PA Sat 1413
CONFIDENTIAL
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
RECEIVED IN
ARCHIVES No. 63 14 MAR 1967
HWB 21/5
4.
#
10
Cypher
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14th March, 1967. R. 14th
#1
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12.20 hrs.
CONFIDENTIAL No. 334.
Addressed to E.C.G.D. EXPORTCRED No. 41. Repeated
" Board of Trade (S. OI S. please pass
to both).
20
FROM BTC Hong Kong.
For Elliott from Hannam.
Tunnel.
Goodfellow today spoke to Ward Managing Director Gammons (H.K.) who said surprisingly that his understanding was the Japanese had not tendered for tunnel, but intended to wait until other tenders and credit terms had been fought out and then step in with a detailed bid and credit slightly more favourable than the next. Ward claims this would be typical Japanese manoeuvre. (This does not agree with Clague's inference that Japanese have put in formal tender.)
Ward believed there had been four tenders: their own in consortium with Weiss Freitag, Costains, one Dutch and one American (he presumed De Long Company). He knew his bid and two others were within the limits, and thought only one tender was lower. He was irritated with the Tunnel Company who, he claimed, were over secretive and acting most oddly. He wanted to know by how much his tender was shadowed by others so that he would know how much leeway he had to juggle e.g. over cement imports in order to increase British content and secure better ECGD cover. He feared this would preclude him pricewise. Ward also considers Costains' steel tunnel will prove too expensive compared with concrete one.
30 Ward assumes you will not give serious consideration to extending his cover unless Costains' tender fails.
40 I report this to show how rumours are growing in default of any lead from Tunnel Company.
Copies sent to:
Export Credits Guarantee Department Mr. Elliott Board of Trade
- Cablegram Section
CONFIDENTIAL