TNAG-1061-FCO40-1311-The-Kowloon-Canton-Railway-1981 — Page 14

CONFIDENTIAL: COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

НКК 103/2

REGISTRY NO. OCT 1981

28

кек

Mr Davies

Far Eastern Department

(K258)

METRO-CAMMELL: POSSIBLE TRADE WITH TALWAN...

1.

As you

I lunched today with Mr Sansome of Metro-Cammell. know, they are heavily engaged in the provision of rolling stock both for the Kowloon-Canton Railway and for the Mass Transit Railway in Hong Kong.

2.

Mr Sansome expressed considerable interest in opportunities in China. We agreed that for the moment 'readjustment' made any big orders very unlikely, but he is keen to keep in contact with developments there. He is going out to Hong Kong soon and will probably ask Mr March to put him in touch with the China Trade Unit in the BTC.

3. Mr Sansome said that Metro-Cammell have a good chance of providing rolling stock for a metro in Taipei. He had been told by Mr Weedon, formerly of GEC, that this could make trading with China very difficult. Mr Weedon had apparently even said that it could spoil a firm's chances in Hong Kong. I told him that the latter was not the case and that now the Peking authorities were very much more relaxed about firms who did business with Taiwan. Off the cuff I did not think it would harm them. I would be grateful for your confirmation that this is the case. I undertook to let Mr Sansome know.

ат

R D Clift

19 October 1981

Hong Kong and General Department

сс

DR C Durie Esq, PEP Division, DOT /P J Williamson Esq HKGD, FCO

DM March Esq OBE BTC HONG KONG

BUI week сае

CONFIDENTIAL : COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

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