Ann: Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report, page-179

I received a short email response to the question I recently sent to the company asking why, if UAE was so facilitative of approvals and initial works at KEZAD and otherwise supportive, does it seem to be dragging its feet on finance.

I had not anticipated a response so it was a surprise. I will not share it, as I'm aware LPD have to be extremely delicate in what can be said, being in commercial discussions with both private and public interests, so I don't feel it's my place. While I've been frustrated at the delay and pretty poor stakeholder communications despite the delay, and do think it could be done better (other posters points around a simple non-price sensitive announcement for the recent patent lodgement is a good one) I am hugely sympathetic to the rock and a hard place situation of maintaining commercial in confidence and reporting in full to shareholders. A battle that can't be won until the deal is done.

Suffice to say the response did not contain anything material, price sensitive, nor anything you cannot google. It just touched on UAE's ongoing policy reform in the field of energy and critical mineral supply over the past 12-24 months. This gave me a whole other, and in my view extremely plausible perspective on the delay, as of course, LPD needs to fit into the UAE's regulatory fabric which is difficult when the tapestry isn't yet woven. Critical mineral supply and energy transition is a global geopolitical bunfight and it means the deckchair attendants in most world governments have been shuffling madly and the guests have to stand by the rail and wait. Hopefully these are deckchairs on the Queen Mary and not the Titanic. Ok enough with the overwrought and vague rhetorical flourishes apologies.

I came away from reading it very comfortable that there is no real stumbling block on tech or commercials, merely the molasses-like flow of bureaucracy responding to change, which perhaps concluded recently. I realise all this is just the wafflings of a total rando on the internet but if you're a bit unsure of your investment, I would merely email the company the same question I did. I had started to fray at new years with no comms and a 4 year delay to production and I feel better now. We aren't guaranteed of success but we aren't dead yet. And I'd be a buy if I had spare cash, but I don't so I hold.