TNAG-0170-FCO40-206-British-Trade-Commissioner-1969 — Page 75

|BRITISH

Rak

42

LEYLAND

BRITISH LEYLAND MOTOR CORPORATION LIMITED

.

Telex: 22498

BERKELEY SQUARE HOUSE BERKELEY SQUARE LONDON W1X 6DL

Tel: 01-499 6050 · Grams: LEYMOTORS LONDON W1 TELEX

JHAW/PC

W. S. Carter, Esq., C. V.O., Head of the Hong Kong Department, The Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Downing Street,

London, S. W. 1.

PAPE

4/20/2/69

11th April, 1969.

M.. Stewart

We will need to consider

with Expert Promotion Dept") whether there is

(with

1966

THE QUIEN E AWARD

TO INDUSTRY

Dear Dr Carter

anything we can

or should do at this

is that

stage. My strong mitial feeling

there is no".

боде

16/4

I was most grateful for your help and advice yesterday about the problem of conserving our market for buses in Hong Kong.

I cannot do better than to send you the enclosed copies of the latest exchange of letters between the Governor and the Financial Secretary of the Colony and Louis Portman, Export Sales Director of our Truck and Bus Division. We naturally understand the responsibility of the Government of Hong Kong to their public, but there is a very real British interest in keeping British buses in the streets there. Quite apart from the considerable value of the business itself, it would seriously damage our prospects in Thailand, the Philippines and other South-East Asian countries, if Japanese competitors were able to oust us from a British colony: and this they will therefore make special efforts to do. This aspect of the question was borne in on Louis Portman when he went round the area with Con O'Neill as a member of the London Chamber of Commerce Trade Mission.

Anything you can do to help us protect our show-window market in Hong Kong will therefore be of real help to our export drive.

I have sent a copy of this letter to Dr. Russell in the Board of

Trade.

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY M251

į

16 APR 1969

HRR6/548/:

Jours sin

sincerely

avan Walkó

J. H. A. Watson

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