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dti
the department for Enterprise
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David Wilson said that the Chinese were proving very difficult over the airport, more in order to assert their own influence than because of doubts about its intrinsic merit. They had asked the Hong Kong government to stop further work on it and were criticising the scale and cost. There was an obsessive fear that the UK would somehow exhaust Hong Kong's reserves prior to 1997, capturing as much business as possible for British companies meanwhile. We agreed that this could become a major issue of confidence for Hong Kong if China remained difficult. Sir David emphasised that there were strict procedures, and requirements for public accountability, to ensure fairness in the award of all public contracts.
I believe that we must continue to make every effort to advance the cause of British business in Hong Kong, and to safeguard and develop our already substantial commercial stake there so that we can show in this country that our substantial political commitment to Hong Kong is matched by commercial success.
We should continue to show clear government support for British companies bidding for the airport. However even-handed the formal procedures, the presence of American firms as the main consultants for both the project and the project financing is disquieting since they will have a leading role in formulating detailed requirements. To offset this a measured programme of further Ministerial visits and a satisfactory outcome to current
discussions on ECGD cover will be extremely important.
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रह
Recycled