PERSONAL
布政司署
港下亞畢
ན་
Hur oyol
**** Our Ref.: (119) TS 7/ïï62/46
SECKET
271
R+R pl T
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
來函檔號 Your Ref.:
noted pan 801/eek 17/6 вогреск
BUT week
No
RD Clift Esq
13/7
In Edga
13 May 1982
See G80 280.
7411
25/7 fwost? Mr. Willgänen I
© Pe. arrang for upies
Hong Kong & General Dept
F CO
BU noted for 2015 with
(280
Dear Trick,
Mr. Edgar
mentioned in para 4 to be Ps 2115 Sent. dione.cae: 20/5
Pl. dpt in
Q / one aubing to Mr. Donald consultation with Elm Adiroces
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
192
In your letter of 8 Aprit (not copied) you asked for our assessment of the present degree of disinvestment from Hong Kong, in the light of John Bremridge's remarks during his visit to Peking, reported in Michael Atkinson's letter of 29 March.
761A
sal
see (416)
2.
We have done some research on this subject. I enclose a copy of a minute from the Secretary for Monetary Affairs to the Financial Secretary which shows that as far as the banks and dtc's are concerned there was no net outflow of funds in the period between December 1980 and February 1982. The figures in the minute are sensitive and should not be disseminated in Whitehall, still less quoted in public. They should also be treated with some caution. This is because they provide only a partial picture; in particular (as stated in para 1 of Douglas Blye's minute) they take no account of foreign currency transactions by Hong Kong residents, including individuals and commercial and industrial companies. We have no statistics about these transactions and no means of assessing their overall effect.
3.
Thus what John Bremridge said in Peking was simply his very general impression, not based on any particular evidence. However, while "disinvestment" is probably too strong a word, there seems to be little doubt that many local businessmen are hedging their bets by investing in property and businesses overseas, particularly in the United States, Canada and Australia. Whether they are transferring funds from Hong Kong to make these investments, or raising loans overseas, we do not know. probably a bit of both.
1016 noted
160 2016
PERSONAL
BU Iwaste noted
LE 2/6 flors 216
4.
SECRET
There is
../
Metal Pins 29/6. BU Xweek
28/6