CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG FROM
PRIME MINISTER
HONG KONG MASS TRANSIT
I am
I have seen copies of the messages passing between you and
the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
grateful for the help you are giving to the Anglo-Italian
Group and I believe that they are going to come up with
proposals which will keep them in the competition. We
cannot, however, take their decisions for them nor would
we want to do more to influence your own thinking than
we have already done. I do, however, set great store
on securing this contract for British firms and would
even go so far as to suggest that it might well be
compatible with the general interests of Hong Kong, no
less than those of the UK Government, should the worst
happen and your Executive Council decide only to negotiate
with the Japanese that it should be made plain to the
Japanese that detailed proposals which included substantial
participation by UK firms would be both acceptable and
helpful to you. From this end we would backup such a
line with the Japanese Government who have recently been
showing a keen interest in finding areas of the world
where Japanese and UK firms can co-operate on major
projects. I should add that ECGD have all along had
indications that a joint operation would not be unwelcome,
at least to ECGD's opposite numbers.