Zebra]

Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do business with India : India, News - India Today

Pranab Dhal Samanta New Delhi, August 22, 2014 | UPDATED 23:14 IST


In a major shift from the UPA regime's blacklisting policy, the Narendra Modi government has decided against barring Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland from doing business with India. However, it has placed conditions, which will disallow the company from getting any new order where there is another vendor option.

As of now, all deals with the Finmeccanica group, its affiliates and subsidiaries are on hold. The Defence Ministry decision, for which orders have been issued, will allow the group to continue with ongoing business and compete in other deals.

Finmeccanica, it may be noted, came under investigation in the VVIP chopper deal in which its subsidiary AgustaWestland has been accused of corrupt practices.

This, sources said, may well be the template for all the firms blacklisted by the UPA government. The principle at play is to ensure that there is no impact on the country's defence requirements while still imposing some penalty on the firm under scanner.

The terms, which has been cleared by the Attorney General, state:

* All ongoing contracts will continue unhindered.

* All contracts related to spares will continue

* Contracts with Russian manufacturers, where Finmeccanica group is involved in the back-end, will continue

* Finmeccanica will be allowed to participate in all tenders but if there are multiple options, the group will not be considered regardless of the competitiveness of the offer.

* However, where the group is the single vendor with no other firm providing options, the government is empowered to go ahead with the deal.

While giving these allowances, sources said, criminal investigations will continue and remain delinked from the procurement processes.

The decision is a significant departure from the previous government which chose to bar every firm that came under investigations. As a result, some of the top suppliers to the Indian Armed Forces, were affected, crippling many ongoing programmes.

It may be recalled that the new government had given indications in its first days of power that the blacklisting procedure would be reviewed, given its implications on the modernisation process of the armed forces.

 

[Daredevil]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

Smart move. It will remove policy & procurement paralysis caused by banning of major arms manufacturers by AK Antony. He literally crippled our defence forces.

Hope other companies take the cue & stop involving middle men. Deal directly with the government if you think your product is superior.

 

[Meriv90]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

Useless, I prefer to be still banned than:

-Finmeccanica will be allowed to participate in all tenders but if there are multiple options, the group will not be considered regardless of the competitiveness of the offer.

The VVIP corruption investigation started on Italian side, now that it has been completely cleared of charges on Italian side it should happen the same on the Indian one in place of a half ban like this.

This is a giant gift to Sikorsky.

 

[pmaitra]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

Useless, I prefer to be still banned than:

-Finmeccanica will be allowed to participate in all tenders but if there are multiple options, the group will not be considered regardless of the competitiveness of the offer.

The VVIP corruption investigation started on Italian side, now that it has been completely cleared of charges on Italian side it should happen the same on the Indian one in place of a half ban like this.

This is a giant gift to Sikorsky.

What they are saying is that only if there is no other option or alternative, Finmeccanica will be considered.

This will give the government the excuse that they had no other choice but to buy from Finmeccanica for "operational reasons," like they did with Rolls Royce. This is done to shield the government from criticism.

 

[Meriv90]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

What they are saying is that only if there is no other option or alternative, Finmeccanica will be considered.

This will give the government the excuse that they had no other choice but to buy from Finmeccanica for "operational reasons," like they did with Rolls Royce. This is done to shield the government from criticism.

But it means also that for your Navy helicopter you will forced to choose the SH-60 without even considering other options like the NH-90 or the Wildcat.

This also means that the Arx-160 won't be considered also

I was writing from the italian point of view, I would have preferred still a complete ban. Now I know what to do first in the morning monday, going short on Finmeccanica.

 

[pmaitra]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

But it means also that for your Navy helicopter you will forced to choose the SH-60 without even considering other options like the NH-90 or the Wildcat.

This also means that the Arx-160 won't be considered also

I was writing from the italian point of view, I would have preferred still a complete ban. Now I know what to do first in the morning monday, going short on Finmeccanica.

I understand you are saying from the Italian point of view.

If GoI imposes a complete ban, and no one submits a tender, then GoI might have to go back and lift the ban on Finmeccanica, which would make it look silly. From a pragmatic PoV, this is a strategy taken by GoI to shield itself from criticism, not lose face, and also not be in a position where it cannot buy much needed helicopters.

 

[fyodor]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

Yehi to scam hai

-Yugpurush Arvind Kejriwal

 

[Zebra]

Re: Modi government allows Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland to do busin

Defence News - Finmeccanica ready to pay penalty to repair ties with India

Tuesday, October 07, 2014
By : Hindustan Times

India may have barred Finmeccanica from future military contracts amid bribery allegations against its subsidiary AgustaWestland in the VVIP chopper deal, but the Italian defence group is nurturing hopes of making a comeback.

The state-controlled firm is prepared to put a new proposal on the table to repair frayed ties with India, which scrapped the Rs. 3,727-crore contract for 12 VVIP choppers in January and imposed a partial ban on Finmeccanica.

The firm would consider a plan that involves paying up a penalty to India to reboot the relationship.

In his first interview to an Indian newspaper, the firm's new CEO Mauro Moretti told HT, "Everything is on the table, including the possibility of paying a penalty to settle the matter. It doesn't mean we are guilty. It's just that we want to end the deadlock and regain the government's confidence."

The chance to end this lingering episode in an advantageous way for India is an option the new government may be willing to consider.

Moretti was handpicked by Italian PM Matteo Renzi in May to turn Finmeccanica around.

He said legal proceedings in Italy had exonerated the firm and held it was not criminally liable for the alleged actions of former top executives. AgustaWestland, however, paid around Rs. 3 crore as fine after the firm entered into a settlement with the prosecutors.

Moretti has written to defence minister Arun Jaitley and sought a meeting to discuss the case following the outcome of legal proceedings here. The verdict in the cases against former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi and former AgustaWestland boss Bruno Spagnolini is expected this week.

The defence ministry's decision in August not to blacklist Finmeccanica followed the attorney general 's advice that a complete ban on the group could affect the military's combat readiness.

"It is possible to find a solution to avoid discontinuity in our relationship. Limitations on procurement options are not in India's interest," said Moretti.

The NDA government appears to be striking a balance between the need to punish defence contractors who may have violated the law and to keep the armed forces battle ready.

 

[Zebra]

http://www.defensenews.com/story/de...ry/2016/04/28/leonardo-finmeccanica/83671264/

It's Official: Finmeccanica Is Now Leonardo

Tom Kington, Defense News 6:28 p.m. EDT April 28, 2016

Finmeccanica’s name change to Leonardo was confirmed on Thursday after the Italian group’s shareholders approved the switch.

Finmeccanica first announced the decision in March by management to drop its historic title in favor of Leonardo, after the 15th century artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci.

To help the switch to the new name, the firm said on Thursday it would call itself Leonardo-Finmeccanica until Dec. 31, 2016, before changing to just Leonardo on Jan. 1, 2017.

The gradual change “is aimed at granting the Company a suitable time frame to ensure the required continuity, mainly in relationships with foreign countries,” the firm said.