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Excellent post, Skeena! Tells the whole story.
Timmy -- The person I spoke to most recently at St. Leger said the Aquagold order they prepared was shipped from their stockyard on Monday, May 25. In a recent PR, Aquagold said phase two would begin when their first order was shipped at the end of May, so I don't think there is any reason to announce it again. I think we will hear more about the shipment when it arrives in China and is cleared through customs. That would be news worth noting.
This is a real company making substantial progress. Its progress will be reflected in the share price over time, not overnight. I don't know which route this shipment has taken, East or West, but it will take time to arrive. And contracts take time to negotiate and renegotiate, so patience is required.
Aquagold has made a lot of progress in the last year despite obstacles we can hardly imagine. They have added key players to the management team. They now have a contract with a first class bottling company, new packaging,
a distribution contract with a company in China, and the first shipment of Canadian spring water on its way to market. The product will be reaching retail customers in short order and a renegotiated contract worth millions is soon to be announced.
This company is growing organically which means shareholders will have to be patient to see results. If all goes as planned, Aquagold International could be listed on a major exchange within a few years, but the road will be long and uphill.
St. Leger Bottlers just informed me that the first Aquagold order was shipped out last week.
Hopefully, we will get that this week with the next PR announcing the first shipment to China and the beginning of Phase II.
Lamborghinis and Canadian bottled spring water go well together, but people who drive them don't shop in convenience stores.
Of course, China is hurting for water. Nearly two thirds of the cities report rampant ground water pollution. I think the point I was making was that, first of all, there are inexpensive brands of bottled water already available in convenience stores all throughout China. In fact, I have read that there are 250 companies that bottle and sell drinkable water in China. Even the Coca-Cola Company bottles water in China. And there are some expensive imported brands sold there as well.
As far as I know, Aquagold will be the only company selling fresh Canadian spring water, and it will be sold at a much higher price than the potable water bottled in China and sold in convenience stores. I'm just pointing out that our target market is the higher-end more affluent individuals who don't need Aquagold water to survive. As I see it, ours is a luxury item for a prestigious but solid niche market in that country.
I believe that if Aquagold wants to compete on a large scale in convenience stores and supermarkets, they may eventually come out with another line of products at a lower price. I really hope the product does well in all of the sales outlets,
but I have my doubts about the extent of its success in stores where the competition is already established and their prices are much lower than ours.
As for India, I don't remember why I brought that up, but it had nothing to do with Aquagold or the Chinese market for bottled water. LOL
From the May 28th PR: "the placement of AQUAGOLD product in such high-end venues as luxury hotels, top-class restaurants, and prestigious nightlife establishments"... seems to be their market.
No drinking water in China? I think if that were so, we would have heard by now of hundreds of thousands or even millions of Chinese dying prematurely each day from drinking polluted water. Actually, I believe they even have their own sources of spring water in China and Mongolia.
Personally, I don't think even the filthy rich would use water this expensive for cooking.
I once believed people in India were starving, because that is what we were taught in school and told by the media. Then I learned that India is one of the world's largest exporters of grains. And when I went to India, I saw a lot of skinny hard-working people, but no one was dying from starvation. On the other hand, there are reports that in these modern days, many people die of starvation daily while being treated in American hospitals, so go figure.
I'm not saying they don't have a pollution problem in China, but I don't believe Aquagold has any role to play in response to the dire need for clean water, at least not if they are selling it at these prices. This is a luxury item, and there is a large and growing market in China for such high-end products, but not among poor farmers. Nothing against poor farmers or anyone else living in areas where clean drinking water is not readily available. I'm only saying that based on the latest PR, Aquagold's targeted market is the more affluent section of Chinese society. It's not even ordinary hotels, restaurants and night life establishments, but the luxurious, top-class and prestigious ones.
I think the jury is still out on whether Aquagold will be sold successfully in ordinary supermarkets and convenience stores in China. Personally, I think they might eventually introduce a second less expensive line of bottled water to reach that market.
I was hoping to evoke some kind of reply and I thank the good doctor for his. If it is not inconvenient, please provide a link to that information concerning delisting from the pinksheets and graysheets. I don't doubt what you say, but I would like to study it and pass it along. Of course, delisting does not mean the shares are cancelled. In a buyout, they would be rewarded in the same way as if they were still publicly traded, n'est-ce pas?
Of course, I really have no idea what's going through the head of F. Dovgan. I'm only supposing what a rational CEO might be thinking under these circumstances. As long as the majority shareholder Valentin is in the loop, you could say the shares we all hold will be protected, or do you think I'm being naive? Sorry if my outlook has turned your stomach again.
As far as we know, although we can't be sure, Aurus is moving ahead with its business plan which is to become operational at Krong by separating out and sorting precious metals from iron ash pilings. Their plan is to make the company a more attractive buyout target by showing it can be made profitable.
