NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
W(B)L 51-7406
CONFIDENT IAL
our reconsidering at this late hour whether
we could revise our terms with a view to
winning this contract from the French.
set these out below :-
Arguments for reconsideration
I
(a) For us, the contract would be worth,
we understand, some £6m in terms of steel
exports alone.
(b) It would place the contractor in
an advantageous position to secure other
contracts in Hong Kong, notably the projected
development of Kai Tak Airport (estimated
cost about £12m) and the mass transit er
underground system which the Hong Kong
Government are now considering, with a view
to implementing the first stage (estimated
cost about £95m) at an early date.
(c) Politically British financing would
be a significant factor in demonstrating our
confidence in Hong Kong's future and cementing
our relations with the Colony (which have
suffered some setbacks recently).
Conversely
foreign financing of the project could be
politically damaging to us, since there is
sufficient basis in the history of the ECGD
negotiations for our failure to offer
acceptable terms to be represented as
indicating a lack of confidence in Hong Kong's
future; this is the current view of the
Governor and I see no reason to disagree with
his assessment.
/Arguments against reconsidera-
tion.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.