Nicaraguans were not unfamiliar with the name Wang Jing when President Daniel Ortega announced on June 14 that he would be the partner to realize the dream of the Grand Interoceanic Canal.
Back in November 2012, the Nicaraguan government granted the Chinese company Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group (Visit site) the third cell phone license. Wang Jing is the chairman of this company. Despite seven companies competing in the bidding, allegations suggest that the process was rigged to favor Xinwei, requiring the bidder to have experience in 3G and 4G bands with the ITU-RM 1801-1 standard, which is curiously only used in China and Southeast Asia.
Rumors quickly spread about the manipulation of the bidding terms and the connections between Wang Jing and Laureano Ortega, the President’s son, associated with the investment agency ProNicaragua. It is rumored that the concession price was reduced from 90 million dollars to 20 million. Xinwei promised to invest 700 million dollars in the project’s first phase and 2 billion in 2015, planning to provide voice, data, video, trunking, and internet access. To date, not a single cable has been laid. At the supposed company headquarters in Managua, there are only four Nicaraguan employees forbidden from disclosing any information.
On its website, Xinwei claims to be the world’s number one provider of 4G with its McWill technology. Supposedly, they provide services in 20 countries. However, when visiting the McWill site (www.mcwill.net undefined) to learn about the technology that supposedly conquered the global 4G market, the links do not work. It’s merely a façade. Analyzing Xinwei’s website, it is impossible to determine what they actually do.
Given the success of the communications concession, “businessman” Wang Jing and Daniel Ortega decided to collaborate on building the Grand Interoceanic Canal in Nicaragua, with a projected investment of 40 billion dollars. Wang Jing established the HKND Group (Visit site) last November and signed a contract with Ortega in which, remarkably, the Central Bank of Nicaragua relinquishes its sovereign immunity (See Annex 6 of the agreement) in favor of Wang Jing.
The day before the announcement, the Nicaraguan Assembly approved a controversial law that ratified the contract, awarded without any bidding process. The agreement comprises over one hundred pages stipulating, among other things, that “…in consideration of the mutual benefits arising from the Grand Interoceanic Canal of Nicaragua… the Central Bank of Nicaragua (the ‘Central Bank’) irrevocably and unconditionally… renounces any right of sovereign immunity it may have, and agrees not to invoke immunity in any proceeding.” “The Central Bank irrevocably and unconditionally… renounces [a]ny right of sovereign immunity… regarding the recognition, enforceability, or execution of any judgment… including… the renunciation… of liens or execution against any of its assets… (Including any of its bank accounts, whether in its name or otherwise) and wherever they may be located.”
This means that the Central Bank of Nicaragua is essentially abandoning its sovereignty over international reserves, which could be handed over to Wang Jing and his associates, whoever they may be. Unfortunately for the beneficiaries, these reserves amount to only 1.885 billion dollars. For reference, Colombia’s international reserves are around 40 billion dollars, which is the total proposed cost of the Canal project.
The “Sponsor,” as Wang Jing is referred to in the contract, is exempt from all contractual obligations, taxes, import duties, and VAT on his purchases both within and outside of Nicaragua. There are no taxes for employees, and labor laws do not apply.
However, since constructing the canal and all the promised ancillary works—dry canal, pipeline, airport, Caribbean port, Pacific port, a free trade zone in the Atlantic and another in the Pacific—require land acquisitions, the agreement grants the Sponsor “unrestricted rights to use the land, airspace, and maritime space… where the construction work will develop… unrestricted rights to… extract, store and use water and all other natural resources… and…. to deliver to the Sponsor titles free of liens on all properties… without compensation in return.” Thus, not only are Nicaragua’s meager international reserves handed over, but Mr. Jing and his associates can expropriate any property or land in Nicaragua, whether private or state-owned.
What Colombia perceived as an act of aggression—the construction of the interoceanic canal extending into Colombian territorial waters, part of the conspiracy from the Hague ruling—is nothing more than a large scam likely designed by high-ranking government circles, “partners” in this project, to steal the few resources left to Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America.
Wang Jing also committed to other projects, such as the construction and launch of the Nicasat-1 satellite, which will cost 300 million dollars, and construction was supposed to start by March of this year. There has been no activity on that front either. It’s uncertain whether any payments have been made.
Despite claims that Wang is a front for the Chinese government, Nicaragua maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan and not with mainland China.
The company promoting the Canal, HKND (Visit site), was established in the Cayman Islands on November 7, 2012. The website states it has extensive construction experience. As per the deed, it is a subsidiary of HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd. from Hong Kong, which reportedly has a capital of 1200 dollars. Wang Jing is the sole board member, and the secretariat is managed by a law firm. The contact address is the Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong.
Supposedly, feasibility studies will be conducted by McKinsey, with Stefan Matzinger as consultant. Li Chuan is the lawyer associated with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis International LLP in Shanghai, providing the legal services, and Ronald MacLean-Abaroa, a former Bolivian diplomat, leads public relations. He has publicly stated that he does not know who Mr. Wang Jing’s business partners are in the project. Or maybe he knows and just can’t say.