Tag: GMR

New Indian High Commissioner emphasises “unshakable” relationship with the Maldives

The new Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Rajeev Shahare has emphasised the “unshakable” long-standing relationship between between both countries during a meeting with local media yesterday (April 10).

The new commissioner, who speaks fluent Arabic, previously served in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Geneva, Mauritius, as well as held the position of Joint Secretary in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’, West Asia North Africa division.

Shahare presented his credentials to President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik yesterday morning, before later discussing his initial observations on the country with local media.

“It is a great honour and privilege to represent the government of India in a country such as the Maldives. With its azure blue and turquoise water, this is a phenomenal God-gifted country,” he stated during yesterday’s media event.

“During my tenure, I will endeavor to further strengthen the relationship between India and the Maldives, which is already very strong with an unshakable foundation.”

“Highs and lows”

Shahare also stressed there had been no change in the relationship between the Maldives and India, despite media reports of increased tension between both nations in recent months.

“In any relationship there are highs and lows, but the relationship carries on its course normally,” he said.

“Engagement between the Maldives and India has been constant. We are pretty much on course.”

Shahare emphasised that the Maldives held a “special place in the hearts of Indians” given the deep historical ties, common language and ethnic background the countries share.

“India is home for many Maldivians, we share a strong ethnic affinity,” he said.

He claimed that India would continue to support the Maldives and provide for the country’s needs when requested.

“India has always been there for the Maldives. It is in a state of readiness to provide whatever the Maldives requires,” Shahare stated.

Shahare also thanked the Maldivian government for arranging the ceremony “in record time”, praising local authorities for their “magnanimity” in allowing him to meet senior government officials prior to presenting his credentials to the president.

Shahare has replaced former Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay, who left the Maldives last month to take the position as India’s Consul in New York.

Earlier this week, Mulay told the Times of India publication: “there is no expert on the Maldives in India and awareness regarding the country and its geopolitical situation is very low.”

He also emphasised the importance of understanding Maldivian political, economic and social changes which “may have a major impact on India”.

Referring to the large number of Chinese tourists outstripping Indian visits to the Maldives, Mulay stressed that “One must be aware about the clout of a country from which there is such a big tourist inflow”.

Mulay also discussed the “commensurate increase in the points of connectivity between the two countries”, adding that Indian investments in the Maldives are increasing.

Diplomatic strain

The Maldives’ relationship with India has appeared strained since the Waheed government’s decision last November to evict Indian infrastructure giant GMR from the country with seven days notice.

The US$511 concession agreement to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was declared ‘void from the start’.

The government’s sudden eviction of the Indian investor did not appear on a list of 11 grievances handed to all senior Maldivian reporters by the Indian High Commission this January.

The list of Consular issues affecting the India-Maldives relationship included a number of concerns: discrimination against Indian expatriates, the keeping of passports of Indian nationals by employers, exploitation of Indian workers and repatriation of mortal remains.  Threats towards the country’s diplomats, a disparity in visa charges between the two countries and the repatriation of salaries were also raised as issues.

The list’s release was followed by the Indian High Commission issuing a statement in early February slamming local media in the Maldives for “misrepresentation and twisting of issues”.

“The High Commission has noted a recent trend in a section of local media to publish negative, unsubstantiated reports, while blacking out objective and positive news on Indian issues,” the Commission said at the time.

Shortly thereafter, political parties supporting the current government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan criticised the Indian High Commission for allowing former President Mohamed Nasheed to seek refuge inside its protected diplomatic territory for 11 days.

The Adhaalath Party (AP) later condemned the Indian High Commission and the Indian government “for assisting a criminal fleeing from trial”.

The AP was also a vocal opponent of GMR and the concession agreement signed by the previous government to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. During one of the party’s rallies last year, several senior government figures mocked and insulted the former Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay calling him a “traitor to the Maldives”.

