TNAG-1107-FCO40-1358-Inspection-of-the-British-Trade-Commission--Hong-Kong--in-Fe-1981 — Page 25

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COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC WORK (Contd)

increasing staff dealing with Hong Kong trade, both at the

He wrote a Department of Trade and the Trade Commission. letter on 29 March to Sir Leo Pliatzky, in which he stated it as his belief that present arrangements were inadequate for

He went the market; more could be done with increased staff.

on to say that "the Trade Commission in Hong Kong is in my view under-staffed and I hope it will be possible to strengthen the Post soon by the appointment of at least one, and preferably 2, experienced men". Mr Browne made the point to us orally in

the UK that British exports to India and Hong Kong were about the same. The Department in London were not necessarily con- : vinced that extra staff were needed; the Post in their briefing thought there was no real case for an extra Grade 5A (as advo- cated by the Department of Industry) but believed it would be "helpful to have a trainee DS 7A to act as STC's personal assistant on large projects". In discussion,

In discussion, however, Mr March conceded that the most he needed was probably same- thing like half of a DS 5 or a trainee DS 7A on temporary attachment. He also made the point, which we believe to be of vital importance, that project work already identified was likely to come to a peak in the next 12 months and diminish thereafter.

20.

Staffing Factors It is easy to forget that Hong Kong is not a difficult market for British commercial operators. As already pointed out, despite the competition, this is a British colony with particularly favourable opportunities for the British. Language is no problem. Many British firms of impor- tance are already well established in the market and need little help from the Trade Commission. The major area where the Trade Commission can play an important role is that of pro- jects. The bread and butter side, including missions, dwindles into insignificance by comparison.

21. We noticed nonetheless that the Trade Commission have to devote considerable effort to the promotion of Hong Kong as a market in the United Kingdom. The STC is a member of a (confidential) Hong Kong Government committee established for this purpose.

Slowly but surely more British exporters are recognising the potential of the market and we endorse the Department's decision to authorise a duty visit by the STC to the UK (in the year when he is not due for home leave) in order to attend seminars organised by the BOTB's Hong Kong Trade Advisory Group.

22. Staffing Adjustments We believe that some extra capacity for projects work can be found within the existing resources of the Post. We recommend that the Post should implement as soon

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/as possible