JOHN SWIRE & SONS LTD
Swire House
59 Buckingham Gate
London SWIE GAJ
Registered Office
Registered Number 139143 ENGLAND
um Sir Adrion Swire
Chairman
Teisgram.
VENEILONI LONDON SWI Telephone:
01-834 7717
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Answer back:
The Rt. Hon. Michael Heseltine, MP.,
House of Commons, LONDON, SWIA OAA.
27th February, 1990.
Sear
Michael
I happened to note the following written answer by John Major to a question you raised la the House on February 20th:
"Information is available only for certain categories. The latest information for direct investment is for end-1987 when the book value of U.K. direct investment in Hong Kong was £1,924 m. There is no information on UK portfolio investment by country. Information is available on external assets and claims on Hong Kong by banks and other financial institutions in the UK. (See Table 14 of the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletia.) At end-September 1989 UK liabilities to Hong Kong were £28,781 mn. whilst UK claims on Hong Kong were £18,446 mn.
out-of-date and
Frankly this answer strikes me as very odd inaccurate. I believe, for example, that the underlying value of the U.K. holding in the Swire Group companies in Hong Kong alone is some £1,200 mn., possibly as much as £1,400 m.
If you add to that Cable & Wireless, plus all the other direct and underlying British investments in Hong Kong, the gross figure quoted of £1.924 mm. is clearly quite absurd.
I would be quite willing to draw this to the attention of the Chancellor, but you may like to comment before I do so.
Yaws
You's
Sincerely
Adusi sine Ашие
"