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Chamber is to offer them a formula based on their proportion of the building cost plus their proportion of the running costs. OED consider that the FCO would be in danger of attracting criticism for applying the TDR formula to a non-government organisation. They suggest that a fair rent would be the market rent in one of the cheaper business areas. They assess this at HK$ 25 square foot per month which comes out at about £56,000 per annum for the space required by the Chamber.
4. I have commissioned further advice on this from RFD - taking the line that we would like to see the Chamber charged the lower rate if at all possible. Once we get this sorted out, we will write to you again to let you know the agreed line on rent plus service charges. The way will then be clear for you to discuss the financial basis of collocation with the Chamber and outline the additional areas where negotiation would be needed on the licence as a whole (use of Consulate-General facilities outside the 200 square metres, agreement by Chamber to meet any premium charged by the Hong Kong Government for varying the conditions of the Private Treaty Grant etc. see Alex Smith's second paragraph).
5.
There will be no point in approaching the Hong Kong Government until or unless we establish that the Chamber does want to go ahead on our terms.
Yours ever,
Debbie.
Debbie Barnes Jones Hong Kong Department
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