The Voice of America reported about the donations that former US President Bill Clinton received for his foundation on 18 December 2008. This was part of the deal to avoid conflict of interests that he had to make so that his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton can become the next Secretary of State. The news report run as follows:
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Foreign States Among Major Donors to Clinton Foundation
18 December 2008. The foundation run by former U.S. President Bill Clinton has received donations from several foreign governments that his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, might have to negotiate with as secretary of state.
President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Senator Clinton to the top diplomatic post and requested the list of donors to her husband's charitable organization to avoid conflicts of interest.
Some of the biggest donors on the list, released Thursday, are the Australian government and Saudi Arabia, which both gave between $10 million and $25 million. Norway donated up to $10 million, while Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Brunei each gave up to $5 million.
The charity's list of donors also includes the controversial Blackwater security firm, which provides protection for U.S. diplomats in Iraq. U.S. prosecutors have charged five Blackwater security guards with unlawfully killing 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad last year. As secretary of state, Senator Clinton may have the final say on whether the State Department will renew its contract with Blackwater.
One of the leading private donors on the list is Amar Singh, an Indian politician. Singh met with Senator Clinton in September while on a trip to Washington to lobby for a controversial agreement for India to obtain civilian nuclear technology from the United States.
The William J. Clinton foundation funds his presidential library and humanitarian projects around the world, including initiatives to prevent HIV/AIDS, to fight climate change and to promote education. The foundation says it has received over 200,000 donations, 90 percent of which were for $250 or less.
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Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Kampung Ayer offers watery window on Islam
John Henderson wrote for the Dallas Morning News (12th December 2008) as follows (including the spelling error of Bensar instead of Bandar):-
BENSAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei – It's sunset in Brunei, and schoolchildren are jumping from their front porches into water that engulfs their floating city. Their laughter and splashing are the only sounds I hear, other than the slow puttering of our motor boat as it negotiates around houses, walkways and schools, all balancing over the water on wooden stilts.
They call this place Kampung Ayer. It's better known as the Venice of the East. This conglomeration of water villages is home to more than 17,000 people, all viewing the Brunei River as their front and back yards, main drag and supermarket.
I viewed it as one whale of a boat ride, filled with wildlife, sun-flecked views and insight into a peaceful Islamic culture few Westerners ever see. I come to Brunei to see life in a stable Islamic kingdom, where the streets are clean, the jungles are alive, and the people are happy.
In Brunei, where Shell discovered oil in 1921, there is petrol in every pot. The shell flag flies next to the Brunei flag. It's where housing complexes have roofs in Shell's red and yellow colors. But the sultan of Brunei, worth an estimated $22 billion, is trying to diversify the economy and is putting an emphasis on tourism.
That's a challenge in today's warring world, but tourism is up 7 percent from a year ago.
"We're struggling to understand the people who practice Islam at the same time they're trying to understand us," says Justin Friedman, who just finished a two-year stint in Brunei as the American embassy's deputy chief of mission. "Brunei offers a window into the mainstream of the people who practice Islam."
Mr. Friedman is sitting at one of the many sidewalk cafes dotting this sparkling capital. Bensar Seri Begawan is squeaky clean in more ways than one. You can eat off the hot streets, but you can't wash it down with a beer. The sultan banned alcohol in 1991.
Instead, we sip fruit juice made from durian, Southeast Asia's pungent fruit. About 300 yards away, Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque's gold-plated dome glistens in the sun. Women stroll the quiet main street in full head scarves and stylish robes.
Mr. Friedman is Jewish, and even his world travels as a diplomat didn't prepare him for the homes that welcomed him in Brunei.
"People here are very tolerant of all forms of religion," he says. "You'll find they're sincere about religion and practicing faith as it is important to many, many Americans."
Brunei made for a terrific side trip for my trekking adventure to the Malaysian side of Borneo. Shaped like two hanging Christmas ornaments, Brunei occupies a space not much larger than Rhode Island on a corner of Borneo's northwest coast. The population of 375,000 has free medical care, free education and a strong welfare system. Poverty is low. So is crime. Restaurants of Indian, Malay and Chinese cuisines, specializing in Brunei's luscious prawns, are thriving.
Bruneians thank the benevolent Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, whose family has ruled this land since the 14th century, the world's longest hereditary monarchy. But the real hero is Shell, which not only has enriched the people but also the land.
