sustained in 1978 with further E & M contracts on the Tsuen Wan
extension to the underground railway and for the modernisation of
the Kowloon-Canton railway. With the Department of Industry acting
as active coordinator, GEC and Babcock & Wilcox have secured massive
contracts for the Castle Peak 'A' station and 400 KV transmission
system in 1978 and have now followed up that success in 1981 by
winning a £550 million contract for the 'B' station at the same site.
All these orders totalling over £2 billion required detailed
government involvement which at the Hong Kong end placed a massive
load on the resources of the Trade Commission.
L
Hong Kong is a major regional centre for British banks,
financial institutions, insurance and shipping companies. It is
also the regional headquarters of a number of British firms of
consultants. Many of the major Hong Kong firms are basically
British and part of their profits are repatriated to British
shareholders. Hong Kong is thus a most important contributor to
Britain's invisible earnings, although it is not possible to
quantify the amount.
remain:
Impediments to Britain's trading performance in Hong Kong
(i) a tendency to take the market for granted this neglect
has now diminished following extensive speaking tours
in the UK organised by the HK Trade Advisory Group.
(ii) a reputation for unreliable delivery this has improved
immeasurably as a result of the downturn in the home
market but a bad reputation once gained is difficult to
lose; and
(iii) poor communication
a perennial problem. Some British
exporters do themselves a great deal of harm by neglecting
public relations, by failing to keep customers informed
of/......