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed also expressed his disappointment over the Indian government’s decision to provide refuge to Nasheed in the Indian High Commission. He said that attempts by any country to prevent a person from facing charges pressed by an independent Prosecutor General (PG), could be described as interfering domestic matters of a sovereign state, local media reported.

Following Nasheed’s exit from the High Commission and subsequent arrest on March 5, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighted “free, fair and credible” elections as the “best course” for overcoming political uncertainty in the Maldives.

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Maldives government denies US$160 million arbitration talks with Axis Bank

The Attorney General (AG’s) Office has denied receiving any notice of arbitration from Axis Bank, one of the lenders backing a US$511 million airport development project voided by the government late last year.

In November 2012, President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s government declared void a concession agreement signed by the previous government with Indian firm GMR, to manage and build a new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), and ordered the company to leave the country within seven days.

Following the decision – later cleared by Singapore’s Supreme Court – project lender Axis Bank announced its intention to seek a repayment of loans taken out for the project, which were guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance and approved by the AG’s Office under the former government.

“Arbitration process”

The India-based Financial Express publication reported yesterday (April 5) that Axis Bank had initiated an arbitration process with the Maldives government as part of efforts to recover loans granted to GMR with an estimated value of US$160 million (MVR 2.4 billion).

Ahmed Usham, Deputy Solicitor General for the AG’s Office, told Minivan News today that although some discussions had been held with Axis Bank, there had been no notice of arbitration given to the state by the finance group over the loan issue.

“We have requested some documents from [the bank] and we are set to meet with them after receiving these,” he said.  “There has been no talk of arbitration.”

Usham added that the documents requested from Axis Bank by the AG’s Office pertained to loans taken from GMR as part of the INIA development.

Acting Minister of Finance Ahmed Mohamed said he too was not aware of any arbitration hearings concerning Axis Bank, or even if talks had been held on the matter.

“All I am aware of is that there was a teleconference held Thursday (April 4),” he stated.

GMR arbitration

The government meanwhile is set to participate Wednesday (April 10) in the preliminary hearing of a separate arbitration case with GMR over the decision to void its airport concession agreement .

Authorities have previously told local media that the meeting, scheduled to take place in London, was not an official arbitration hearing, but rather a means to outline the timeline for both parties to present their case. Once the process for the arbitration is agreed, official hearings are expected to begin in Singapore.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the Maldives will be represented by Singapore National University Professor M Sonaraja, while former Chief Justice of the UK, Lord Nicholas Addison Phillips, will represent GMR.

The arbitrator mutually agreed by both GMR and the government is retired senior UK Judge, Lord Leonard Hubert Hoffman.

Concession agreement

In 2010, GMR-Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) consortium, the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed and Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) entered into a 25-year concession agreement worth US$511 million (MVR 7.787 billion) – in which the GMR-MAHB Consortium was contracted with the management and upgrading of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) within the 25 year contract period.

However in November 2012, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik declared the developer’s concession agreement void and ordered it to leave the country within seven days.

A last minute injunction from the Singapore High Court during arbitration proceedings was overturned on December 6, after Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon declared that “the Maldives government has the power to do what it wants, including expropriating the airport.”

GMR is seeking US$800 million in compensation for the sudden termination, while the Maldivian government is contending that it owes nothing as the contract was ‘void ab initio’, or invalid from the outset.

If decided in GMR’s favour, the outcome of the case could potentially see the Maldives facing sovereign bankruptcy, with millions of dollars in additional debt emptying the state’s already dwindling reserves, crippling the country’s ability to obtain further credit, and potentially sparking an economic or currency crisis.

If decided in the Maldives’ favour the case risks setting a legal precedent for effective nationalisation of foreign investments signed under previous governments, and placing existing investors further at the mercy of the country’s turbulent politics.

Kuwaiti interest

Discussing the future of INIA on Thursday, President Waheed was reported in local media as stating that authorities in Kuwait had expressed an interest to “assist in the development” of INIA, following a recent official visit to the country.

