FEW REFUSALS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 94, 22 April 1933, Page 12

FEW REFUSALS

LOAN CONVERSION

SUCCESSFUL EFFORT

(By Telegraph.—Press, Association.) AUCKLAND, April 21. "I say tho conversion operation was voluntaiy," said the Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) in an address to- the Auckland Creditmeu'a Club. "Certainly a polite letter was written to the holders of securities, but it would have paid some of them 'to dissent notwithstanding the interest tax." The Minister announced that dissents had been,reduced from £780,000 to about £500,000, and further dissents were being withdrawn each day. He pointed out that £99 15s was offered by buyers for converted stock last week, and there were no sellers. With brokerage, t)iat meant £100 ss. It was a great tributo to the success of the conversion that the stock had never fallen below £97 10s, and had since recovered almost to par. That indicated to him that tho task had been done in the right way. '■ In a statement made subsequently, tho Minister said that it might not be generally known that a .loan, of approximately £5,000,000 was due to mature on August 15 next. The Government might reasonably have anticipated that a fairly largo percentage of the holders of that loan would elect to dissent from thp conversion and obtain repayment of their capital on the existing maturity date. He was pleased to say, however, that securities to the value of less that £500,000 in that loan had been the subject of dissent notices. No greater, evidence could be obtained of the willingness of investors to aid the Government in effecting the^ financial adjustments necessary to meet the present conditions. Mr. Coates said-that tho Local Government Loans Board had been asked to co-operate with the Government in keeping the interest rates at the new low level fixed by Statute; There need be no fear that the new issues would come on the market' at higher rates, and thus tend to depreciate the securitices of present holders. The Loans Board was also considering the question of conversion schemes for local authorities, and, it was. hoped to formulate model schemes shortly. -