CONFIDENTIAL
(b) Recent Contracts.
Mr Brandon Bravo's list, which is derived
from DTI material, is fairly comprehensive, although the John.
Brown order should be listed under this year's contracts and a
further item "NEI £35 million for turbines" should be added to
-
the list of this year's orders.
(c) Investment. Mr Brandon Bravo quotes the figure of
£2 billion for British direct investment. This is a 1987 figure
(still the latest year for which figures are available) when the book value of net direct investment from the UK into Hong Kong
was £1,924 million. But, as Mr Keswick has repeatedly pointed
out, this is a very narrow measure of British investment in Hong Kong. It would therefore be better to quote the figure of £20
billion for the estimated gross stock market value of British
owned or controlled companies in Hong Kong (which both BTC Hong Kong and the DTI are now using). This section could be recast
as follows:
- The British commercial presence and British investment in Hong
Kong are very extensive.
-
Over 400 British companies are established there, through
wholly owned subsidiaries or joint venture companies. In
addition, many of Hong Kong's largest companies are British
managed and have major British sharesholdings. A large number of British companies have substantial investment in real estate,
aviation, telecommunications, financial services and the retail
trade.
-
Putting a total figure on Britain's stake in Hong Kong is
difficult. But the gross stock market value of British owned or
controlled companies in Hong Kong has been estimated at some
£20 billion. The great majority of these produce significant
returns for the UK.
- The frequent assertion that British commercial interests have
progressively withdrawn from Hong Kong is incorrect. On the
contrary, the value of British investment in Hong Kong has steadily increased, with Hong Kong taking the largest proportion
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