F. Dovgan obviously feels no immediate obligation to the holders of Aurus shares. He just wants to move ahead with his business plan. He knows that those who have held Aurus shares for years will ultimately benefit from a buyout. To his way of thinking, there is no obligation on his part to keep anyone informed of new developments other than his Board of Directors. Of course, this is all just my own opinion.
I think it might be possible, though, for us to help Aurus find a buyer. A likely candidate might be a large mining company that has already successfully separated gold from iron ash pilings using new equipment like the Optosort Gemstar manufactured in Germany. If anyone wants to do a little research from this angle, please relay your findings and we will find a way to pass the information along to Mr. Dovgan.
Aquagold Int'l. has a one year contract for 4.32 million bottles of its Canadian spring water. That equals 100 containers each holding 43,200 bottles.
If there are 1,000 outlets selling Aquagold's spring water under this contract, they would have to sell an average of 12 bottles per day to sell 4.32 million bottles in one year, assuming they are open 360 days out of the year.
Can you imagine how long D. Sauve and Company have been waiting for this moment? Their product with new packaging is in containers ready to be shipped to China. You gotta know there will be a PR to announcing that the shipment is on its way to market. That will be the follow up next week to the PR that went out this week over major newswires. Man your battle stations. This thing is gonna fly next week. IMO
The renegotiated multi-year contract should be filed with the SEC on Form 8-K to report entry into a material definitive agreement. This along with some numbers of product shipped and payments received will go a long way to establish credibility within the investment community.
For now, at these levels, the audience is rather limited, which makes it a good time for the private investor to jump in and stay for a while.
"The Company expects to soon be able to announce the result of renegotiations of a multi-year contract originally entered into last year, and is also in the process of developing its second product for a specific sub-segment of the Chinese bottled water market." (May 19, 2009)
When the announcement is made of the renegotiated multi-year contract, the share price should go through the roof in multiples. I don't know how soon is "soon", but I will be adding to my position in anticipation.
I just spoke with the bottling company. They said they have finished filling the bottles and that they are loaded in containers, ready to ship. That's all the information I could squeeze out of them. They would not tell me the number of bottles or containers, nor would they say when the containers would be shipped to China. They said that is in the hands of Aquagold Int'l.
We should be getting a PR in a few days announcing the shipment of the first order. This will be solid news and should affect the share price quite positively, especially if it hits the major news wires.
I bought a few shares today just to see what it would take to move the price... It didn't take a whole lot. I figure anything I can buy below .01 will pay off nicely within a few short weeks or months.
Yeah, the police dept told me Monday is Queen's Day, but for those who don't like the Queen, they call it Patriots Day.
There was no answer at the factory, and the local police station told me that the industrial park where St. Leger is located shuts down on the weekend and will also be closed this Monday for Patriots Day. AC was right about that. I still believe we could see a PR as early as Wednesday and no later than Friday, but I am an optimist by nature.
I think I'll give the bottler a call tomorrow to see if they run the line over the weekend.
Hi AC -- I would expect a PR sooner than ten days from now.
The start of production was announced 5/12. The bottler can produce one container per day. The first order was for five containers, or 216,000 500ml bottles. The fifth day would be this Monday, the latest. The first shipment could leave St. Leger as early as Tuesday, 5/19, especially if the line is being filled on Saturday or Sunday.
I would expect to see the next PR on Wed., 5/20, released through major newswire agencies (not just on pinksheets.com) and containing information about the irrevocable letter of credit, the first year order of 4.32 million bottles of spring water, and the first shipment of product. Based on that timetable, by next Friday, we could be at .02, so the time to add to one's position would be on Monday or Tuesday. Just my opinion.
I'm still holding all my shares, even the million I bought for $700.00 in December. I plan to sell a few by the end of the summer to celebrate when Miss Aquagold International is chosen
in China, just to get back what I invested.
Let's not worry about minute to minute fluctuations. Consolidation has to take place from time to time. As the word of AQUI"s rebirth spreads, new investors will come in and the company's credibility will increase. Naturally, the share price will increase as well.
Hi AC -- In my most recent email exchange with Daniel Sauve (about two weeks ago) I told him we are anxious to hear about any progress that has been made on Phase II of the Business Development Plan and his reply was, "patience, patience and patience."
They're working on it.
Domingo M. Silvas III is listed here as a member of the Executive Team.
http://www.11inetworks.com/Executive_Team.html
This must be the technology company he helped found and where he now serves on the Board of Directors.
What I am hoping to hear from the Company (AQUI) is whether
the $118 million Letter of Credit with the Bank of China is still intact, along with the arrangement to sell their product that was made with a Chinese distribution company.
I would hope to see in a PR the names of anyone who has been added to the management team and Board of Directors. I also expect them to announce who their new bottler is, that
the new moulds are being used, and how much water has been shipped to date. They may even announce other markets they are
targeting besides China.
I'm sure that would get the share price over .01 (in about five minutes).
I am definitely holding all of my shares at this level. A PR could come at any time. Judging from the movement we just saw on a few bits and pieces of information, imagine how this could explode on real news!
