TNAG-0422-FCO40-468-Construction-of-an-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 7

HANDED)

OVER

BY

Me Fean ECG D

ON 22 MARCH

!

Discussion with Mr Sandberg 21.3.73

Mr Sandberg of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and the financial adviser to the Steering Group asked me to call on my own. He said that he and others wished us to secure the contract but we must make our approach as attrative as possible. He was concerned that the Jananese would in the end make a concentrated bid to which we had no answer and that, in his view, we should try to pre-empt. I said that I did not think that we had reached that stage but I appreciated Mr Sandberg's concern. I said that I would welcome a personal letter from him if he felt that we were being out flouted.

2.

We then discussed the role of his bank once the Steering Group was dissolved. He said that while he was in the Group his bank was precluded from participating. It would be open to Lazards to approach another bank, say the Chartered, while he was howed in this way. He felt however that Lazards appreciated his position and he would like the position to be open for his bank to work with the British consortium if this was the outcome. I said that I was sure that this sensible outcome was appreciated but that I would have a word with Mr Kindersley.

3.

We then turned to how best the Hong Kong Bank could best promote British trade and I told him where we were in our talks with China about credit.