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Viewing cable 09HONGKONG2, EXTRANCHECK: PRE LICENSE CHECK: QWARE TECHNOLOGY (HK) LTD.

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09HONGKONG2 2009-01-02 03:03 2011-08-30 01:44 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Hong Kong
VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHHK #0002/01 0020303
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020303Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6551
RHMFIUU/HQ BICE WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS HONG KONG 000002 
 
USDOC FOR 532/OEA/MHAMES/ADYSON/TWILLIS/EHOLLAND 
USDOC FOR 3132 FOR FCS/OIO REGIONAL DIRECTOR PATRICK SANTILLO 
BICE FOR OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BMGT BEXP HK ETRD ETTC
SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: PRE LICENSE CHECK: QWARE TECHNOLOGY (HK) LTD. 
 
REF: A) D409520 B) BIS E-mail dated December 25, 2008 
 
 
1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided below is 
prohibited by Section 12C of the Export Administration Act. 
 
2. At the direction of the Office of Enforcement Analysis (OEA) of 
the USDOC Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Export Control 
Officer Philip Ankel (ECO) conducted a pre-license check (PLC) at 
Qware Technology (HK) Ltd., Room 1116-1119 Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 
Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong (Qware HK). The items in question 
are various Cisco routers and servers.  These items are classified 
under export control classification number (ECCN) 5D002 and are 
controlled for national security (NS) reasons. The license applicant 
is Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, California. 
 
3.  According to the Hong Kong Companies Registry, Qware Technology 
(HK) Limited was registered in October 2000.  Its directors are Hong 
Kong residents Zhao, Jian and Zhao, Yingxue with Hong Kong identity 
card numbers P965619(0) and P090752(2), respectively.  Zhao, Jian is 
also a director in Insigma International Holdings Limited.  A second 
Qware company, namely Qware Technology Limited was registered in 
December 2007 (Qware Technology).  Its directors are mainland 
nationals Jiang, Yi and Yu, Qiang (no passport or identity numbers 
are listed by the Hong Kong Companies Registry).  Both companies 
have their registered address at the Qware HK address listed above. 
 
 
4.  According to the company web site (www.Qware.com.cn), Qware HK 
is a IT system integration and service solution provider.  It is a 
part of the Insigma Group (www.insigma.com.cn), which is a listed 
company on the Shanghai stock exchange. 
 
5.  On December 30, 2008, ECO and Commercial Assistant Carrie Chan 
visited Qware at the address listed above and met with Jenny Wei, 
Vice Manager. She provided further background on Qware HK and the 
transaction in question.  The office address of the company is 
located in a relatively high end office building in Hong Kong and it 
appears that the office is also the registered office of at least 
seven other companies.  According to Ms. Wei, these other companies 
are all parts of the Insigma Group of companies and the office 
serves as all of their registered offices in Hong Kong.  Ms. Wei 
also stated that as part of a corporate reorganization, Qware 
Technology Limited was formed and would eventually replace Qware 
Technology (HK) Limited in early 2009.  For reasons that are still 
not entirely clear to the ECO, it appears that a decision was made 
to create a new company rather than simply change the name of the 
existing company.  Ms. Wei stated that Qware HK is the Hong Kong 
subsidiary of the Insigma group and that all business operations are 
run out of the Hangzhou headquarters of the Insigma Group.  The Hong 
Kong operation only provides logistics related support and does not 
generate any orders (nor are any customers located in Hong Kong). 
 
6.  Ms. Wei provided ECO with a series of documents related to this 
transaction including copies of Hong Kong TID import licenses for 
the applicable items.  She also provided a copy of the contract 
between Qware and Guangdong Post relating to the purchase of the 
items.  ECO inquired why the contract was not signed and Ms. Wei 
stated that while the contact had been agreed, it was still in the 
finalization process.  Ms. Wei stated that Qware HK expects to 
receive a finalized contract in the coming days.  Ms. Wei stated 
that the items would be used by Guangdong Post in the banking 
portion of its operations (it also accepts deposits).  Customers are 
all located in mainland China and include representatives from both 
the government and private sectors. 
 
7.  In reviewing the documentation, ECO noted two apparent 
discrepancies between the items that are the subject of the license 
application and those items listed in the TID licenses and on the 
purchase contract.  In particular, Ms. Wei stated that the S382SPSK9 
(included in the U.S. license application but not in the contract or 
Hong Kong license) was included in the Cisco3825-V/K9 (included in 
the U.S. license application, Hong Kong license and the contract). 
She also stated that the S384SPSK9-12311T (included in the U.S. 
license application but not in the contract or Hong Kong license) 
was actually part of the Cisco3845-V/K9 (included in the Hong Kong 
License, U.S. license application and the contract).  ECO found her 
answers to ECO's questions to be straightforward and not evasive, 
but ECO is not in a position to determine whether they are factually 
correct. 
 
8.  ECO notes that the Hong Kong TID import license makes reference 
to U.S. license exception ENC as the foreign authorization for 
shipment to Hong Kong from the United States.  ECO believes that 
license exception is available for exports of this class of items to 
non-governmental end-users. In this instance, Guangdong Post is an 
affiliate of China Post which is a corporate entity wholly owned by 
the mainland government.  To the degree that BIS believes that 
government-owned corporate entities are government end-users, it may 
 
wish to inform Hong Kong TID of that interpretation to ensure that 
Hong Kong TID properly interprets U.S. regulations when it considers 
the foreign country's licensing treatment of items. 
 
9.  Based on the information noted above, ECO believes that Qware HK 
is a suitable recipient of U.S. origin controlled technology, as 
logistics support provider.  ECO can make no determination about the 
end-user or about Qware HK's mainland counterparts and affiliates. 
ECO recommends close review of the contact and the items requested 
in the license and also that BIS consider whether it wishes to see a 
signed contract before approving the license.