“Kuwait is really interested in the airport. It’s because we have received a great deal of assistance from the Kuwait Fund to develop the airport so far. They are well aware of it,” he was quoted in newspaper Haveeru as saying.

“They really believe that we have managed to develop the airport with the assistance of Kuwait. So there is a lot of interest. They are very happy that the government has now taken the initiative to develop the airport.”

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said he was in a meeting and unavailable for comment when contacted by Minivan News.

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Restrictions on foreign investment to remain under amended business registration bill

A ban on foreign investment in the Maldives involving capital of under US$5 million will continue under amendments to the country’s Business Registration Bill proposed by parliament.

The health, accounting, taxation and financial services sectors will be exempted from the minimum investment requirement. However involvement in any other sector will require a foreign national to have capital of over US$5 million and a deposit of US$1 million with a group approved by the Maldivian government, local media has reported.

Parliament’s Committee on Economic Affairs omitted a proposed amendment from the latest draft of the Business Registration Bill, that would have potentially opened up smaller businesses such as retail and coffee shops to foreign investors.

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) has called for even tighter restrictions on specific sectors, stating a need to protect smaller-scale local businesses such as restaurants and retail outlets.

Former Minister of Economic Development Minister Mahmoud Razee said the Business Registration Bill was designed to open up new forms of capital from foreign investors in areas such as large-scale agriculture and fisheries projects, rather than allowing foreigners to directly compete with local retail businesses.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed has returned the bill after it was passed by parliament in June 2012, citing unspecified “socio-economic” concerns.

According to the Sun Online, President Waheed opted not to ratify the bill over concerns it would abolish a law restricting foreign involvement in imports, cafes and canteens.

The bill is also reported to include provisions restricting foreigners to involvement in the wholesale trade,  with the exception of duty free stores, while also restricting businesses said to be ‘against the interest of the Maldivian public’.

Investment friendly

MNCCI Vice President Ishmael Asif told Minivan News that foreign investment should be opened up in the Maldives, but only in terms of large-scale projects like resort development and infrastructure – areas where Maldivians lacked sufficient experience.

Responding to the latest draft of the bill, Asif contended that the Maldives had always been “very friendly” to foreign investors and would continue to welcome large-scale projects such as resort and airport development.

The government last November cancelled the country’s largest single foreign investment project – a US$511 concession agreement with Indian infrastructure giant GMR to manage and develop a new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, declaring the sovereign agreement “void” from the start. The company was then given seven days to leave.

Asif said while the MNCCI had not yet had any input on the current iteration of the bill since it was returned to parliament, it was concerned about provisions allowing a foreigner with over US$5 million in capital to invest in any sector.

Asif said that the chamber of commerce favoured sector-specific restrictions that would outlaw any foreigner from investing in areas such as retail or food and beverage. However, he maintained that opportunities should remain for international investors to join with medium-sized local businesses in the form of joint ventures.

With the bill undergoing review at parliamentary level, Asif accused regulators of remaining far behind the industry, pointing to the emergence of online consumers and the lack of an international secure payment service like ‘Paypal’.

“A lot of the time regulators are far too behind the industry. The focus of the bill should be to encourage enterprise here,” he said.

Business Registration Bill

Razee said the business registration bill was devised under the Nasheed administration to open new areas for foreign investment, as well boost the capabilities of national industries in the longer-term.

He added that investment areas such as in the retail sector would have been protected from direct competition from foreign investors, while  large-scale investment in areas such as agriculture and the fisheries sector would be promoted.

The bill was first proposed as part of a wider economic reform package championed by Nasheed’s administration, which was further revised following consultations in 2011 with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

These policies included introducing a general Goods and Services Tax (GST), raising import duties on pork, tobacco, alcohol and plastic products, raising the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) to six percent, and reducing import duties on certain products.

Razee said last year that the registration bill was intended to provide a “clearer means” for facilitating foreign investment in the Maldives.

“We were trying to make it easier for foreign shareholders to register here,” he said.

