MEMO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC; FROM AMCONSUL HONG KONG; SUBJECT: PRC'S EVERBRIGHT CORPORATION OFFICIALLY OPENS IN HONG KONG

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86T00302R000500780008-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 15, 2010
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: August 27, 1983
• Content Type: CABLE

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NICAG/CH
INCOMING
PAGE 001
TOR: 271537Z AUG 83
RR RUEAIIB
ZNY CCCCC ZOC STATE ZZH
STU5123
RR RUEHC
DE RUMJNG #5377/01 2380701
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 260659Z AUG 83
FM AMCDNSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8780
INFO RUMJPG/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6670
ZEN/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU POUCH
ZEN/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI POUCH
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9582
RUEHDC/USDOC WASHDC
ST
C O N F I D E N T I A L
LIMITED OFFICIAL USE HONG KONG 15377
TAGS: ECON, CH,
- HONG KONG
REFS: A) HONG KO 610 NG 05752,
- C) HONG KONG 09902
SUMMARY
1. EVERBRIGHT (VIOLIGHT), THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED
"PRIVATE" PRC CORPORATION IN HONG KONG, OFFICIALLY
OPENED HERE ON AUGUST 18. THE COMPANY'S PRESIDENT,
WANG GUANGYING (BROTHER-IN-LAW OF'THE LATE PRC
PR ID NT LIU AND FLASHY
RECEPTION IN THEIR NEW QUARTERS AND INVITED MOST OF
HONG KONG. THE GUEST OF HONOR WAS NCNA CHIEF XU
JIAT N- AND WANG'S OPENING SPEECH FEATURED NOT ONLY
EVERBRIGHT'S ACTIVITIES BUT HIS CONFIDENCE IN HONG
KONG'S STABILITY AS WELL. WANG MADE A POINT OF
SAYING HE WILL BE DOING BUSINESS WITH COUNTRIES WHICH
DO NOT HAVE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH CHINA.
EVERBRIGHT HAS MADE A BIG SPLASH IN HONG KONG AND HAS
IMPRESSED LOCAL BUSINESSMEN WITH ITS BUSINESSLIKE
APPROACH. AS YET IT HAS DONE LITTLE
ACTUAL BUSINESS,
BUT THE PATENT COMPETITION WITH CHINA RESOURCES
C A STILL A FAVORITE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION.
END
2. ON AUGUST 18, WANG GUANGYING HOSTED A LARGE
RECEPTION IN HONG KONG TO ANNOUNCE THE OFFICIAL
OPENING OF THE EVERBRIGHT AND VIOLIGHT CORPORATIONS
(ONE "UNLIMITED" AND ONE "LIMITED" - SEE PARA 11).
THE RECEPTION WAS HELD IN THE COMPANY'S FLASHY NEW
OFFICES ON THE 39TH FLOOR OF THE FAR EAST FINANCE
CENTER, AND MST OF HONQ.1DNG WAS INVITED.
WANG'S OPENING SPEECH WAS GIVEN IN
/( TRANSLATED INTO CAIG TCIJ - NO CANTONESE
.
EMPHAS NATU ANIES AND
SAID THEY HAD ALREADY MADE PROGRESS IN CONTACTS AND
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BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS. HE CLAIMED EVERBRIGHT
INTENDED TO DO BUSINESS WITH ALL COUNTRIES, INCLUDING
THOSE NOT HAVING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH CHINA.
WANG NOTED THAT HE WAS ARRIVING AT A TIME OF "SERIOUS
INSTABILITY" IN HONG KONG'S ECONOMY, BUT SAID HE HAD
CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE. HE BELIEVED TAT CHINA
WOULD NOT "CHANGE ITS BASIC ATTITUDE" TOWARDS HONG
KO IN E DECADES A FORE THERE WAS AN
OPPORTUN FORTUNES, Aft HE PERSONALLY
INTEND END HIS LIFE HERE. 14ANG
BECAM A ATED WHEN TALKING ABOUT HONG
KONG'S STABILITY AND HIS OWN STAKE HERE.
4. THE RECEPTION WAS LARGE. ABOUT ONE THOUSAND
INVITATIONS WERE SENT OUT, AND THEN OPEN INVITATIONS
WERE PRINTED IN THE PRO-PRC TA ONG PAO AND WEN HUI
BAO NEWSPAPERS. MOST PROMINANT WAS NCNA CHIEF XU
JIATUN WHO SHARED THE PODIUM WITH WANG. THERE WERE
RFIATTVFIY FEW WESTERNERS MOST OF THE MAJOR HONG
KONG CHINESE FIGURES MADE THEIR APPEA ANC:ES
5. THE OFFICES WERE BEDECKED WITH FLORAL WREATHS NOT
ONLY FROM WELL WISHERS IN HONG KONG, BU ROM BEIJING
AS WELL. THOSE FROM ZHAO ZIYANG, DENG YINGCHAO WAN
LI AND XI ZHONGXUN ONT AND CENTER. OTHER
NAM PROMININANTLY DISPLAYED WERE YANG SHANGKUN, YAO
YILIN, GU MU, CHEN PIXIAN, HU QILI, 80 YIBO, TIAN
JIYUN, ZXANG JINGFU, ZHAMG AIPING, SONG PING, HU
JUEWEN, AND HU ZIAN. WE DID NOT SEE ANY FROM HU
YAOBANG, OR FROM DENG XIAOP .