"Oil money keeps it up," says Ignatius Stephen, a veteran journalist for Brunei's Borneo Bulletin. "Brunei should've disappeared a long time ago."
Oil is the main industry, not forestry. On an island where 60 percent of the forests has been logged, my bus ride north from Malaysia went past lush, unspoiled jungles. No crude roads led to swaths of bare land as I saw in a flight across the island.
For a Borneo jungle adventure, Brunei's Ulu Temburong National Park may top them all. It's 77 square miles of forest, lined with trails and topped by one of the world's longest canopy walks high in the trees. A two-day trip with an overnight stay in a jungle village runs about $200.
Brunei's uniqueness, however, lies in its water villages. At the capital's busy but amazingly clean port, I meet Markim Bin Haji, my boatman for the water tour. He takes my girlfriend and me out of the city where we pass the 24-carat gold minarets of the sultan's $400 million palace, with its 110-car garage and 257 bathrooms.
Soon we float past thick jungle where a Chinese egret flies overhead. A venomous, yellow-ringed cat snake stares at us from a tree. Nearby, a 4-foot-long monitor lizard rests in the shade. A big-nosed proboscis monkey looks our way with curiosity.
As we cruise, Haji tells us about the freshwater crocodiles. "Keep your hands in the boat," he says.
There is no danger back in the water villages where the only thing separating them from normal suburbs is deep water and no chain restaurants. We pass a fire station, a gas station, a hospital. The maze of catwalks makes Kampung Ayer look more like science fiction than modern Islam.
Mr. Stephen says locals worry about the water pollution and a recent trend for water villagers to move to dry land. I contemplated that as we ended our day at the luxurious Empire Hotel. I sat at a table overlooking the South China Sea, sipped my Coconut and Mango Bomb and thought the world has more serious problems than Brunei. If only the world would look.
BENSAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei – It's sunset in Brunei, and schoolchildren are jumping from their front porches into water that engulfs their floating city. Their laughter and splashing are the only sounds I hear, other than the slow puttering of our motor boat as it negotiates around houses, walkways and schools, all balancing over the water on wooden stilts.
They call this place Kampung Ayer. It's better known as the Venice of the East. This conglomeration of water villages is home to more than 17,000 people, all viewing the Brunei River as their front and back yards, main drag and supermarket.
I viewed it as one whale of a boat ride, filled with wildlife, sun-flecked views and insight into a peaceful Islamic culture few Westerners ever see. I come to Brunei to see life in a stable Islamic kingdom, where the streets are clean, the jungles are alive, and the people are happy.
In Brunei, where Shell discovered oil in 1921, there is petrol in every pot. The shell flag flies next to the Brunei flag. It's where housing complexes have roofs in Shell's red and yellow colors. But the sultan of Brunei, worth an estimated $22 billion, is trying to diversify the economy and is putting an emphasis on tourism.
That's a challenge in today's warring world, but tourism is up 7 percent from a year ago.
"We're struggling to understand the people who practice Islam at the same time they're trying to understand us," says Justin Friedman, who just finished a two-year stint in Brunei as the American embassy's deputy chief of mission. "Brunei offers a window into the mainstream of the people who practice Islam."
Mr. Friedman is sitting at one of the many sidewalk cafes dotting this sparkling capital. Bensar Seri Begawan is squeaky clean in more ways than one. You can eat off the hot streets, but you can't wash it down with a beer. The sultan banned alcohol in 1991.
Instead, we sip fruit juice made from durian, Southeast Asia's pungent fruit. About 300 yards away, Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque's gold-plated dome glistens in the sun. Women stroll the quiet main street in full head scarves and stylish robes.
Mr. Friedman is Jewish, and even his world travels as a diplomat didn't prepare him for the homes that welcomed him in Brunei.
"People here are very tolerant of all forms of religion," he says. "You'll find they're sincere about religion and practicing faith as it is important to many, many Americans."
Brunei made for a terrific side trip for my trekking adventure to the Malaysian side of Borneo. Shaped like two hanging Christmas ornaments, Brunei occupies a space not much larger than Rhode Island on a corner of Borneo's northwest coast. The population of 375,000 has free medical care, free education and a strong welfare system. Poverty is low. So is crime. Restaurants of Indian, Malay and Chinese cuisines, specializing in Brunei's luscious prawns, are thriving.
Bruneians thank the benevolent Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, whose family has ruled this land since the 14th century, the world's longest hereditary monarchy. But the real hero is Shell, which not only has enriched the people but also the land.