Acting Minister of Finance and Treasury Ahmed Mohamed, State Minister for Finance Abbas Adil Riza, and Presidents Office Spokesperson Masood Imad were not responding to calls at the time of press.

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MACL pays STO US$7.5 million in overdue jet fuel charges

The state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has settled US$7.5 (MVR115 million) in outstanding jet fuel charges.

The payments, owed to the State Trading Organisation (STO), were left outstanding from before the government opted last November to void a contract with Infrastructure group GMR to manage and develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

A deadline for payment of the bills had reportedly been set by the STO for December 2012, but was delayed after Singapore’s Supreme Court overturned an injunction blocking the Maldivian government from voiding its sovereign agreement with GMR.

STO Managing Director Managing Director Shahid Ali has said that after the state-owned MACL took over management of the site from GMR late last year, it also took on the developer’s existing contracts and therefore had been required to pay the outstanding fuel charges, local Newspaper Haveeru reported.

MACL is requested to pay a further US$2.5 million (MVR38.3 million) in unpaid fuel bills.

According to local media, GMR had signed a US$150 million (MVR2.3 billion) jet fuel supply deal in March last year that is set to expire in April 2013.

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“Nations say it will be difficult to accept elections if I cannot contest”: former President Nasheed

Former President and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed has claimed that India does not wish for the Maldives to have a presidential elections in which any party’s candidate is barred from contesting.

The former President, who returned today from an official visit to the country, said India was concerned that this may lead to unrest in the island nation.

“India wishes for peace in the Maldives. And they see that the way to achieve this is through holding elections after establishing an interim administration,” he claimed.

“Nations are telling me in very clear terms that it will be difficult for them to accept election results if I am barred from contesting,” Nasheed said, speaking to local media upon his arrival from India on Monday afternoon.

Responding to questions as to why he had failed to attend his hearing in the Hulhumale’ Court  scheduled for Sunday, he responded that he “did not believe the trial can be carried on.”

Nasheed was due to attend the second court hearing at the Hulhumale Magistrate Court regarding his controversial arrest of the Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

Nasheed insisted that his trial can be put off until after the elections, citing the case of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s trial being postponed until after the country’s elections.

“Those are judicial procedures. That is the norm. That is how the world sees it. If elections in the Maldives are held in any other way, very few in the international sphere will accept the result,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed said that weakened relations between India and Maldives could be strengthened by renewing the agreement for airport development with Indian infrastructure giant GMR.

The developer was given a seven day eviction notice in late November 2012, after the government declared its contract void.

“As I see it, the GMR contract will be renewed before this year’s elections,” Nasheed stated.

Nasheed said that despite the government’s repeated assertions that the Maldives’ relationship with India remained unaffected, ties were becoming increasingly weakened. He said Maldivian citizens were facing more and more difficulties as bilateral ties with India continued to slump.

Although Nasheed did not name any Indian officials, he claimed to have met with relevant authorities in India and held discussions on restrengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.

“If we are unable to improve ties, it’s not just visa issues we will be faced with. We might need to deal with difficulties in obtaining much of the construction material or food items we import from India,” said Nasheed.

Nasheed also stated that he would be travelling abroad at the end of February, having accepting an invitation from the Commonwealth Secretary General, and to Denmark under an invitation from the state.

Hundreds of MDP supporters gathered near the jetty and at the airport to greet Nasheed on his arrival.

Minivan News observed that police had cordoned off many of the main roads leading to the jetty area.

An MDP representative claimed a number of MDP members were arrested at the site of the gathering.

Police Media Official Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Government, GMR appoint arbitrators in compensation case

Arbitrators have been appointed to determine the amount of compensation payable by the Maldivian government to Indian infrastructure giant GMR, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

GMR signed a US$511 million 25-year concession agreement with the Nasheed government to manage and upgrade Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

However in November 2012, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik declared the developer’s concession agreement void and ordered it to leave the country within seven days.