6. WANG CLAIMS THAT EVERBRIGHT HAS STARTED BUSINESS
NEGOTIATIONS FOR THIRTY PROJECTS WORTH MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS. BEYOND THAT IT IS HARD TO GET DETAILS. WE
KNOW HE HAS SENT A TEAM TO CHILE TO NEGOTIATE A
PURCHASE OF 1,000 SECOND-HAND HEAVY TRUCKS. WE ARE
TOLD NEGOTIATIONS WENT WELL, BUT THAT IS ALL. WE
HAVE HEARD EVERBRIGHT ARRANGED SOME FERTILIZER SALES
TO SHANGHAI AND TIANJIN; AND TALKED WITH THE LOCAL
GENERAL MOTORS REPRESENTATIVE ABOUT A PLANT TO
PRODUCE LIGHT TRUCKS IN CHINA. APPARENTLY GENERAL
MOTORS WAS NOT INTERESTED'AS IT WAS TO BE SOLELY FOR
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: ECO, CH, HK
SUBJ: PRC'S EVERBRIGHT CORPORATION OFFICIALL9 OPENS IN
EXPORT LOCAL BUSINESSMEN TELL US THAT SO FAR
EVERBRIGHT IS CONDUCTING ITSELF IN A REFRESHINGLY
BUSINESSLIKE MANNER AND THAT ITS STAFF ARE WELL
QUALIFIED AND SERIOUS.
COMMENT:
7. WANG'S REF_PTInN WAS WELL ORCHESTRATED AN
WELL-ATTENDED. HE HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING RATHER
SHOWY. THIS SHOW, PARTICULARLY HIS COMMENTS ABOUT
HONG KONG'S FUTURE STABILITY AND PROSPERITY, SEEMED
TO BE FOR HONG KONG AS A WHOLE AND NOT JUST FOR HIS
POTENTIAL CLIENTS.
8. WANG HAS NOW OFFICIALLY SET UP SHOP IN THE FAR
EAST FINANCE CENTER, WHERE HE PURCHASED (NOT RENTED)
AN ENTIRE FLOOR FOR ABOUT 2.7 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS.
THE NEW CHINA RESOURCES COMPANY (CRC) BUILDING HAS
EXCESS SPACE AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, WANG HAS TOLD SOME
CONF I DENT I AL
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IN HONG KONG THAT HE DOES NOT WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED
WITH CRC, AND WOULD UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ESTABLISH
HIMSELF THERE. ONE REASON FOR THIS IS HIS DESIRE TO
EMPHASIZE THE PRIVATE NATURE OF EVERBRIGHT. ALSO,
THE BUILDING HE IS NOW IN IS CERTAINLY A MORE
PRESTIGIOUS ADDRESS.
9. THE LATENT COMPETITION BETWEEN EVERBRIGHT AND CRC
IS STILL A POPULAR TOPIC OF CONVERSAT RE. R
GE JIA T E CEPTION,
BUT DID LOOK DISTINCTLY UNCOMFORTA SOME HAVE
ASSERTED EVERBRIqW, IS BACKED B HAO)Z I'HdC WHILE
CRC IS BACKED HU AOBANG, THE EBY TAKING THE
COMPETITION TO RTGfqER LEVELS. IT DOES APPEAR THAT
WANG HAS THE BACKING OF ZHAO ZIY WANG HAS TOLD
US THAT HE HAS VERY HAO ZIYANG, AND
PRESS REPORTS HAVE SUGGESTED HE HAS THE EQUIVALENT
OF INIST AL STATU IN BEIJING WE HAVE NO WAY
HOWEVER, OF CORROBORATING THE INCLUSION OF HU YAOBANG
IN SUCH AN TION.
10. WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTRIGUED BY TWO ASPECTS OF
THE OPERATION: ITS APPARENTLY STRONG SUPPORT FROM
BEIJING; AND ITS E SS
EVEN .
REGARDING THE LATTER WANG RECENTLY TOLD AN AMERICAN
REPORTER THAT IN SEPTEMBER HE WOULD SURPRISE EVERYONE
BY MAKING A BUSINESS TRIP TO A COUNTRY WITH WHICH
CHINA DDS NOT AVE RELATIONS.
11. REF C REFERS TO WANG'S COMPANY AS VIOLIGHT.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE NOW ACTUALLY TWO COMPANIES
OPERATING. VIOLIGHT IS REGISTERED AS A LIMITED
LIABILITY COMPANY. PRESUMABLY MOST OF THE ACTUAL
CONTRACT SIGNING WOULD BE DONE UNDER THIS NAME.
EVERBRIGHT COULD NOT BE REGISTERED AS A LIMITED
LIABILITY COMPANY AS THE NAME WAS ALREADY BEING USED
BY ANOTHER COMPANY. IT CAN OPERATE AS AN "UNLIMITED"
LIABILITY COMPANY. WANG SEEMS TO PREFER THE ORIGINAL
NAME EVERBRIGHT, AND THAT IS THE NAME USED MOST IN
HONG KONG. IN FUTURE WE WILL ALSO REFER TO THE
COMPANY AS EVERBRIGHT. WILLIAMS
CONFIDENTIAL
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