Thanks, BreadAndCircuses for your "POET's Strategy" post of May 16th.  The reminder that POET's MD&A for the 3 months ending on 31 March 2023 was much appreciated.

I was particularly encouraged by the reference in that MD&A that was worded:  

 "Establish additional fabrication and sales operations for advanced, high-speed transceiver modules and packaged light sources. Internally, we refer to this our “China plus One” strategy, which is only partially dictated by the current international political climate. We are planning to develop our advanced products as modules and packaged products that we will sell directly to end-users, which will require additional fabrication, assembly, marketing and sales operations." 

The POET MD&A note included what I considered a disclaimer with the statement that "our 'China plus One' strategy, which is only partially dictated by the current international political climate".

I understand that wording might have been necessary to placate any bad taste in the mouth of the CCP, however that disclaimeer was more consistent with a weak kow tow to the God of political necessity, in my opinion.  Yeah, I know... my own disclaimer:  "In my opinion".  

POET's statement was about as forceful as would be the Quarterback of the High School Football team explaining in circuitous and deceptive language that his "date" to the prom would be his kid sister, but a "China plus One" policy does, in fact, mean that they are exploring sales, marketing, supply and fabrication opportunities outside of China, they just don't want to make too big of a deal about it and risk offending the Chinese.  Politics and business as usual.

Regardless, of the reasoning behind what POET "Internally" refers to as its "China plus One policy" I find solace in the expression of that intention by POET management, because of.... well, duh.... "the current international political climate"!

The link below from Business Standard reviews some of the aspects of the "China plus One" strategy:

What is the China-plus-one strategy? (business-standard.com)

It seems clear that any company doing business in China who has incorporated their own "China plus One" policy plans on working with suppliers and doing fabrication additionally in some geopolitical location not within the Middle Kingdom.  Many other non-Chinese companies have seen fit to adopt their own "China plus One" policy.  Hedging their bet vs just good geopolitical business sense?  It makes one wonder if those companies that have already seen the wisdom of a "China plus One" policy made that decision "only partially dictated by the current international political climate"?

The interdigitation of the CCP within foreign businesses doing business in China is anything but "new".  An article from 5 years ago detailed some of the problems at that time for foreign companies doing business in China:

Politics weighs heavily on foreign businesses in China | The Seattle Times

A more current article reviews some of the up to date problems:

China's Anti-Espionage Law Update Heightens Risks for Businesses (businessinsider.com)

Bottom line:  I, for one and maybe only one, am very happy with this announcement of POET that "Internally, we refer to this our 'China plus One' strategy.

Way to go, POET!

Onward through the FOG!

  yeah, yeah..... JMO    So what.  Sue me, eh? 

The "China plus One" does add some increased resolve on my part to keep my shares in POET that I have had for something like 15 years?  It has beeen so long I truly don't remember, but I was here in the days of UConn research by Dr. Taylor, so it has been a while, just like so many of you.  It has been a long, long road, eh?

Lao Tzu over 2,000 years ago was said to have noted that:  " "A journey of a thousand li starts beneath one's feet"  This is often westernized, incorrectly, to the western expression:  "The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step".

As long as 4,000 years ago 1,000 li was something like our current 251 miles, but the definition of one li changed several times until 1984 when the CCP standardized 1 li as  500 meters and thus 1,000 li became 310 miles.

  Not the first time or the last time that the CCP will make changes to "the standard".

Any standard.

Okiedo