TNAG-1373-FCO40-1819-Ministerial-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 63

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BACKGROUND

CONFIDENTIAL

accounts

1. Hong Kong

for 1.2% of all United Kingdom exports. It is our 18th largest market worldwide and our

2nd largest in the Far East after Japan. (Hong Kong briefly became our largest export marked in the area

during the first quarter of 1985 but it has since dropped behind Japan on the basis of January to June figures.) In

1984 Our share of the market amounted to 3.9% when we

were Hong Kong's 6th largest market after China, Japan,

the USA, Taiwan and Singapore. On January to June

figures for 1985 our market share is now about 3.5%.

2. British companies are very interested and active in

the Hong Kong market where our exports are mostly capital

goods for project business including power generation equipment, transport equipment and electrical machinery.

Project business apart, healthcare products, information technology, construction

exploration and high quality consumer goods have been

identified as the sectors offering the best potential for

future exports.

services,

offshore

oil

3. In a particularly aggressive market, and in the face

of soft loan elements in competitors'

competitors' financial packages, United Kingdom companies are actively pursuing important

project business contracts. Recent successes in this

sector have included the Castle Peak Power stations, Mass

Transit Railway and Naptha Gas Plant. Despite the loss by a consortium led by GEC of the main contract to build

the Tun Muen Light rail system, British companies have

since been awarded substantial sub-contracts for the

project totalling £30 million and the Kowloon Canton

Railway Corporation recently placed an order for 75 new

coaches worth approximately £30 million with Met ro

CONFIDENTIAL