The Oxford Business Group's Country Report upon a Malaysian manage to buy is zero some-more which a open family turn commissioned by a Barisan Nasional government, claims a British journalist.
COMMENT
First it was APCO as well as FBC Media. Now a grandiosely entitled Oxford Business Group (OBG) has stepped into a purpose of paid cheerleader for a Malaysian Government. you pull courtesy to this, given a headlines agency Bernama has been faithfully reproducing 'OBG' mercantile announcements as well as forecasts as if they were some form of genuine as well as independent analysis, when in actuality they have been usually serve open family (PR), purchased during taxpayers' expense.
On March 17, Bernama quoted a OBG in order to speculate upon a Jun choosing in Malaysia.
According to a headlines report: "The fourth factor which points towards May or Jun is Malaysia's manage to buy which is staid to continue a progress in 2012, as stated by Oxford Business Group (OBG), a tellurian publishing, comprehension investigate as well as consulting firm.
The inform additionally showed which foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia has increased, with acceleration underneath carry out as well as a stable monetary sector.
With strong opening in most sectors of a manage to buy in a last twelve months, a inform said which Malaysia is expected to achieve better opening in 2012.
However, any such OBG pronouncement should be treated with a caution which it is merely a pro-government press matter as well as Bernama is unwell in a duty by not pointing this out.
Indeed our inves! tigation s have shown which 'OBG', which is additionally separately hired by Sarawak's Taib Mahmud, is zero some-more than a PR outfit which specialises in a branch of a advertorial market called 'country reports'.
'Emerging economies with discredited regimes'
Its August name, a Oxford Business Group, is usually a single example of how this association sets out to benefaction itself as something it is not. OBG has zero to do with Oxford or a University.
In fact, a advertised headquarters belongs to a office-hire-centre (service-office) in Great Titchfield Street, London. Our enquiries have suggested a association has usually occasionally utilized a bureau here.
The centre additionally has mail box as well as answer phone facilities (secretarial services) to capacitate clients to give a appearance of a staff as well as bureau presence.
The claims which Oxford Business Group is a "global comprehension investigate as well as consulting firm" have been similarly misleading.
The chief mover as well as shaker behind a enterprise, a British office worker Michael Benson Colpi, presents his Country Reports as well as mercantile press releases as if they were a form of utilitarian financier intelligence.
However, nonetheless these reports appear to be marketed during a really whim cost upon a OBG website, they have been in actuality paid for by a governments which elect them, which is a really different commercial operation model indeed.
You usually have to look during a countries which have utilized a OBG's services as well as those which haven't. Don't worry to seek OBG investment advice upon Europe, America, Australia or indeed any nation where there is any form of transparency or auditing of supervision expenditure.
OBG specialises instead in "emerging economies" as well as countries where discredited regimes have been looking positive coverage, which they cannot get elsewhere!
! < strong>Misleading reports
Without exception, OBG Country Reports regularly feature a vast picture of a applicable country's domestic leader upon a front page as well as afterwards proceed to pour regard onto his policies upon any other page.
For example, of Ghadaffi, OBG's 2010 Libya Country Report said: "The country's earlier domestic story was troubled, but given 1969 [the date of Ghadaffi's coup] institutions have grown during a solid pace as well as have been right away mostly stable"!
Likewise of Tunisia's right away deposed dictator Ben Ali, OBG's 2010 Country Report opined: "political as well as amicable fortitude distortion during a core of a Tunisian model"!
Of Syria OBG headlines upon "High Powered Diplomacy as a universe beats a path to Damascus" OBG continues: "With expanding traffic ties as well as taking flight levels of foreign investment, as well as a immature as well as fast growing population, Syria is staid for mercantile growth in a entrance years. Reform programs have been underneath approach in most areas"
With such insightful forecasts as these, what credit should be given to OBG's presumably design as well as independent investigate of Malaysia?
Indeed, notwithstanding all sorts of claims about graphs as well as professional mercantile evaluation, a OBG's Country Reports read some-more similar to travel guides than investment tools.
"Fun as well as utterly utilitarian if you have been upon vacation a country", commented a single economist you questioned. But he went upon to indicate which no critical financier would cruise relying upon what is essentially a supervision commissioned puff square for making genuine investment decisions.
It is maybe of make use of when evaluating as well as bargain a loyal inlet of a Oxford Business Group guides to cruise whom Benson Colpi has hired to author them.
It turns out which his editorial executive is none other th! an a for mer editor of a number of discredited pornographic papers in a UK, a single Peter Grimsditch.
Unqualified mercantile 'experts'
In a course of his career Grimsditch has presided over a right away defunct Daily Sport (famous for inflicting a open with obscene front page presentations of women any day) as well as additionally a unworthy Star newspaper.
Grimsditch admits to having been sacked from both posts.
Our investigate has serve shown which a vast bulk of Grimsditch's staff consists of new graduate writers operative upon short term contracts as well as with no discernible mercantile qualifications.
"These immature kids have been drafted in to whichever nation it is as well as given 6 months to interview a powers which be", observed our source, who organises mercantile conferences in a Middle East.
Recent 'experts' whom Oxford Business School have deployed to Malaysia as well as Sarawak for example have been a youthful 'Regional Manager', an American Daniel Moore, who has acquired a BSc in Marketing as well as a similarly green Jana Treek, a German who has acquired an MA in Information Science.
you question either these writers have utterly a heavy weight mercantile certification which should allow them to opine upon a Malaysian manage to buy underneath a guise of being a "global comprehension as well as consulting firm"?
How much did BN pay?
OBG is clearly upon an persisting servant for a BN government, given it group continues to issue a tide of encouraging press releases upon a unchanging basis. Press releases which presumably design headlines agencies similar to Bernama treat similar to genuine mercantile analysis.
So, surely it is time which Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's in isolation bureau (Prime Minister's Department) done an open matter about how much it is profitable for this indeterminate service?
Afte! r all, y ou detected which tens of millions of ringgit were paid out to FBC Media for a same arrange of self-promoting rubbish, before they were deservedly exposed for corrupting a BBC.
The concern about a activities of organisations similar to Oxford Business Group is not which they have been on condition that indeterminate investment advice. No financier would worry with them.
It is which a BN supervision as well as a organs similar to Bernama have been regulating these purchased puff pieces about a manage to buy to try as well as trick a own people in a run up to an election.
This is why you believe they deserve to be exposed.
Clare Rewcastle Brown is a founder-editor of Sarawak Report as well as an FMT columnist.
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