...
To: Mr P F Ricketts HKD, FCO
From: Adrian Abbott
XAAA 2D
Bay 734
Kingsgate House
071 215 4322
20 October 1993
Mr Robbuir
If you agree shall fans to
Ms Ricketts
1
directly.
Adrai Abbott XAAAZD.
PRIME MINISTERS SPEECH TO HONG KONG BUSINESS CONFERENCE
Thank you for your minute of today's date in which you asked for information on major British successes in Hong Kong and China.
2 You might like to include the following success stories:
-
(a) On the civil aviation side the Hong kong market has for many years been of key importance to British suppliers. For the period 1975 70 1992 Cathay Pacific, for example, has bought equipment worth over £1 billion from UK manufacturers and suppliers. In China Rolls Royce has had similar successes and from late 1987 upto the end of this year will have made deliveries of aero-engines worth £260 millions. These purchases represent significant export orders for UK industry and are not even included in our export statistics to Hong Kong and China.
(b) The Hong Kong market has been one of the biggest in the world for UK power generation companies. GEC Alsthom. working in conjunction with GE of the USA, won the first phase of the 8x300MW Black Point Power Station contract earlier this year giving Hong Kong a continued guaranteed fully reliable power supply into the next century. GEC Alsthom has been very active in China also winning business on the Yueyang, Dalate and Daya Bay power stations.
(c) Hong Kong's Mass Transit
Transit Railway is probably the most efficient and effective metro system in the world and has the greatest usage per route kilometre. Metro Cammell (now part of GEC Alsthom) have supplied all the system's rolling stock (The units are assembled locally from parts shipped out). The MTR has been the main reason driving the Guangzhou authorities to develop plans for their metro. Business on this project is being pursued by all the major British rail building and supply companies.
3 It might be appropriate for the Minister for Trade's recent visit to be mentioned in paragraph 5 along the following lines:
My colleague Richard Needham has just returned from a visit to Hong Kong and China with a group of businessmen. They will be following up vigorously the opportunities which were identified.
Adrian Abbott