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6. This impression that we need to get our act together is held by many of the people I met during my briefing tour and arrival here. The businessmen I have met take the market seriously and seem prepared to commit resources. Naturally, their perceptions are different and often contradictory.
The need a lead and a reassurance that we are not engaged in one the short-term ploys referred to in the FT profile of you of : May. This is one of the most sophisticated and competitive markets in the world and I believe there will be strong suppor for a clear lead by you and the BOTB. The aims should be substantive, precise and shared by allied agencies in particular, the British Chamber in Hong Kong, the British Council and the Advisory Boards in London.
K
7. In order to get the strategy right, we should see Hong Kon in the broader international perspective, particularly in relation to China and other regional markets. We must also apply lessons learned elsewhere. And we should not be preoccupied by the project business. That is going well and i of course the top priority but more difficult issues arise in (a) the orchestration of maximum British content, (b) using this up-turn as a springboard into China and (d) the consolidation and strengthening of our invisible position, especially in banking, standards and professional qualifications.
I recommend you bring with you two or three people selected from the following list :
8.
(a) the new head of the HKAG. He is keen, has identified invisibles as the priority target for the group, and is looking for guidance;
(b) a spokesman from industry to give a broader perspective. I know John Banham would welcome a chance to come and we would benefit from his experience. The fact that he will by then have stepped down from the CBI will give him greater freedom to advise. We need to engage the Manufacturing Council;
(c) perhaps an insider to Hong Kong from one of the well-entrenched companies (GECA, C & W or a major contractor), for example;
(d) a senior man to look at invisibles. I believe "British Invisibles" could have an increasingly important role as 1997 approaches; and Sir Hugh Bidwell is just the man to maintain a long-term programme of activity here, in China and in the UK. But in the first instance I suggest we concentrate on engineering and include Roger Dobson, SG of the Institution of Civil Engineers, who is respected here; and
(e) an economist (see paragraph 18 below).