Energy guru on Malta Enterprise’s payroll to promote investment

A British millionaire resident in Malta is being paid €6,000 to help Malta Enterprise, the government's investment-attraction arm, attract foreign direct investment and also promote Maltese business abroad.

Shiv Shankaran Nair, whose name attracted the attention of Maltese media when he accompanied energy minister Konrad Mizzi on a trip to Qatar last month, is a consultant who styles himself as "China's secret weapon in Africa".

A spokesperson for the ministry for economy, investment and small business has confirmed Nair is being paid €6,000 for his services.

Although a request for a copy of the contact engaging Nair's services was not upheld, the spokesperson said the government wanted results by the end of year.

"The letter of engagement clearly states that Malta Enterprise is expecting to see concrete results before the end of this year," the spokesperson told MaltaToday.

Asked to explain how and when Nair's services were requested, the ministry said Nair would work on investment.

"Malta Enterprise engaged Mr Shiv Shankaran Nair to identify concrete leads for investment promotion in China, the Middle East and South East Asia, including introductions to the individuals and companies concerned," the spokesperson said.

Nair's career has been spent working with governments in Africa, the former Soviet Union states, and Latin America, as well as with a host of Chinese government-owned corporations CAMCE, CCECC, Sinopec, China Railways, CETC, China Shipbuilding and Sinoma.

His own company bio describes him as having been so successful on behalf of his Chinese clients, that the Economist magazine once dubbed him 'China's secret weapon in Africa'.

With an MBA in political risk from the Scottish Business School, in 1996 Nair was appointed the first foreign advisor in the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, a role that he replicated subsequently in several former Soviet republics.

Nair has specialised in working with the China Africa Development Fund and Chinese Exim Bank, advising countries on tapping into Chinese infrastructure financing. Among the projects he has been involved in are Chinese loans to Ecuador, the Ghana Rail Rehabilitation Facility, the South Sudan facility for dams on the Nile and the South Sudan-Uganda railway lines.

Among his past and present positions are political advisor to the president of Kalmykia, advisor on international finance to the deputy prime minister of Somalia, advisor on international finance to the minister of energy of South Sudan and advisor on international energy acquisitions to Poly Energy China.

He was also project advisor to CAMCE, CCECC, Sinopec, China Railways, CETC, China Shipbuilding and Sinoma - all Chinese, government-owned corporations.

Nair is also the managing director of the British North Borneo Company Ltd, whose headquarters is situated in Valletta. Described as a Maltese exploration and production company, the group includes British Borneo Oil and Gas, British Borneo Energy, Data Securitas Ltd and Premium Borneo Communications Ltd.

British Borneo Oil and Gas Ltd, a private Maltese company, focuses on the development of onshore and offshore, conventional and unconventional oil and gas projects in Asia and Africa.

Nair is also the managing director of British Borneo Holdings Ltd, a Maltese mini-conglomerate with interests in natural resources, shipping and manufacturing.