CONFIDENTIAL
British High Commission
Belmopan
Belize
(310)
Michael Hall Esq
MCAD
F CO
WICD 340/1
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
12 JUL 1990
REGISTRY
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
Action Taken
Dear Michael
TH
20 June 1990
Ms Barack
Mr myris
Interationd dippet (?).
Phhatt
217
BELIZE/TAIWAN/HONG KONG
Plateau
was
1. In my letter of 28 May I referred to the Vacca hydro electric scheme as the main development project in which the Taiwan government were involved. My impression after last September, because of the way the benefits of establishment of relations with Taiwan were presented, that the Taiwan government would be funding construction and equipment of this large (18 mw) plant. Over the interim the Belize government have done nothing to create any other impression, and the scheme has been regularly referred to as the Taiwan project. I now learn somewhat late in the day, that the Taiwan involvement in hydro electricity here is limited to funding the very detailed study of the way ahead on the Vacca Plateau. Funding of construction and equipment must come from elsewhere. But after looking at claims of access to cheap finance from various banks and banking consortia (ideas which have boiled down in the end to normal export credit), the government seem to be turning back to Far East, only to Hong Kong rather than Taiwan.
2.
The latest wheeze is the upshot of a recent visit to Hong Kong by Deputy (de facto Finance) Minister Ralph Fonseca and Minister (of Energy and Communications) Carlos Diaz. It seems to take the form of raising the necessary development capital by selling parcels of land for residential building to Hong Kong people for BZ$80,000 a time. With the purchase of land will go right of residence and accelerated naturalisation. The arrangement will be handled at the Hong Kong end by three or four banks and property companies. the Belize end a suitable area of crown land has been identified, and the government are working on the tricky question of presentation.
At
3. Here there will be a problem because the deal is not very different, as far as the average Belizean is concerned, from what the previous government were doing. Although Price will have got away from the slightly distasteful business of
/"selling
CONFIDENTIAL
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