TNAG-2467-FCO40-3591-Economic-situation-in-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 51

CDE:MLH1278

INTERNATIONAL DIVISIONS

Telephone:

071-601 4265

Facsimile: 071-601 5561

BANK OF ENGLAND Threadneedle Street

London EC2R 8AH

5 October 1992

SH Broadbent Esq

Chief Economic Adviser Economic Advisers

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Whitehall

London

SW1A 2AP

Dear Simon,

м Mu Stove

Crakeft fer Comment

(nd yet reed)

I enclose a paper on Hong Kong as a Regional Financial Centre which has been written here recently by Lee Dobney, Section Manager, Middle and Far East.

The paper attempts to assess the prospects for Hong Kong as a financial centre partly in the light of 1997 and partly in the light of developments in the region that are taking place already irrespective of 1997. A major emphasis of the paper rests on an inevitable comparison with Singapore, currently the only other developed financial centre, other than Tokyo, in the Asian region. But the paper also takes into consideration to some extent the prospects for and effects of further development in other centres such as Seoul, Taipei and Bangkok.

I hope you find the paper of interest.

We would naturally welcome

any views or comments you or other recipients may have on the analysis or conclusions.

Yours ever Curs

C D Elston

Senior Adviser, Asia & Australasia

CC

P P Ricketts Esq (HKD, FCO)

H Ll Davies Esq (FED, FCO)

G W Hewitt Esq CVO OBE (SEAD, FCO)

Robin Morgan Esq (Securities & Investment Group, HMT)

SN Wood Esq (AEF2, HMT)

JP McIntyre Esq (HMT)

Mr A Muckersie (ECGD)