CONFIDENTIAL
OVERSEAS FINANCE & PLANNING DIVISION
15)
T W Aston Esq
Senior British Trade Commissioner
7th Floor
Shell House
HONG KONG
LAAT
REF
REF.
(146)
11 July 1973
Ext 3649
MASS TRANSIT SCHEME
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your letter of 3 July to Andrew Stuart on this subject.
So far as the DTI is concerned, I think it is fair to say that nearly all the action on this project has, until recently, been on the terms of the export credit. I think that you have been fairly well informed about this, though I am sure that you have not had every turn and twist in the interdepartmental discussions, and I don't think that it would have been very helpful if you had.
The two matters which have come up recently have been the question of a single Hong Kong group, and the extent of any European participation. On the former, as you may now have heard it has been agreed to set up a Hong Kong company representing all the companies engaged in both equipment and contracting. On the second, we are putting pressure on the civil engineers to find the capacity to do the whole job. I very much hope that it will come out this way.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Andrew Stuart.
FW Glaves-Smith
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