St.S.
66116
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MAROIN
Registry No.
DRAFT
Type 1 +
HKK 21/4
LETTER
To-
From
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
Lord Brown,
Board of Trade.
72
Lord Shepherd
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
Enc. Flag A
Copies as in
last para.
CONFIDENT IAL
Since our exchange of correspondence last month I have been following with close interest the developments in the Hong Kong Cross Harbour Tunnel developments.
I am very relieved that, on reviewing the
situation with ECGD, you felt able to relax the terms previously offered. But I fear that it is
still too soon to be sure of the outcome of this
matter. It is presumably no more inconceivable
now than it was when you wrote your letter of
17 January that when the French do make up their
mind they will, with whatever object, soften
their terms; and there are reports
credible we do not yet know of American and
Swiss offers.
how
In these circumstances, and because of the
vital importance from our point of view of
ensuring that, if the project does go ahead, it
should do so as a British project, I have been
considering whether there is anything further
I could do to assist matters in the direction we
all want. It seems to me that there is one
step I ought to take.
To ECGD I suppose the Hong Kong Government
must be an interested party; I am almost sure
I have seen it so described in one or other of
the papers our officials have been handling.
No doubt this is a reasonable attitude for your Department to take when the Hong Kong Government is expecting to take up its share in the equity.
But in this Office, of course, we stand in quite
a different relationship with the Governor, and
I therefore propose to telegraph to Sir David
Trench
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