CONFIDENTIAL H B 040/1
H&B
001677
MDLOAN 4310
Mirts 040/1
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
TELNO 50
OF 141652Z JANUARY 92
INFO PRIORITY HKGO LONDON
PERSONAL FOR GOVERNOR FROM RICKETTS, HKD
HKGO PERSONAL FOR YAXLEY
Q
YOUR TELNO 114: JARDINES
1.
TOP COPY ✅ Q DIST?
THANK YOU FOR THESE FURTHER THOUGHTS. I WAS ALSO GRATEFUL FOR ROBERT OWEN'S TELEPHONE CALL LAST WEEK, GIVING ME MORE OF THE BACKGROUND.
2.
CHARLES POWELL HAS NOW TELEPHONED ME. THERE IS CLEARLY SOME DIFFERENCE OF VIEW BETWEEN JARDINES' HONG KONG AND LONDON DIRECTORS. POWELL MADE CLEAR THAT ALTHOUGH HE ACCEPTS THAT FURTHER PUBLIC CONSULTATION AT THIS STAGE WOULD BE COUNTER- PRODUCTIVE, HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CONVINCE THE KESWICKS SIMPLY TO LEAVE MATTERS IN RELATION TO THE TAKEOVER CODE IN THEIR PRESENT AMBIGUOUS STATE. HIS AIM IN HONG KONG NEXT WEEK WILL THEREFORE BE TO GET AGREEMENT THAT PRIVATE DISCUSSIONS SHOULD
CONTINUE BETWEEN THE SFC AND JARDINES IN ORDER TO REACH SOME UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW THE DEFINITION OF A PUBLIC COMPANY IN
HONG KONG COULD BE CHANGED. THESE DISCUSSIONS WOULD BE ON THE BASIS THAT SUCH A CHANGE WOULD ONLY BE IMPLEMENTED WHEN THE TIME
WAS RIGHT.
3.
POWELL EMPHASISES THAT HE WOULD NOT BE APPROACHING THESE
DISCUSSIONS IN A NEGATIVE FRAME OF MIND. BUT HE WOULD NEED TO SHOW THAT THE DIALOGUE WAS BEING MAINTAINED AND HOPED THAT ALL CONCERNED ON THE HONG KONG SIDE COULD SHOW IMAGINATION IN CONSIDERING HOW THIS COULD BE MANAGED.
HURD
YYYY
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