HIGH STANDING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22149, 1 July 1935, Page 9

HIGH STANDING

NEW ZEALAND CREDIT FINANCIAL POLICY PRAISED GOOD iRESPONSE PREDICTED (Supplie.j and released by the New s'iealand Government.) By Telegraph— Copyright (Recused Juno 30, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON. June 29 All the principal newspapers have headlines referring to the New Zealand conversion loan. The Financial News, in an editorial articlq, states : '' The issue is almost c( rtain to be well received for New Zealand's credit stands high in the estimation of the London market, and there is a definite shortage of New Zealand trustee stocks on offer. "A fur;her step will thus be made in placing the Dominion's external debt on a lower interest basis. New Zealand i» one of the few countries that can boast of n Budget surplus during its last financial year. By tl.o establishment of tl e Reserve Bank, the Government has been able to get rid of the whole of its large lioating debt." Important Factor of Exports New Zeiiland relies for her prosperity almost entirely on the exports of her agricultural products to Britain, which provide tie money with which tho British bcndholder is paid. Thus any discussion on what the future holds for New Zealr nd must consider the future trend of I ritaiirs agricultural policy. " The ishadow of the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Walter Elliot, has already fal en over the New Zealand farmer, but Ihere is no sign of so drastic a change in British policy as would be necess iry to endanger the high standing .vhich the Dominion has always enjeyed in the London capital market." The Nnws Chronicle says: " The market is inclined to think the terms a little stiff, but the finances of New Zealand are Mound, and there is no floating supply of New Zealand stock on the markot, so a satisfactory response to the issue is looked for." Favourable Press Comment The Daily Mail has a large heading across its financial page as follows: — " The New Zealand terms please the City." The financial editor of the Times says the new, issue is an excellent trustee investment.

The Manchester Guardian, in the course of a long financial article on New Zealand's finances, remarks that the Dominion's borrowings in 1933 and 1934 were almost nothing. It refers to the report, of the Dominion's Economic Committer of 1932 and adds: "New Zealand in not yet wholly on the other side of t tie difficulties referred to in that repoi t, but the leaders of the Dominion have tackled them with energy, over-riding the objections of those who have refused to recognise the need for change, uhile showing tact and skill in rejecti ig unrealistic proposals. "The efforts of the responsible leaders of New Zealand to find their way past obstacles without falling down precipices are recorded in some remarkable State pajters of recent years. Improvement in State Finances " The New Zealand Government has not wait id passively for an improvement in prices of produce," says the writer. " Much work has been done in obtaining, by Government mediation and assistance, all-round cuts in the mortgage interest rates payable by the farmers. Then, against the opposition of some conservative bankers, the New Zealand Government has taken the opportunity to found the Reserve Bank on modern lines and to establish currency exchange relations with London on modern lines." The article concludes: " The improvement in the Government's finances is another part of the story. Here, too, the succjss has been considerable." Most of the leading newspapers publish an interview with Mr. J. G. Coates, in which the New Zealand Minister of Finance expresses satisfaction with the reborrowing terms the Dominion has been ahe to arrange, which are the lowest rutes of the century.