A last minute injunction from the Singapore High Court during arbitration proceedings was overturned on December 6, after Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon declared that “the Maldives government has the power to do what it wants, including expropriating the airport.”

GMR is seeking US$800 million in compensation for the sudden termination, while the Maldivian government is contending that it owes nothing as the contract was “void ab initio”, or invalid from the outset.

The awarding of the bid in 2010 was overseen by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which the Waheed government has accused of being “negligent” and “irresponsible”.

The Maldives’ Deputy Solicitor General Ahmed Usham told local media today that the Maldives would be represented by Singapore National University Professor M. Sonaraja, while former Chief Justice of the UK, Lord Nicholas Edison Phillips, will represent GMR.

The arbitrator mutually agreed by GMR and the government is retired senior UK Judge, Lord Leonard Hubert Hoffman, according to the Attorney General’s office.

“They have sent us the terms and conditions now. A day to start the arbitration proceedings will be decided once it is agreed to and signed,” Usham was reported as saying.

Should the matter be decided in the government’s favour, uncertainty remains as to the potential impact on foreign investor sentiment given the prospect of sudden asset seizure under the ‘void ab initio’ precedent.

If decided in GMR’s favour, the outcome of the case could potentially see the Maldives facing sovereign bankruptcy, with millions of dollars in additional debt emptying the state’s already dwindling reserves, crippling the country’s ability to obtain further credit, and potentially sparking an economic or currency crisis.

In December 2012, the Maldives government paid back US$50 million to the State Bank of India, after it refused to extend the period of the treasury bonds issued by the bank during the previous government. India has called in further instalments of US$50 million, forcing the government to draw on the state reserves.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has said the government is yet to come to an arrangement to pay the next US$50 million instalment to SBI, explaining that the money will have to come from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

“The US$50 million due in February will have to be paid from the reserve. We have been ordered to pay the amount. There has been no change to the order so far. So it must be paid,” Jihad told local media.

At the start of 2013, state reserves had shrunk to MVR 4.9 billion (US$317.7 million), according to the MMA.

“Gross international reserves at the MMA have been declining slowly, and now account for just one and half months of imports, and could be more substantially pressured if major borrowings maturing in the next few months are not rolled over,” an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation observed during a mission to the Maldives in November last year.

Moreover, one of GMR’s lenders, Axis Bank, is also seeking the repayment of loans for the airport project, which were guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance and approved by the Attorney General’s Office under the former government.

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Foreign Minister admits Maldives’ ties with India weakened after GMR Dispute

Foreign Minister Abdul Samad Abdulla has admitted relations between India and Maldives have deteriorated following the premature cancellation of the GMR airport development contract.

Samad’s comments came after Maldivians were left struggling to obtain Indian visas following a clamp down by Indian authorities, shortly after GMR was ousted from the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

Speaking at the parliament’s Government Accountability Committee, Samad was reported by local media as saying that despite official assurances that ties between Maldives and India remained unaffected, “the ground reality is to the contrary”.

“Maldives and India has long existing close ties. But the recent tensions especially the GMR spat has affected the relations even though both sides have not said so officially.

“After these things surfaced we have been anticipating the backlash. I don’t want anything unexpected to come to pass that causes difficulties for Maldivians. We are working in two ways. One is to repair the damage done to the relations and come to a mutual agreement on certain things,” Samad was quoted as saying in local newspaper Haveeru.

State Foreign Minister Hassan Saeed said that during the weekly sit-downs with the Indian High Commission in the Maldives, unilateral actions on the part of Maldives were constantly highlighted.

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Maldives must pay India US$50 million next month: Finance Minister

Additional reporting by Luke Powell

The Maldives government has to pay US$50 million to State Bank of India (SBI) next month, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has stated.

In December 2012 the Maldives government paid US$50 million to SBI, who refused to extend the period of the treasury bonds issued by the bank during the previous government, local media reported.

