K 65/48/3
CONFIDENTIAL
3. One other matter is worth mentioning although at the Hong Kong end you may be better informed than we are. You will know that Hong Kong applied for a C.D. and W. grant to improve the telecommunications at Kaitak airport. This has been unsuccessful and there is only the faintest hope that Ministerial intervention will change that. They a re now therefore at the point of choosing the sort of radar equipment to instal, and it looks likely that an Italian firm, Selenia, will get it. Plessey have been making a fuss, and I understand that the Board of Trade have been asking you to do what you can on their behalf. At this end we have agreed to consider acting as a "postbox" for Plessey's case, which they think has not received the attention it deserves because Hong Kong's nose is out of joint on account of the failure of their grant application. We do not believe that the issue is nearly so simple as that. For one thing, we know that it was barely two months ago that Plessey came up with the sort of radar which could do the job at all, whereas Selenia have had theirs on offer for far longer. However you ought to know that we shall probably be forwarding Plessey's case (I am not yet sure to whom in the Colony) to ensure that it gets at least the degree of attention it deserves.
(w.S. Carter)
CONFIDENTIAL