SUGAR SHARE BONUS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21951, 7 November 1934, Page 9

SUGAR SHARE BONUS

QUESTIONS . IN ASSEMBLY DEPUTY-PREMIER'S REPLY HOW INDUSTRY IS CONTROLLED A reply to the questions recently asked in tlie New South Wales Legislative Assembly regarding the Colonial Sugar Refining Company's intention to make a bonus share issue involving a distribution of about £7,000,000, was made by the Hon. M. |«\ Bruxner, the deputy-Premier. .Mr. Bruxner had been asked whether he would take step.* to see that the State was protected adequately concerning taxation from the company and whether he would confer with the Federal Government to obtain a reduction in the price of sugar. Air. Bruxner said the company did not sell sugar to the public. The wliolo oi the raw sugar produced in Austialia was acquired by the Government, of Queensland under an agreement between the Commonwealth and the Queensland Governments, and je was then refined by the Colonial Sugar Kelinmg Company and distributed on behalf ol the Queensland Government, lhe company was paid ior its services. "On examining the sum a ton paid to the sugar company for the whole oi its work, including the financing of the sugar pool for the Queensland Government, it is fouud," said Mr. Bruxner, "to correspoud almost exactly [ to the profit a ton which is allowed to the retail grocers to enable thein to carry 011 the business of distributors to the consuming public. It must be remembered that although the company engages in milling it produces only about 20 per cent of the country's output. You will realise, therefore, that the operations ot' the company and any profits it might earn from its undertaking have iittlc or no effect upon the cost of production and the sale price of sugar. "The sugar industry is controlled by a Sugar Board, whose members are ap- ! pointed by the Queensland Government," continued Mr. Bruxner, "The company has no representative on tho board, it must be remembered that the sugar company is a very large organisation, which has been operating for many years, and it carries on its business not only in Australia, but in Fiji and New Zealand. We, must reasonably assume that the operations in the different countries contribute their reasonable quota to the earnings of the company. 1 am satisfied that the sugar company's proposals are not at all unprecedented, and that the new share issue will not affect in any way tho price of sugar, but will only reserve permanently to the company the working capital which it has been using, and will, in effect, give to the shareholders two 10s shares instead of one £1 share. In other words, the proposals correspond to an exchange of two 10s notes for a £1 note."

FOREIGN EXCHANGES FIRMING OF STERLING (Received November 6, 7.5 p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY, Nov. o The following rates on foreign exchanges are current, compared with the cabled quotations on November 3 and par:

NEW ZEALAND MONEY ABROAD j Current dollar exchanges, as quoted | by the New Zealand banks, are as j under, compared with previous quotations : Dollars to i'l sterling Buying Sellin? United States . . 5.07 -1.57 Canada . . . . 1.97 4.77 Following are the latest rates for pur- j ehase.s and sales of foreign exchange quoted by the Bank of New South j Wales, Auckland. They are subject to i alteration without notice:

The cost in New Zealand currency of the pound sterling, and of the principal foreign units, on the latest quotations, is as follows: Present Price Par a (I s d Australia, pound .. 1!) 10, SI '2O 0.00 London, pound . . . . '2l 10.50 '2O 0.00 New York, dollar .. 5 1.2 H I Oil Montreal, dollar .. 5 '2. r, 1 1 ].:?] Paris, franc ~ 0 :i.94 0 I.9ft Berlin, reichmurk .. 2 0.07 0 11.71 Copenhagen, krone .. I I I.2'J Yokohama, yen 1 5.11 2 0.58

CUSTOMS EXCHANGE RATES Hates of exchange ruling at the announced dates ol departure of the vessels named are shown in the following table. They are subject to confirmation by the Customs Department when the evact time of departure is learned on arrival ol the vessels in New Zealand, finally declared rates being marked*: Wairima, Canada, dollars .. .. "LSI \\ liriina, America, dollars 4 -1.90 Brisbane Main. Japan, yen M 1-lCd Canadian Challenger. Canada, dollars -I.RI City of Delhi. America, dollars .. 4,925 Port Campbell, America, dollars .. 4.OSJ Golden Coast, America, dollars .. -1.98 Melbourne Mant, Japan, yen .. 1-td

GISBORNE MAIZE CROP PLANTING 25 00 ACRES I [ lIV 1 I J.l-X.n.M'H (WX ("nitIir.SI'ONDENT ] OISBOKXE, Tuesday I hi» now niitize crop being put in at present in the Gisborne district is expected to be a little less in area than last year, but abui;t the average when taken over a large number of seasons. the area this year is expected to be about 2500 acres, or 300 acres short of last season's total. It is a large increase, however, on the total oi three years ago, when onlv about 1800 acres were put down in maize. That was the time when South African importations threatened to swamp the New Zealand grower, hut since then the comparative shortage of South African maize and the higher exchange rate have bad the effect of keeping out importations.

Nov. 5 Nov. 3 Par. Montreal, dol. . . 4.87' a 4.87 4.866 New York, doL . •1.98^8 4.97% 4.866 Paris, fr. 75 3 .< 124.21 Brussels, belga . 21,35 21.: 11 35.00 Geneva, fr. 15.35; a 15.29 25 22 Amsterdam, fi. . 7.38 7.35% 12.10 Milan, lire 58' 1 /™ 58? j n 92.46 Berlin, r.m. 12.41 12.38 20.43 Stockholm, kr, . 19.39% 19.39' 3 18.159 Copenhagen, kr. . 22.40 22.40 18.159 Oslo, kr. 19.90% 19.90', j 18.159 Vienna, sell. 26 3 /i 26% 34.585 Prague, kr. . . Ilelsinsfor3, mark 119% ii9% 8 164.25 226% 226% 129.23 Madrid, pes.. 36%, 3(>' yr 1 10 % 25.221 Lisbon, escu. 110% 110 Athens, dr. 50f1* 520 375.00 Bucharest, lei, . . 498 498 813.6 Bio de Janeiro, mil. 4Vt<i * 4 1 id* 5.899d Buenos Aires, dol. 36%d* 36V.d* 47.619d Montevideo, dol. 39%d* fln%d* 51 d Bombay, rupee . is'; fi d 18d Shanghai, dol. lfid ir.d Hongkong, dol. . irr .,d 19%d Yokohama, yen . 14d Hd 21 .rWrl Bafavia, fl. . . 7.36 7.34 12.10 Belgrade, din. . . 210 — * Sellers.

T.T. On Denia nrl To CI X.Z. Currency Selling Hnyin e; Sollinsr France, fr. 60.24 PI. 84 60.29 Noumea, fr. . . of). 10 (',2.80 50.54 Papeete, fr. 5!). 10 G2.89 59.54 Belgium. belfru .. 10.8,13 17.033 16.848 Oerrnany, r.m. . . 9.7113 9.768 Italy, lire . . 46.20 46.24 Switzerland, fr. .. 12.142 12.617 12.152 Holland, fl. 5.818 C.I IS 5 822 Java, fl. 5.798 6.073 5.802 X.Z. pence to .7 a pan. yen , . 1 Shanghai, dol. 20 7 10 20 v „ India, rupee Ceylon, rupee 22 a % 3 oov -- 22'°', a '2'2Sr 22 ,0 ,; >a Ifnnekong, dol. .. 24 3, / 1J 2:?," 24' a9 /, a Singapore, dol. . . 35 ,: "„ 34° i G 35 1 '/)2