BANK, HALF-YEARLY MEETING, The ordinary half-yearly meeting of sharcholdera on the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was held on Saturday, February 25, at Hongkong, Mr. G, Balloch presiding over a good attendance.
The Chairman said:—Gentlemen,—Your directors are confident that the report and statement of accounts for the half year ended December 31 last, now submitted to you will be favourably received. Wo are fortanately again in " position to recommend bution of profits similar to that made at this time last year, viz., a dividend of £2 per share, a bonus of Ss, per share, and $2-1.2 lacs to be added to the'silver reserve fond. carry forward $2,039,151.91, about the same amount as brought into the accounts from the previous halt-year, You will notice from the report that oar holdings of £1,200,000 Consols in the sterling reserve fund investments have been written down from 80 to 79, thas reducing the value at which they stand in our books by £12,000. To effect this and at the same time keep the fand at its fall value of £1,500,000 it was necessary to purchase further securities and " portion of the half Year's profits was utilized for this purpose. We invested in £16,000 3 per cent. Exchequer bonds, doe in 1912, bought at about par; the difference of £3,000 being, used as farther margin in the book value of our "other sterling securities," which yon will see from the statement of accounts, now amount, to £340.000 written down to £287,401 All these investments show s fai gin on current prices—prices which, I think, may be looked upon as at a low level for the gilt-edged stocks in which the sterling reserve is jiavested. The figares in the balance sheet compared
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.