COMPANY AFFAIRS

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 150, 27 June 1934, Page 4

COMPANY AFFAIRS

FORESTRY BONDHOLDERS.

So many different standards of value are attached to bonds in commercial forestry undertakings that the establishment of a bondholders' exchange would seem to be called for in the interests of investors, says the Melbourne "Argus." It has been estimated that more than £2,000,000 has been invested in Australia in forestry bonds and similar enterprises, the areas being situated largely in New Zealand. Securing lists of names of bondholders, of whom there are some thousands, and taking advantage of their lack of knowledge of the prospects of the undertakings, canvassers have found a profitable business in depreciating the assets represented by the bonds, so that they can acquire them at low prices and trade them off at a profit to others. Some bondholders consider that this undesirable state of affairs could be rectified by the establishment of a bond exchange conducted by bondholders to regularly quote prices. It would not be easy to form such an organisation, but discussion of the position might result in the formulation of some plan which would give bondholders more protection than fhey have to-day, and check undesirable features of bond hawking. Steps are being taken to convene a meeting of bondholders in Melbourne.