THIS MORNING.
INTERPRETER: I HOPE MR YEUNG WILL ANSWER THE QUESTION IN CHINESE.
ULD YOU SPEAK SLOWLY PLEASE?
NOW THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCILLORS ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONTRACT. NOW IF THE FC REFUSE TO GRANT APPROVAL, WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT?
NOW
INTERPRETER: WELL I BELIEVE THEY WON'T REJECT THE APPLICATION. LAST JULY, THEY APPROVED THE ESTIMATE FOR THE TSING MA BRIDGE WHICH IS $5.19 BILLION. IT WAS CALCULATED ON THE MARCH 1991 PRICE AND IF YOU TURN IT INTO THE MONEY-OF-DAY PRICE, THEN IT CAN BE COMPARABLE TO THE BIDDING PRICE OF THE ANGLO-JAPANESE CONSORTIUM. IF WE TURN THE MARCH 1991 PRICE INTO MONEY-OF-THE-DAY IT BECOMES $7.186 BILLION WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE BID OF THE ANGLO-JAPANESE CONSORTIUM BECAUSE THEY BID ONLY $7.144 BILLION, SO THERE IS NO REASON FOR REJECTION, I THINK.
INTERPRETER: MR YEUNG, NOW IN THE PRESS RELEASE YOU SAID THAT THE ANGLO-JAPANESE CONSORTIUM CAME FIRST AMONG ALL THE ASSESSMENT DOES IT MEAN THAT THEIR TECHNICAL CAPABILITY IS HIGHER THAN THE TWO OTHER CONSORTIA?
CRITERIA.
INTERPRETER: I CAN SAY, OR I CAN PUT IT THIS WAY, NOW SINCE HYUNDAI WAS NOT ABLE TO MEET THE FINANCIAL CRITERIA, THE BID OF THE ANGLO- JAPANESE CONSORTIUM WAS THE SECOND LOWEST. NOW IN TERMS OF RELIABILITY AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITY, THE BID BY THE ANGLO-JAPANESE CONSORTIUM IS THE BEST. NOW SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN HYUNDAI, WHAT DO YOU ALLOW IT TO OPERATE IN HONG KONG?
INTERPRETER: WELL HYUNDAI DOESN'T HAVE ANY OFFICE IN HONG KONG, QR DOESN'T HAVE ANY COMPANY IN HONG KONG. NOW WE INCLUDE HYUNDAI IN THE PRE-QUALIFIED LIST BECAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS. NOW IN EARLY 1991 WHEN WE DISCOVERED THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME PROBLEM WITH ITS ACCOUNTS, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FORESEE THE PROBLEMS THAT IT WOULD ENCOUNTER. NOW WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WORKING CAPITAL OR THE EMPLOYED CAPITAL, THE REQUIREMENT MAY BE LOWER - THEY MAY BE LOWER THAN WHAT WE REQUIRED AND USUALLY WE NEGOTIATE OR WE TALK WITH
WE TALK WITH THE COMPANIES OR CONTRACTORS CONCERNED AND THEY ARE ABLE TO RECTIFY THE DEFICIENCY.
NOW IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE PRE-QUALIFICATION PROCESS? NO, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE PRE-QUALIFICATION PROCESS. THERE WAS TIME GIVEN TO THE COMPANIES CONCERNED TO RECTIFY THEIR FINANCIAL POSITION. IF WE JUST LOOK AT THE ACCOUNTS AND REJECT THE CONSORTIUM, THEN THERE WILL ONLY BE THREE LEFT INSTEAD OF FOUR. AND HYUNDAI IS A LARGE CORPORATION, A WELL RENOWNED CORPORATION.
INTERPRETER: WHY DO WE NEED FOUR BIDDERS FOR THE EXERCISE? NOW WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT HYUNDAI, YOU SAID THAT TECHNICALLY IT WAS ALL RIGHT, THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS ITS INADEQUACIES IN ITS CAPITAL, SO HAVE YOU NEGOTIATED WITH OTHER CONSORTIA TO LOWER THE BID PRICE?
INTERPRETER: NO, WE CANNOT DO THAT. NOW THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN VERY FAIR IN ITS TENDERING EXERCISES. THIS QUESTION HAS ALREADY BEEN ASKED, I.E. WHETHER IT WAS POSSIBLE TO NEGOTIATE A LOWER PRICE WITH AN INDIVIDUAL CONSORTIUM. IF WE ARE TO START NEGOTIATING WITH
ONE PARTY, FOR THE SAKE OF FAIRNESS, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE SAME OFFER TO ALL THE OTHER PARTIES AND THIS IS NOT A LINE THAT WE WOULD PURSUE. WHEN WE THINK THAT ALL THE BID PRICES ARE UNREASONABLE OR THEIR
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