The lith annual general meeting lof the shareholders in the Ayer Tawah Rubber Plantation Ca.. Ld., was held at the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce Room on December 30, Mr. J. H. Teesdale presiding.
In the course of his remarks the Chairman said Directors meet shareholders under different conditions to those of previous years. At former annual general meetings the rubber industry was full of promise: there were expectations that the requirements of those industries that utilized rubber would, with the post-war revival of trade, be difficult to meet, the belligerent countries. would again be in the market. All these hopes have been unrealized in fact front various causes, which yeu know only too well, the price of first grade rubber to-day has receded ta the unprecedented figure of 30°cents per Ib. and even at that price large unsold stocks are accumulating, while our all-in cost of production as shown in the re-sport in your hands is Straits This of course is a state of affairs without parallel in the history of the company and the board has taken very seriously under consideration, as many other rubber companies are also doing. what policy of retrenchment would in the circumstances best meat the situation, until the rubber industry is restored to normal conditions and we are in smooth waters again.
Fortunately he very beneficial terms under which the company purchased the Ayer Tawah Estate from the vendors in 1909, and the ative policy since followed.
placed the company in a position to meet a crisis such as the one we are now experiencing, and the capital reserves which vou will see in the balance sheet before you will enable us to tide over the present and coming lean months for some time to come. though it must be understood that these reserves will have to be drawn upon unless the position improves in the near future.
Meanwhile the Federated Malay States government have, as many of yon are probably aware. lost no time in considering measures for coming to the rescue of the industry, and our agents have cabled us to the effect that legislation is under consideration the effect of which will he to compel the eomvariies to reduce their production by a certain percentage. and to subsidize those estates which find it financially impossible to meet the ordinary expenses of nankeen.
The Rubber Growers' Association recommended in Sentember last that all estates in Malaya should
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.