TNAG-1107-FCO40-1358-Inspection-of-the-British-Trade-Commission--Hong-Kong--in-Fe-1981 — Page 43

sustained in 1978 with further E & M contracts on the Tsuen Wan

extension to the underground railway and for the modernisation of

the Kowloon-Canton railway. With the Department of Industry acting

as active coordinator, GEC and Babcock & Wilcox have secured massive

contracts for the Castle Peak 'A' station and 400 KV transmission

system in 1978 and have now followed up that success in 1981 by

winning a £550 million contract for the 'B' station at the same site.

All these orders totalling over £2 billion required detailed

government involvement which at the Hong Kong end placed a massive

load on the resources of the Trade Commission.

L

Hong Kong is a major regional centre for British banks,

financial institutions, insurance and shipping companies. It is

also the regional headquarters of a number of British firms of

consultants. Many of the major Hong Kong firms are basically

British and part of their profits are repatriated to British

shareholders. Hong Kong is thus a most important contributor to

Britain's invisible earnings, although it is not possible to

quantify the amount.

remain:

Impediments to Britain's trading performance in Hong Kong

(i) a tendency to take the market for granted this neglect

has now diminished following extensive speaking tours

in the UK organised by the HK Trade Advisory Group.

(ii) a reputation for unreliable delivery this has improved

immeasurably as a result of the downturn in the home

market but a bad reputation once gained is difficult to

lose; and

(iii) poor communication

a perennial problem. Some British

exporters do themselves a great deal of harm by neglecting

public relations, by failing to keep customers informed

of/......