CONFIDENTIAL
FM BTC HONG KONG
TO DESKBY 2809OOZ FCO TELNO 59
OF 280555Z FEBRUARY 90
CONFIDENTIAL
010561
MDHIAN 8927
M
PERSONAL FOR PAUL, HKD
YOUR TELNO 29: APPROVED SECONDMENT SCHEME
1.
THE ATTITUDE OF BRITISH COMPANIES TO THIS SCHEME, AND THE IMPACT ON BRITISH INTERESTS IF IT WERE ABANDONED, REMAINS LARGELY AS YOU SAW DURING THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S MEETING WITH SENIOR BRITISH BUSINESSMEN IN THESE OFFICES IN JANUARY.
2.
FIRST, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE CONFUSION ABOUT THE SCHEME. MANY BRITISH BUSINESSMEN HAVE TAKEN THE INITIAL STANCE THAT IT IS IS TO BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE 50,000 CEILING THAT IT IS NOT WORTH HAVING: ANYONE LIKELY TO QUALIFY WOULD BE BETTER OFF GETTING A PASSPORT UNDER THE MAIN SCHEME SINCE THEY WOULD NOT BE LOST TO THE COMPANY FOR THE TWO YEARS IN THE UK THAT THE APPROVED SECONDMENT SCHEME NECESSITATES. WHEN IT IS EXPLAINED TO THEM, AS IT WAS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE, AND AS WE HAVE DONE AT BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GATHERINGS AND ON OTHER APPROPRIATE OCCASIONS, THAT THE SCHEME WOULD ALLOW COMPANIES TO NOMINATE THEIR OWN BENEFICIARIES (AS OPPOSED TO WAITING TO SEE WHICH OF THEIR STAFF GET LUCKY IN THE OVERALL SCHEME), AND ALSO THAT THEY CAN NOMINATE YOUNG HIGH FLIERS
THEY WHO MIGHT NOT ACCUMULATE ENOUGH POINTS IN THE MAIN SCHEME, HAVE BECOME ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT.
3. IT IS OF COURSE DIFFICULT FOR THE BRITISH BUSINESS COMMUNITY, AND FOR OURSELVES, TO ASSESS THE VALUE OF THE SCHEME OR ITS IMPACT ON BRITISH INTERESTS WITHOUT KNOWING MORE ABOUT IT THAN HAS SO FAR BEEN PUBLISHED, AND IN PARTICULAR TO KNOW THE NUMBERS THAT IT MIGHT EMBRACE. MISS GRIMSEY, PAGE AND MORRIS WILL HAVE DETECTED FROM SOME OF THE BRITISH COMPANIES THAT THEY SAW (AND THEIR CHOICE OF COMPANIES WAS VERY ARBITRARY, DONE WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THIS OFFICE, AND UPSET CERTAIN OTHER COMPANIES AND THE BRITISH CHAMBER CONSIDERABLY BECAUSE THEY SCARCELY GOT A LOOK IN), A MOOD OF CONCERN THAT BRITISH INTERESTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED SUFFICIENTLY IN THE OVERALL PACKAGE. THE COMPANIES FEAR, QUITE UNDERSTANDABLY I THINK, THAT IF THE SCHEME IS LEFT TO THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT TO RUN, AS SEEM SEEMS TO BE THE PLAN, THEN THE DOMINANT OBJECTIVE WILL BE TO PRESERVE HONG KONG'S INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FRAMEWORK WITHOUT
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