Speaking to local newspaper Haveeru, Jihad said the government is yet to come to an arrangement to pay the next US$50 million installment to SBI, explaining that the money will have to come from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

“The US$50 million due in February will have to be paid from the reserve. We have been ordered to pay the amount. There has been no change to the order so far. So it must be paid,” Jihad was quoted as saying in local media.

Following increased tensions between the Indian government and Maldives government over the airport dispute with Indian infrastructure giant GMR – which was evicted from the country by the present government in December 2012 – India turned down a request to extend the treasury bond period.

Payment of the debt will see the state’s reserves fall below US$140 million – less than a month of imports.

On top of the debts due to SBI, GMR is currently seeking compensation for the contract termination in the Singapore Court of Arbitration, which it has calculated at US$800 million.

The company’s lenders, including Axis Bank, have meanwhile called in their loans, for which the Maldives’ Finance Ministry is the guarantor.

Attorney General Azima Shukoor recently claimed that although the previous Attorney General may have signed the guarantor document, the government would argue that is could not act as a guarantor under the Public Finance Act without  parliament’s approval, which was allegedly not obtained.

“The State is acting as the guarantor to the loans taken based on the transactions between GMR and Axis Bank. I believe that is not something permitted under the Finance Act. It is like a blanket sovereign guarantee,” Shukoor told local media in December.

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ACC files ADC case with Prosecutor General’s Office

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case with the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office today over the decision to allow infrastructure group GMR to deduct a court-blocked Airport Development Charge (ADC) from concession fees owed to the state.

The deducted concession fees were to have been paid to the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).

As part of the filed case (Dhivehi), the ACC is seeking reimbursement of MVR 353.8 million (US$22.9 million) from former MACL Chair Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem and former Finance Minister Mohamed Shihab over the alleged misuse of authority it claimed had led to significant financial loses for the state.

The ADC issue had been a key point of contention between GMR and the administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik before his government opted last month to void a sovereign agreement with the India-based infrastructure group to develop and manage Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

When contacted by Minivan News today, a PG’s Office spokesperson confirmed that the ACC case had been received, but could not provide any further details on the matter while its investigations were taking place.

The spokesperson claimed that under normal procedure, whether a case was submitted from an institution like the ACC or the Maldives Police Service, the PG’s Office would review all details before deciding whether to move ahead with a prosecution.

ACC case

According to the case filed by the ACC, former Finance Minister Shihab stands accused of misusing his ministerial authority to benefit a third party by allowing GMR to deduct the ADC and insurance charges from concession fees it owed MACL between October 2011 and September 2012.

Shihab was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

The ACC has also accused former MACL Head Saleem of allowing GMR to deduct the ADC through a consent letter signed in violation of the company’s rules. According to the ACC’s case, normal procedure for MACL would be to have the company’s Board of Directors pass a resolution allowing for consent to be given to deduct the ADC.

Airport Development Charge

In late 2011, the then-opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) filed a successful Civil Court case blocking GMR from charging an ADC – a US$25 charge for outgoing passengers stipulated in its concession agreement with the government – on the grounds that it was a tax not authorised by parliament.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration chose to honour the original contract, and instructed GMR to deduct the ADC revenues from the concession fees due to the government through state-owned MACL, while it sought to appeal the Civil Court ruling.

However, the Nasheed government fell a month later and the opposition inherited the result of its court victory, receiving a succession of bills from the airport developer throughout 2012, despite the government’s insistence that the January 5 letter from MACL outlining the arrangement was no longer valid.

In the first quarter of 2012, the government received US$525,355 of an expected US$8.7 million, after the deduction of the ADC. That was followed by a US$1.5 million bill for the second quarter, after the ADC payable eclipsed the revenue due to the government.

Combined with the third quarter payment, the government at the time of the GMR contract termination owed the airport developer US$3.7 million.

GMR attempted to compromise by offering to exempt Maldivian nationals from the ADC.

The offer was claimed to have had been personally mailed by GMR Chairman G M Rao to President Waheed. However, GMR later claimed to have received no response from the government on the matter.

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