TNAG-1039-FCO40-1289-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 30

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

TS 7/1162/46 VII

本署檔號 Our Ref:

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SECRET

183

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

30 July, 1981

RD Clift Esq

Mr. Mc Que

Hong Kong & General Department FCO

Williamson f1.88.

M.

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THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG: CANADIAN CONCERN

very useful note

7/8

On my return to Hong Kong I have seen a copy of Percy Cradock's letter to Teddy Youde of 17 June which includes comments on the views of the recently departed Canadian Commissioner in Hong Kong, Bill Warden, about the future of Hong Kong. This referred to a report in which Warden had written about rumours of a decline or a reversal of Chinese investment in Hong Kong and had produced a pessimistic view of the future on his own part.

2.

I know of no evidence to substantiate Warden's report about a decline in Chinese investment. It is notoriously difficult to get accurate information about Chinese investment in Hong Kong since so much of it is carried out through intermediaries. Nevertheless, such information as we do have suggests that the overall trend continues to be upwards. I am enclosing a copy of a useful note prepared by Government Information Services from newspaper reports which bears this out. All other information available to us supports this view. One recent pointer has been remarks from the Bank of China that they are considering building a new headquarters in the Central district. When speaking about this to the Financial Secretary, one of the senior bank staff commented that they did not wish to spend much above $2 billion. That hardly sounds like disinvestment.

3.

Nevertheless, the fact that diplomats like

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SECRET

/contd..

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