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CONFIDENTIAL
Bu
31
RECEIVED IN IR CON.51
19 MAY 1972
NICK?1/2
2315
CALL ON THE PRIME MINISTER BY MR Y K PAO
1. Y K Pao was born in Chekiang Province in China in 1920.
He was educated in Shanghai and engaged in banking in cen-
tral China and Shanghai until the Communist take-over in
1949 when he came to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong he at first
entered the import-export business, but started in shirping
in 1955 when he bought a second-hand 8,000 ton cargo vessel.
His real e xpansion began in the early sixties, when he
entered into partnership with Wheelock Marden and Co Ltd
and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. He is
now Chairman and Governing Director of World-Wide (Shipping)
Ltd and a Director of the Hong Kong Bank as well as being
a member of Lloyds of Londen. His company's fleet at present
totals some 4.5 million tons of shipping (mainly large oil
tankers) and it is expected to expand to about 10 million
tons by 1975, comprising 125 vessels. Mr Pao is thus already
one of the biggest shipowners in the world and his expansion
plans if and when fulfilled, should carry him well beyond
Onassis and Niarchos combined.
2. He is a sympathetic person and is already playing a
helpful part in Hong Kong. His English though a little
unusual is intelligible.
MR PAO'S INTERESTS
5. Mr Pao will no doubt want to discuss his views and con-
cerns over certain aspects of shinping. Most of his ships
are at present revistered under "Flags of Convenience"
(Liberia, Panama, etc). He claims that he is forced into
CONFIDENTIAL
/this position