CONFIDENTIAL
ZCZC
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELNO
OF 05130OZ JUNE 91
IMMEDIATE
OUR TELNO 1039 AND YOUR TELNO 1788: BBC WORLD SERVICE TELEVISION
AND HUTCHISON
1.
Mr Richard Li and Lord Derwent called on Miss Spencer on
4 June to present Hutchison's plans for Asiasat and, in
particular, for the proposed news channel for which a
with World Service TV is close to being signed. It was an
effective and persuasive presentation.
2. Mr Li began by giving an account of the background to the
recent negotiations in Hong Kong over Cable TV, and of how
Asiasat had come into being: its purchase from NASA, its
repositioning over China, its footprint stretching from the Gulf
to the Pacific, which means a potential audience of 55 percent
of the world's population, including all of China.
3. Mr Li made it clear that, while he was confident of the
financial viability of the other four Asiasat channels, he had
some doubts about the viability of the news channel in the
circumstances currently prevailing. He mentioned two problems:
the restriction by the Hong Kong Government on their
C20ACA/VAS
HKD
KAM SAUNDERS
3544