Dear Hockeyknutz,

LOL

No no, we won’t do that…unless of course he is insulting or tends towards liable.  Everyone has a right to their views no matter how misguided we may feel they are.

My mother use to read me a poem, when I was very young, by Rudyard Kipling entitled “IF”, which has stuck with me all my life and to some degree shaped my thinking (she use to also say “empty barrels make the most noise”…which I am sure has no bearing on the topic at hand…just another thing that Mom use to say that stuck in my mind as well) and may have some relevance to recent events….the poem that is.  If you haven’t ever read it you might consider doing so over the holidays…it’s definitely not about empty barrels.

While I have your attention, I thought it might be useful to share something my colleague working in IR brought to my attention.  My colleague reads the various blogs, which I do not, and keeps me informed on any issue that may be of concern.  She recently brought to my attention the fact that there seems to be a certain thread that is of the belief that a) the L/C is delayed, and b) that the L/C requires the supplier to get some sort of bank financing/backing.

Both of these lines of thinking are way off the mark.  In fact, I cannot conceive of how discussions could have gotten so off track.

Anyways…let me try and explain…

First, the L/C has CAUSED a delay…the L/C IS NOT delayed.  Huge difference.  The L/C is moving along quite nicely given the players and circumstances….and we have explained multiple times how this is to the benefit of the project as it de-risks it from the supplier’s perspective.

Second, the supplier is the BENEFICIARY of the L/C…the supplier is not PROVIDING the L/C. Let me break it down differently: if you are selling a house to a prospective buyer and he goes to a bank to get financing does the bank analyze your credit worthiness?  Absolutely not. That’s it in a nutshell.  No more complicated than that.

So Hockeyknutz, this was not directed at you at all…but I was hoping if you, or anyone else reading this, hears anyone groaning about the points I addressed above, please feel free to quote me.

Hope that helps.

Have a great festive season.

Sincerely,

Peter