"Oil money keeps it up," says Ignatius Stephen, a veteran journalist for Brunei's Borneo Bulletin. "Brunei should've disappeared a long time ago."
Oil is the main industry, not forestry. On an island where 60 percent of the forests has been logged, my bus ride north from Malaysia went past lush, unspoiled jungles. No crude roads led to swaths of bare land as I saw in a flight across the island.
For a Borneo jungle adventure, Brunei's Ulu Temburong National Park may top them all. It's 77 square miles of forest, lined with trails and topped by one of the world's longest canopy walks high in the trees. A two-day trip with an overnight stay in a jungle village runs about $200.
Brunei's uniqueness, however, lies in its water villages. At the capital's busy but amazingly clean port, I meet Markim Bin Haji, my boatman for the water tour. He takes my girlfriend and me out of the city where we pass the 24-carat gold minarets of the sultan's $400 million palace, with its 110-car garage and 257 bathrooms.
Soon we float past thick jungle where a Chinese egret flies overhead. A venomous, yellow-ringed cat snake stares at us from a tree. Nearby, a 4-foot-long monitor lizard rests in the shade. A big-nosed proboscis monkey looks our way with curiosity.
As we cruise, Haji tells us about the freshwater crocodiles. "Keep your hands in the boat," he says.
There is no danger back in the water villages where the only thing separating them from normal suburbs is deep water and no chain restaurants. We pass a fire station, a gas station, a hospital. The maze of catwalks makes Kampung Ayer look more like science fiction than modern Islam.
Mr. Stephen says locals worry about the water pollution and a recent trend for water villagers to move to dry land. I contemplated that as we ended our day at the luxurious Empire Hotel. I sat at a table overlooking the South China Sea, sipped my Coconut and Mango Bomb and thought the world has more serious problems than Brunei. If only the world would look.
Friday, September 26, 2008
$3 billion Brunei Oil Refinery
[Reuters reported on Thursday, 25th Sept 2008 that Brunei is building a refinery expecting to cost around $3 billion]
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The expected cost of a proposed refinery project in Brunei could rise from an initial estimate of $3 billion due to rising steel prices, the chief of PetroBru said.
Mohd Zaman Noordin, chief executive of the small, privately held firm which won approval last November from Brunei to do a feasibility study on the project, said PetroBru was in talks with potential customers from Kuwait and China to take products from the refinery.
"Other than these two, we are also in talks with a few other parties. None of these have been concretely finalised yet, because I think to an extent some of them are waiting for the results from the detailed feasibility study," he told a news conference.
Steel prices peaked in July at above $1,000 a tonne for Chinese hot rolled coil, but has since retreated to around $825, tracking losses in other base metals prices.
If it is built, the plant on Pulau Muara Besar -- earmarked as Brunei's new deepwater hub for regional markets -- will have a preliminary capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and a maximum capacity of 500,000 bpd.
PetroBru has appointed consultancy Wood Mackenzie to lead a detailed economic feasibility study for the project and construction would begin in 2012 or 2013, depending on its outcome.
The project would be the first world-class refining complex in the oil-rich sultanate, which now has a 10,000-bpd plant run by Brunei Shell Petroleum (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
PetroBru, 26 percent-owned by Malaysia's TRC Synergy (TRCG.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has completed an economic viability study for the refinery which will produce jet fuel and diesel. (Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The expected cost of a proposed refinery project in Brunei could rise from an initial estimate of $3 billion due to rising steel prices, the chief of PetroBru said.
Mohd Zaman Noordin, chief executive of the small, privately held firm which won approval last November from Brunei to do a feasibility study on the project, said PetroBru was in talks with potential customers from Kuwait and China to take products from the refinery.
"Other than these two, we are also in talks with a few other parties. None of these have been concretely finalised yet, because I think to an extent some of them are waiting for the results from the detailed feasibility study," he told a news conference.
Steel prices peaked in July at above $1,000 a tonne for Chinese hot rolled coil, but has since retreated to around $825, tracking losses in other base metals prices.
If it is built, the plant on Pulau Muara Besar -- earmarked as Brunei's new deepwater hub for regional markets -- will have a preliminary capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and a maximum capacity of 500,000 bpd.
PetroBru has appointed consultancy Wood Mackenzie to lead a detailed economic feasibility study for the project and construction would begin in 2012 or 2013, depending on its outcome.
