age article today

Nexbis close-lipped
IT'S not often that you learn more about an Australian business from The Cambodian Daily than the company's own ASX releases.

But security technology tiddler Nexbis seems to be an exception as the company has failed to update investors on its latest efforts to strike it rich in Asia. Previously announced Nexbis deals in Vietnam and Malaysia have come to nothing, but earlier this month the Cambodian press proclaimed that Nexbis' most recent adventure is a $780 million transaction which ''may be the biggest deal ever struck in Cambodia''.

FYI
It seems Nexbis has struck a 15-year deal to help the Cambodian government improve national security systems in areas such as passport printing and identity card production. However, as with most things Nexbis, full details are not available. Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak told the newspaper: ''I am in darkness. I know nothing.''

Meanwhile, an opposition parliamentarian, Son Chhay from the liberal Sam Rainsy Party, had a little more to say: ''Whatever they [the government] do I think they are violating the law. The system of procurement is very weak. There should be a bidding process.''

Convention suggests that the ASX also should be updated before too long.