TNAG-2276-FCO40-3275-Hong-Kong-and-the-media-1991 — Page 112

CONFIDENTIAL

ZCZC

CONFIDENTIAL

FM FCO

TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG

TELNO

OF 05130OZ JUNE 91

IMMEDIATE

OUR TELNO 1039 AND YOUR TELNO 1788: BBC WORLD SERVICE TELEVISION

AND HUTCHISON

1.

Mr Richard Li and Lord Derwent called on Miss Spencer on

4 June to present Hutchison's plans for Asiasat and, in

particular, for the proposed news channel for which a

with World Service TV is close to being signed. It was an

effective and persuasive presentation.

2. Mr Li began by giving an account of the background to the

recent negotiations in Hong Kong over Cable TV, and of how

Asiasat had come into being: its purchase from NASA, its

repositioning over China, its footprint stretching from the Gulf

to the Pacific, which means a potential audience of 55 percent

of the world's population, including all of China.

3. Mr Li made it clear that, while he was confident of the

financial viability of the other four Asiasat channels, he had

some doubts about the viability of the news channel in the

circumstances currently prevailing. He mentioned two problems:

the restriction by the Hong Kong Government on their

C20ACA/VAS

HKD

KAM SAUNDERS

3544