Anudith: No Huawei in final round
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The government will make a "final" decision today on which company gets to supply tablet computers to school students nationwide, following confusion over a remark made initially by the information and communications technology minister indicating that
The final decision will not include Huawei Technologies as one of the contenders.
ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap claimed yesterday that he had never intimated that Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development had won the bidding. He insisted that he only pointed the company out because it was offering the lowest price compared to other firms.
However, upon a review of a reporter’s recording of the interview, it appeared as if Anudith was indeed indicating that the bidding had been concluded after Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development received “the highest score”. He did not say then that another round of bidding would be required, and virtually all newspapers published reports confirming Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development as the winner.
Anudith said yesterday that the computers-for-children policy committee chaired by Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvej would make a decision today after considering final offers from Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development and two other firms. Anudith is also a member of the committee.
The government plans to acquire 900,000 tablets for schoolchildren to fulfil an
election promise. The apparent flip-flopping in relation to the bidding will certainly raise suspicions of political interference. The other firms involved in the final decision are TCL Corporation and Haier Information Technology.
The ICT minister confirmed that Huawei Technologies, which was the subject of speculation recently, has been counted out of the final bidding. Besides, Anudith said, Huawei’s offered price was already too high.
In fact, he said, Huawei did not even participate in the previous round of bidding, in which Scope was declared as “scoring the highest points”, while TCL Corp and Haier Information Technology tied with the same points.
Scope offered the lowest price at US$81 (Bt2,481) per tablet, while Huawei offered the tablets for $135 apiece.
“We are not annulling the bidding,” Anudith said yesterday. “It was never finalised in the first place.”
Apart from pricing, the decision-making committee will today consider production readiness, delivery and after-sale services. Specs will also come into play, sources told The Nation.