The project would be the first world-class refining complex in the oil-rich sultanate, which now has a 10,000-bpd plant run by Brunei Shell Petroleum (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
PetroBru, 26 percent-owned by Malaysia's TRC Synergy (TRCG.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has completed an economic viability study for the refinery which will produce jet fuel and diesel. (Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Claims in Jersey
[Note: This article written by Ben Quérée was published in the Jersey Evening Post on 20th September 2008]
ATTEMPTS to reclaim billions of dollars worth of assets allegedly stolen by the younger brother of the Sultan of Brunei have reached Jersey’s Royal Court.
The case involves the Sultan – one of the world’s wealthiest men – and his younger brother Prince Jefri who used to be the oil-rich country’s Minister of Finance.
The Prince has been ordered by the court to hand over shares in Karinska Ltd held by Fidelis Nominees Ltd and Rostand Nominees Ltd, and shares in Greencap Ltd held by Premier Circle Ltd, Second Circle Ltd and Third Circle Ltd.
Prince Jefri was accused in February 2000 of ‘misappropriation and misapplication’ of more than $15 bn worth of state assets.
But he agreed a deal in May that year to return the assets in return for immunity from any criminal or civil action.
However, although some assets were returned over the following year – and some valuable diamonds were handed over in 2007 – there are still many billions worth of assets outstanding.
ATTEMPTS to reclaim billions of dollars worth of assets allegedly stolen by the younger brother of the Sultan of Brunei have reached Jersey’s Royal Court.
The case involves the Sultan – one of the world’s wealthiest men – and his younger brother Prince Jefri who used to be the oil-rich country’s Minister of Finance.
The Prince has been ordered by the court to hand over shares in Karinska Ltd held by Fidelis Nominees Ltd and Rostand Nominees Ltd, and shares in Greencap Ltd held by Premier Circle Ltd, Second Circle Ltd and Third Circle Ltd.
Prince Jefri was accused in February 2000 of ‘misappropriation and misapplication’ of more than $15 bn worth of state assets.
But he agreed a deal in May that year to return the assets in return for immunity from any criminal or civil action.
However, although some assets were returned over the following year – and some valuable diamonds were handed over in 2007 – there are still many billions worth of assets outstanding.
Monday, September 15, 2008
BIA's Hotel Expansion
Note: Dominic Walsh in the UK Times (15th September 2008) wrote this article.
After years of talking about expanding its luxury hotel business, the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) is finally investing. Having recently added the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and the New York Palace in Manhattan to its exclusive chain, it is preparing to invest almost £100 million converting two more landmark properties in Britain into hotels for the rich and famous.
Christopher Cowdray, the man charged with overseeing the BIA's hotel expansion plan, is casting his eye over trophy hotels throughout Europe and North America with a view to persuading their owners to sell to the BIA or hand over control under a long-term management contract.
Last November, Mr Cowdray, a former managing director of Claridge's, was named chief executive of the Dorchester Collection, the BIA's hotel management business, with a brief to expand from five hotels to fifteen by 2015. “There's an enormous opportunity to grow the Collection,” he said.
Management contracts are a departure for the group, which until now has run properties owned by the BIA, itself ultimately controlled by the Sultan of Brunei. The Bel-Air and New York Palace were both seized by the BIA from Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the Sultan's brother, after a legal battle over state-owned assets.
As well as planning a $200 million (£112 million) revamp of the New York Palace, Mr Cowdray is starting plans to convert two Brunei-owned properties in London and Berkshire into the next part of the Dorchester Collection. The first, due to open in 2010, is the former Playboy Club, next door to The Dorchester itself — but forget the Bunny Girls. The 50-room hotel envisaged under the proposed £40 million refit will create a sophisticated look a million miles from the casino that was closed down in 1982 over suspected gaming irregularities.
Mr Cowdray said that although the hotel, to be called 45 Park Lane, would be run as an adjunct to the Dorchester, it would have a more contemporary feel. “The price-point will be very similar — at the top end — but it will have its own personality. It will be modern rather than traditional and will appeal to a different audience.”
The other project occupying the Zimbabwe-born hotelier's time is Coworth Park, a stately home and 200-acre estate near Ascot acquired by the Sultan a few years ago. Subject to all necessary planning consents, the Georgian house will provide 35 bedrooms and suites and a further 35 rooms will be created from the stables and various cottages.
