FINANCE FOR N.Z. PROJECTS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27407, 21 July 1954, Page 9

FINANCE FOR N.Z. PROJECTS

London Loans “Could Be Of Use” (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 20. Loans raised on the London money market could be of use to New Zealand in financing the country’s general development programme. This statement is made in the 1954 Economic Survey. After discussing Britain’s trade position, the survey says that Britain’s ability to lend abroad is determined by her ability to earn a surplus in' transactions with other countries. “The surplus of £225,000,000 earned in 1953 helped to finance a large outflow of capital investment to other countries, particularly to the sterling area.

“During 1953, loans and grants totalling £120,000,000 were authorised tor development in the sterling Commonwealth, including the colonial territories. The Commonwealth Development Finance Company, designed primarily to assist the financing of development by private enterprise, started operations during 1953. Sterling was made available also for lending through the International Bank to Commonwealth countries. “A loan of £10,000,000 to assist in financing New Zealand’s pulp and paper project at Murupara was raised on the London money market,” the survey says. “Within available resources, the United Kingdom is ready to consider also approaches to the London market for loans in support of general programmes of development, as well as for particular projects. “This could be of use to New Zealand,” the survey says, “because we have few large-scale individual projects, *but an extensive general development programme.”