TNAG-2978-FCO40-1470-Trade-relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-the-UK-1982 — Page 85

JO SFIDENTIAL

DSR HC

Pae decision by Guthrie Corporation and Dulop

H 1ings to sell their Malaysian businesses to

Chinese interests without giving first refusal to

Bumiputra (indigenous Malay) buyers. By doing

so they made it harder for the government to

achieve its target of 30% ownership of the

corporate sector for Bumiputras by 1990.

The move by the London Stock Exchange to tighten up

its rules on "dawn raids" after a Malayan government-

sponsored unit trust had launched a successful

dawn raid on Guthrie. This was one of several

instances that had given rise to critidsm

of this practice, but the Malaysians chose to

interpret the Stock Exchange's intitiative

as being directed speċificially at them.

Increases in overseas student fees to full cost.

In recent years, Malaysia has sent more students

to Britain than any other Commonwealth country.

It cannot provide enough university places for

the foreseeable future. The Chinese are the more

heavily affected and there are fears that racial

tension may be exacerbated as a result. The

Malaysian government has adopted a policy of

sending no further students to Britain.

Unfavourable comment on Malaysia in the UK press.

CONFIDENTIAL

17.

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