$l00,000 lined up for investment

Press, 13 October 1983, Page 8

$l00,000 lined up for investment

From

BRUCE ROSCOE

in Tokyo

The Nissho Iwai Corporation. one of Japan’s six biggest trading houses, said yesterday it would invest SUSIOO,OOO in New Zealand and give the interest to a no-strings-attached fund to assist New Zealand students’ study of Japanese affairs.

The investment had already been approved by the Overseas Investment Commission and further approval by the taxation office of the Inland Revenue Department was imminent. Mr Shinji Kawahara, director of Nissho Iwai’s chemical and engineering division, said that the SUSIOO,OOO would stay in New Zealand "for ever.”

Legal work for the fund was expected to be completed by February or March. The fund would be managed by a board of trustees comprising Mr T. C. Gick, Nissho Iwai’s chartered accountant in New Zealand, Mr B. P. Henry, the corporation’s solicitor, Mr H. Matsuda, managing director of the corporation’s New Zealand office, and an official of the Japanese Embassy in Wellington, who would not have voting rights on the board.

“The money can be used for any purpose that would serve creating a better understanding of Japan in New Zealand,” said Mr Kawahara.

“It could be put towards buying books on Japan for school or university libraries, sending students to Japan, conducting economic surveys, earthquake studies, anything at all.”

Mr Kawahara said that universities, institutes, or schools would be able to apply to the fund for facilities or research projects.

Nissho Iwai had decided to set up the fund after winning in March last year a SUS27S million plant export order for New Zealand. Synthetic Fuels Corporation’s gas-to-gasoline project at New Plymouth.

“The benefit of trade must not be monopolised by industries but returned to society,” said Mrr Kawahara, emphasising that no strings would be attached to the fund.

Nissho Iwai, whose total trade transactions (import, export, offshore, domestic) in Japan’s last financial year reached $U533,383 million, in the same year did about $6O million worth of business in New Zealand, not including the gas plant export.