BRITISH FINANCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20874, 14 November 1929, Page 9

BRITISH FINANCES

CONVERSION LOAN ISSUE. STATEMENT BY CHANCELLOR. (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON, November 12. In the House of Commons, Mr Philip Snowden (Chancellor of the Exchequer), replying to a series of questions regarding the conversion loan, said that the contract for placing £30,000,000 separately at 90i was not an ordinary underwriting transaction. Arrangements for it could not be made until the day following the issue of the prospectus lest there should be a premature leakage of information. It was therefore not mentioned in the prospectus. He was influenced in this matter by the difli culties of the present period, the imminence of maturity, and especially the results of the Government issue last year, when the floating, debt was increased by £50,000,000. Having regard to the present figure of the floating debt, ho could not run any risk. He.repudiated, the suggestion that a subsequent offer) altered the terms of the prospectus. Apart from the £30,000,000, there had not been any change from the normal methods regarding the terms of the issue. While he hoped the price of money would decline, it was necessary to prevent an increase in the floating debt. Sir M. O’Neill: Does not the heavy depreciation of Government stacks imply that the conversion offered an extremely fine investment at an unnecessary cost to the country? Mr Snowden: Undoubtedly it Is a favourable investment. I do not attach importance to the fall of some Government, stocks for a few days. If you repeat the question in three weeks you will have a different answer.