The annual meeting of the Cheng Rubber Estates, Ld., was held on the 2nd instant at the offices of Messrs, Hugo Reiss & Ca., the se-cretanes and genera' nagers. 'Mr. W. 8. Jackson presided, and the other directors present" wore Messrs. V. Meyer, C. W. Wrightson and Hugo Reiss. The attendance represented 32,285 shares, The secretary having read the notice convening the meeting, and the auditors' report, The Chairman said:—Gentlemen, The directors' report and statement of accounts for the twelve months ended June 30, 1914, have now been in your hands for some time and with your permission I will take them as read.
Following the course adopted by the Board in past years we have given you this year ae compete report as is possible ae to the working of the estate as well as the accounts and it remains therefore for me to say only @ few words in regard to the profit and loss ae count, This account shows a credit balance of Tls. 82,485.48 and with your approval the directors recommend that same be disposed of as follows To pay a dividend of 4 per cent.
oguall ing 20 tael conte per To write off davalopanent oe:
write account To write off building account To write off furniture and ft-
To write off bullocks and carte account To write off wells and water suply account To carry forward to next your's This balance of Tia 24,768.02 which we are carrying forward represented by cash and rubber since sold.
Your directors have carefully every point of view ities the present unfortunate European crisis can bear on the company's financial position and in recommending that dividend of 4 per cent. be paid to the present shareholders we feel that we are pursuing a safe policy as it must'be borne in mind that after writing off the various items as enumerated above we carry forward to next year's account @ cash balance of Tls. 24,753.92 the major part of which under ordinary circumstances would also have been available for distribution. The war, I am glad to say, has had far no serious effect on the rubber market except for slight tempora ary dislocation of ordinary routine, when shipments to London were held up and the obliged to fall in with the policy the Straits Government took up at the outbreak of the war in regard to plantations, Such restrictions have, however, since been removed being found unnecessary and business has more or less resumed its normal course.
Apart from shipping to London where the rubber is sold by publio auction, your Board have considered it advisable as an absolute safeguard for all eventualities during the present financial year to sell forward for the New York market a portion of the monthly output to the end of December; the for-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.