Aquagold has a very determined core group running the show, and their expectations have not been diminished. Although we are struggling to reach .01 without news, when the PR's start coming, we will see some real exciting action with AQUI.
Paul told me at the April, 2008 meeting that once they get the ball rolling, they expect to move to a higher exchange.
Of course, that sounds far-fetched at this point, but I know
that for them, the dream lives on.
Markss40 -- I had written to Paul Taillefer to ask about how Aquagold and Trillium Water were related. He replied:
"Trillium Water is my company, which is totally dedicated to help Aquagold and never will compete with it."
This was the re-assurance I was looking for that the Aquagold management team is still together.
Any news confirming AQUI is a going concern will surely start to move the share price in a positive direction.
I just received an email from Paul Taillefer who was present
at the April, 2008 meeting with Aquagold shareholders in NYC. He said Aquagold is "progressing smoothly" and that he expects to see some news released soon. Mr. Taillefer concluded his letter with a request that I remain optimistic.
Lochan
The problem with the Chinese was that they would not allow
the Company to release any information to the public. De Silva
had gone too far wih his wild claims, and he had to leave. Steve Weiss told me he never would have taken up the PR work of AQUI if he had known to what extent the Chinese wanted to control that end of the business.
I don't think there was any other problem with the Chinese,
but my concern is that there may have been a time limit on the letter of credit from the Bank of China. I don't know what the arrangements were in that regard. If so, it may still have been renewable subject to the agreement of the parties.
I once asked Daniel about what they would do if the Chinese deal didn't work out for one reason or another, and he said they would enter other Asian markets. Their continued silence tells me, though, that they are still working with the Chinese, buts its impossible to get anything confirmed at this point in time.
What I had been told about six months ago was that Iroquois
was "idling," and that some trucks were occasionally coming and going to fulfill their existing contracts. It was at that time that an officer of Aquagold said Iroquois was not out-of-business, and he was telling the truth.
K9 -- You've done some great DD in the past. Maybe you can find out who purchased the Iroquois equipment at auction. TIA
We knew they had a contract with Iroquois to bottle the water, and when Iroquois went out of business, that must have set them back, although Daniel said Aquagold had other options.
What I would like to know is "Who bought all of the Iroquois equipment when it was auctioned off in November, 2008."
That's funny, Hillman. Then I got an email from them asking how I found out about their Company. Did you get that one too?
Anvil -- I remember. It was a great meeting, and then we never heard from them again. However, I know the team is still together, and they are making a go of it. I've been told the Company is planning to get a PR out there soon, so all we can do is wait and see.
I wouldn't say incompetence, but rather inexperience, has been the main problem. Who knows? They may decide to hook up with Cott, which is now doing private labeling for other bottled water companies. That would be a way to solve some of the problems they have encountered due to inexperience.
Nobody's talking, but I know they are still trying to make this work. That's all I know and all I can say.
Lochan
Thanks, vlf -- Please tell me if this is correct: The Company has $800 million in cash after selling 85% of its assets. If the remaining assets are sold off at the same rate, it would bring in an additional $141 million for a total of $941 million. The Company's liabilities are $2.8 Billion.
Do we really expect something left at the end for common shareholders?
(If my reasoning is off, please let me know how that is so.)
Lochan
FF - If all of the business units of LandAmerica are sold, how much cash will remain to be distributed among the owners of its 15,000,000 common shares?
FF -- Please give us your best guess as to when LandAmerica will be discharged from bankruptcy and the infamous "Q" dropped.
This was his reply to my inquiry:
Thank you for your recent inquiry into the state of affairs of Aquagold International.
As a publicly listed company, we are allowed to disseminate information only to the public, and not on an individual basis, and will do so as events warrant. Please check our website periodically for updates, as well as other publicly available sources regarding press releases.
We appreciate your interest in Aquagold and request you to direct any correspondence in the future to info@aquagoldinternational.com, the only address which will be accepting messages from the general public.
Sorry -- Mark Olivier Hassoun, the swordsman.
That's funny. I got the exact same response from them today, word for word. I also heard from Marco and the message was that we should check the website on a regular basis for any news or updates. He didn't say there would be news. He was only saying he could not give me any information that has not yet been released to the public.
Kuoi -- If you take a look at the court docket (link below)
you can get an idea how many parties are involved in the bankruptcy case of LandAmerica. It is a very complex case. It is not at all like going before a judge to have a parking ticket dismissed. Today's decision will deal with the protocol submitted by the Debtor for dealing with Creditors in a certain order. It is not a request to be discharged from bankruptcy proceedings.
There is a number you can call to speak to an attorney involved in the proceedings to get an idea of how long it will take the Company to emerge from Chapter 11.
I have posted here what two of the attorneys told me, and I'm guessing that others here have checked with Epiq Systems' lawyers but haven't posted what they learned. The number to call is at the top left of the page:
http://chapter11.epiqsystems.com/docket/docketlist.aspx?pk=61832e15-08f8-42b6-930c-7849e9ffe32d&l=1
Best of luck with your investments.
Lochan