TNAG-0425-FCO40-471-Construction-of-an-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 187

HOFO#26/23

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HIK 21/4"

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259

RR ECGD

GPS 360

CYPHER/CAT A

FM BTC HONG KONG 2309052

CONFIDENTIAL

ADVANCE COPY

TO PRIORITY DTI TELNO CREDA

-the ski

* DAYS MU JON

HD/HA/OD

134 OF 23 OCTOBER INFO FCO, ECGD.

FOR GLAVES SMITH OPG, MISS LACKEY (CRE2), FELL (ECGD) AND STUART (KIOD) FROM ASTON

M.T.S.

LOET

per

263

By Good

den P/A

2. KINDERSLEY MADE A FURTHER BRIEF AND UNEXPECTED OVERNIGHT VISIT DURING THE WEEK-END TO PUT SOME PERSONAL IDEAS TO HADDON-CAVE ADOUT WAYS IN WHICH BRITISH/ITALIAN GROUP MIGHT COUNTER THE JAPANEŠG PRE-EMPTIVE DID, BROADLY THE IDEA (RELAYED TO ME VIA NEEDON) APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN THAT SINCE THE JAPANESE HAVE BEEN ALLOWED AN EXCEPTION OVER GUARANTEES THE BRITISH/ITALIAN GROUP MIGHT BE ALLOWED LEEWAY OVER THE TARGET PRICE. BUT THERE WOULD BE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO THE ORIGINAL TARGET PRICE CONCEPT 90 AS TO GIVE THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATE ADSURANCE THAT THE PRICE WOULD BE KEPT WITHIN A POSSIBLE INCREASED CASH FLOW.

2. I DO NOT HAVE DETAILS AND I ONLY HAVE IT AT SECOND HAND THAT HADDON-CAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE IDEA.

3. LEVER HAS TOLD ME THAT HADDON-CAVE HAS SUGGESTED TO HIM THAT AT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF HE COULD BE ADVISED OFFICIALLY WITHIN NEXT FEW DAYS OF BRITISH POSITION IN LIGHT OF THE JAPANESE PRE-EMPTIVE BID AND, IN PARTICULAR, THAT IT IS DUR INTENTION TO MAKE COUNTER BID IN DUE COURSE

.

4. IN A SEPARATE DEVELOPMENT DAWES OF GEC HAS PUT FORWARD A PROPOSAL