The Coworth polo centre will become an equestrian complex and polo will still be played. “Most hotels of this sort have golf, but with Wentworth near by there's no point developing a golf course. I want to keep the polo aspect to it because polo tournaments are great fun. It's becoming very popular and brings a unique aspect.”Despite the Dorchester Collection's royal connections, Mr Cowdray rejects any suggestion that it is merely a rich man's plaything. “The hotels all make a good return. You have targets and measurements and staff respond to those. When businesses become very soft and fluid, they lose direction and when you get economic downturns they are not able to respond.”
Despite the economic climate, Mr Cowdray claims that the company has been unaffected so far, with earnings in the first half up 15 per cent at £35.5 million. “We don't seem to have been affected by recession,” he said. “The difference is that the market we deal in is a bit more resilient. It's also shifted, so while the UK and US economies are a bit down, we've got economies such as Russia, the Middle East, China and the Far East that are up.”
The nature of the company's clientele — guests at the Dorchester include Nelson Mandela, Nicole Kidman, the Hollywood actress, and numerous heads of state — mean that even a full recession is likely to have a relatively limited impact as the super-rich and super-famous continue to seek out the most exclusive hotels in the world.
After years of talking about expanding its luxury hotel business, the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) is finally investing. Having recently added the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and the New York Palace in Manhattan to its exclusive chain, it is preparing to invest almost £100 million converting two more landmark properties in Britain into hotels for the rich and famous.
Christopher Cowdray, the man charged with overseeing the BIA's hotel expansion plan, is casting his eye over trophy hotels throughout Europe and North America with a view to persuading their owners to sell to the BIA or hand over control under a long-term management contract.
Last November, Mr Cowdray, a former managing director of Claridge's, was named chief executive of the Dorchester Collection, the BIA's hotel management business, with a brief to expand from five hotels to fifteen by 2015. “There's an enormous opportunity to grow the Collection,” he said.
Management contracts are a departure for the group, which until now has run properties owned by the BIA, itself ultimately controlled by the Sultan of Brunei. The Bel-Air and New York Palace were both seized by the BIA from Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the Sultan's brother, after a legal battle over state-owned assets.
As well as planning a $200 million (£112 million) revamp of the New York Palace, Mr Cowdray is starting plans to convert two Brunei-owned properties in London and Berkshire into the next part of the Dorchester Collection. The first, due to open in 2010, is the former Playboy Club, next door to The Dorchester itself — but forget the Bunny Girls. The 50-room hotel envisaged under the proposed £40 million refit will create a sophisticated look a million miles from the casino that was closed down in 1982 over suspected gaming irregularities.
Mr Cowdray said that although the hotel, to be called 45 Park Lane, would be run as an adjunct to the Dorchester, it would have a more contemporary feel. “The price-point will be very similar — at the top end — but it will have its own personality. It will be modern rather than traditional and will appeal to a different audience.”
The other project occupying the Zimbabwe-born hotelier's time is Coworth Park, a stately home and 200-acre estate near Ascot acquired by the Sultan a few years ago. Subject to all necessary planning consents, the Georgian house will provide 35 bedrooms and suites and a further 35 rooms will be created from the stables and various cottages.
The Coworth polo centre will become an equestrian complex and polo will still be played. “Most hotels of this sort have golf, but with Wentworth near by there's no point developing a golf course. I want to keep the polo aspect to it because polo tournaments are great fun. It's becoming very popular and brings a unique aspect.”Despite the Dorchester Collection's royal connections, Mr Cowdray rejects any suggestion that it is merely a rich man's plaything. “The hotels all make a good return. You have targets and measurements and staff respond to those. When businesses become very soft and fluid, they lose direction and when you get economic downturns they are not able to respond.”
Despite the economic climate, Mr Cowdray claims that the company has been unaffected so far, with earnings in the first half up 15 per cent at £35.5 million. “We don't seem to have been affected by recession,” he said. “The difference is that the market we deal in is a bit more resilient. It's also shifted, so while the UK and US economies are a bit down, we've got economies such as Russia, the Middle East, China and the Far East that are up.”
The nature of the company's clientele — guests at the Dorchester include Nelson Mandela, Nicole Kidman, the Hollywood actress, and numerous heads of state — mean that even a full recession is likely to have a relatively limited impact as the super-rich and super-famous continue to seek out the most exclusive hotels in the world.
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