CONFIDENTIAL
4. In his letter to Mr Milburn of 16 June Mr Pao mentioned that "the additional revenue which Hong Kong could thus secure would not be inconsiderable" (Para 3 on page 2). We have consulted the DTI about this particular point (Mr T P G Kitson told me that he would be pursuing the point with Mr W Lee). The DTI say that Hong Kong is one of some 170 ports of British registry outside the UK which deal with the registration of British ships. Each of these ports maintains its own register of ships, and records of registrations and subsequent changes are notified to the Office of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen at Cardiff. Registration fees are once and for all payments. It looks therefore as though Hong Kong would not benefit much financially by the transfer of Mr Pao's fleet to the Colony register. The main reason for this is that although registered in Hong Kong Mr Pao's ships would operate at ports other than Hong Kong. Moreover, the registration fees are currently about HK $100 for every 500 tons of shipping; this means that Mr Pao's 7,000,000 tons of shipping would represent only a one-time payment of HK $1.4 million or £98,000. I propose however to look into this aspect of the matter more closely.
26 July 1971
Copy to:
Mr D A Scott
2
CONFIDENTIAL
Maria
E O Laird
Hong Kong Department