TNAG-2765-FCO40-3982-UK-Hong-Kong-Scholarship-Scheme-donation-to-the-UK-Governme-1993 — Page 22

Mr Ricketts

Mr Hum

HONG KONG:

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Till (14) (Schols)

укв 285/1

RECE

Hong Kong Department DATE: 3 December 1993

cc:Ms Lewis, CRD

Mr Moore, HKD

FUTURE SCHOLARSHIPS:

THE PROPOSED "MANAGEMENT

;

TRAINING CENTRE"

Problem

1.

A

We owe the Senior British Trade Commissioner a reply to his letter of 11 October, proposing that HMG should:

a) contribute £250,000 capital to the proposed Management

Training Centre (MTC) in Hong Kong; and

from

b) set up a scholarship scheme (of £250,000 p.a.

1996/7) for graduates from the Centre to study in the UK. More generally, how to apply the £1⁄21⁄2 million annual scholarship budget from FY 1996/7?

Recommendation

2.

I recommend that Mr Hum should write to SBTC on the lines of the attached self-explanatory draft. I further recommend that, (subject to satisfactory answers to the questions in the draft), the scholarship budget should, from FY 1996/7 be divided as follows:

£100,000 for a MTC scholarship scheme;

£150,000 for a targetted FCOSAS scheme;

£250,000 for a joint funding scheme with private sector.

I also recommend we put up a small sum of AUSPB money to help with the fit-out costs of the MTC.

Background and Argument

3.

Mr Cornish wrote to Mr Hum in response to a request for ideas for the redeployment of funds from the phase out of the UK/HK Joint Funding Scheme. His and Mr Smith-Laittan's (BTC) B letter to John Morris (HKD) of 5 November outline the proposal

for the Management Training Centre, a joint venture between the British Council and the Chiang Industrial Foundation.

(Mr Buchanan, the BC Director, also raised it with Mr Goodlad during the Minister's visit in October.)

4.

The Hong Kong Government support the proposal and are confident that a suitable site can be found for the Centre, but have sought "certain assurances" on the financial feasibility of the project before a final decision is taken. The British Council do not propose to make a full financial appraisal of the project until the level of HMG's contribution is agreed in principle. I am not sure this is the right way around. clearly cannot commit ourselves to a project which is still an unknown quantity. We still have too few details on the nature of

We

scholar.PR.JRB

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