Although
4. Hong Kong have obtained information from senior staff in HSBC which does not support Sir William's contention. The staff maintain that the Bank continues to enjoy good
relations with the People's Bank of China in Peking.
we have heard similar comments about the Dragon Bond issue
(paragraph 5 of the note of the meeting between the Chancellor and Sir William), Hong Kong have advised that the senior
HSBC's executives' assessment is that if Samuel Montagu had
offered the most competitive terms, they would have got the
business.
5.
In short, we think that HSBC has got away with its decision to move to London a lot more lightly than they
expected. The difficulties over the Dragon Bond appear to have been exaggerated by Sir W Purves in talking to the Chancellor. HSBC seemed happy enough for Purves' successor in Hong Kong, John Grey, to take his place on ExCo. All in all, this isolated comment does not, I think, merit further enquiry
by the Minister.
PF Ricketts
hum3.11/MIN/NJH
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