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Mastme 4/2 Mr Furnes 4/2
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the department for Enterprise
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CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Paul Hai)
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weeful telegram of the subjed
Joy
31
Rosalind Cole
From:
Christian Adams
CC
Minister for Trade
Sir Peter Gregson
Mr Dell
Mr Stephens, ECGD Mr Meadway OT2
PEP Branch Heads
Mr Love OT2
На/РЕР
v/221
215 5462
29 January 1991
MKB 182 13
Mr Gallaher PEP1b
Mr McLaren, FCO
91
NX
HONG KONG PROJECTS: THE AIRPORT
Mr Burns, FCO
Mr Paul, HKD, FCO
Mr Davies, FED, FCO Mr Heap, BTC Hong
Kong
HMA Peking
Mr Mayhew, Special
Adviser
In your minute of 28 January you recorded the Secretary of State's comment that he hoped that the internal Government differences over PMS were not being discussed with private banks. The position is that the parallel issue to that of PMS, namely the question of private banks' own attitude to combining Hong Kong and China risk has been the subject of discreet consultation.
2. The Bank of England raised the question in Hong Kong some months ago with banks like Standard Chartered, Barclays and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. Their response was mixed; some believed that the risk should not be combined and others that it should.
3.
Mr Purves, Chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, as a senior financial figure in the territory and a member of the Executive Council, has known for some time that this was an issue for Government as well as private banks. So incidentally has Sir Alistair Frame who, as Chairman of the Sino-British Trade Council, recently wrote to the Secretary of State about it. Mr Purves raised the question of HMG's attitude with the Prime Minister when he called on him in No.10 as a member of the EXCO delegation in December. He said that for Britain to combine Hong Kong and China risk would be very damaging financially and politically to Hong Mr Heap and I were not therefore surprised when the
Kong.
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