subsidy is provided for the second contract but not the first and Metro-Cammell loses the first contract Hong Kong would no longer be such an effective showpiece for the company.
I understand that the Industrial Development Unit has in fact already started an appraisal for the use of the Industry Act to assist Metro-Cammell on the second contract. If no subsidy is provided for the first contract and this contract is accepted on a loss-making basis this loss could be incorporated in the apprai- sal undertaken by the Industrial Development Unit of the company and the contracts. I would hence prefer to defer a decision on the provision of any subsidy to Metro-Cammell until the Industrial Development Unit has reported.
I should however record at this stage my increasing concern about the number of applications received from exporters for subsidies of various forms to assist them in obtaining specific overseas contracts. In this case, the subsidy requested is to enable Metro-Cammell to continue its operations. It should be seen in the context of a domestic industrial subsidy as an export subsidy and will have to be justified in part on these grounds.
I am copying this letter to the recipients of yours.
as much
LEON BRITTAN
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.