Main headlines from this issue

Frankenstein’s Law: Poland’s 100 percent penalties rise from the dead

Changes to Poland’s offset law will see the return of some eye-watering requirements. Penalties will be set at 100 percent of the non-performed or under-performed offset commitment, and the submission of a performance guarantee will be obligatory.....

New Vietnamese law looks at the technical submission of the bidders

Vietnam has announced that legislation enacted by the National Assembly last November to apply a new method of selecting contractors will take effect from July 1st, 2014. The law looks both at the price and the technical submission of the bidders.

South Africa: Arms Procurement Commission told bidders were hijacked with offset demands after they had won contracts

The government's chief negotiator for the 1999 arms deal, Jayendra Naidoo, told the commission that negotiators had to reduce the cost of the package and get \substantial and solid\" offset deals after the preferred bidders had been chosen. The bidders already felt they had won contracts and so were reluctant to improve their bids.

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Philippines: more obligations as Health Ministry subscribes to policy

The Philippines International Trading Corporation (PITC), the management authority for the country’s countertrade and offset program, is seeing a surge in the number of contracts engaging in the process. The country’s Department of Health recently adopted the policy.

“Taiwan has no credit cap” – direct industrial cooperation requirement increased

Taiwan’s Industrial Cooperation Programme Office (ICPO) has firmly denied that the country limits the credits that may be issued at any one time to $20m. Several contractors had expressed concern at suggestions of a limit last year.