Main headlines from this issue

South Korea: DAPA refines its guidelines

South Korea’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) indicated in February that it would soon be changing its offset guidelines. The Administration has now published an English translation. The translation however is not straightforward.

Australia: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be an offset!

Malcolm Taylor, CEO of C&I Projects Group, applied with significant effect an Australian offset version of the duck test in his address to the GOCA offset conference in Amsterdam last month. He also predicted that Europe, too, may soon start waddling like an Antipodean duck.

Greek parliament to investigate former defence minister over German submarine contract

An extraordinary plenary session of the Greek parliament voted 226-9 for a probe into the contract awarded in 2000 to Hellenic Shipyards of Greece and Germany’s HDWand Ferrostaal for four submarines. Fifteen legislators abstained.

Philippines details proposed BOT rule changes

The Philippines government has presented planned changes to the implementation of the 20-year-old Build- Operate-Transfer (BOT) law in a bid to move the centrepiece public-private partnership (PPP) program forward.

Brazil obliges Rolls-Royce to boost local content in commercial sector

Rolls-Royce will invest $120m in Brazil in 2011 and 2012 to raise the volume of locally produced components in the equipment it supplies to the oil and gas industry.