At 4.15 p.m. the meeting was followed by an extraordinary general meeting, at which Mr. G. Grayrigge again took the chair: He said Gentlemen,—At the annual meeting just held, I gave you an outline of the company's financial position.
As you know well, for a considerable period this company, having -exhausted all its capital, to carry on, incurred an overdraft at its bankers which was guaranteed by Mr. E. 8. Kadoorie. The time came when owing to this gentle man's departure from Shanghai for, an indefinite period, due steps had to be taken to safeguard his interests and this safeguard. took the form of debentures bearing 12 per cent. interest. These debentures were offered to all registered shareholders, but met with no response. Of these debentures to the end of the last financial year, Tls. 164,500 were issued. The interest outstanding at the same date was Tls. 18,601, which the company is unable to pay, and which amount has of course since been augmented.
With the present low price of rubber, your directors see no prospect: ahead of paying interest, let alone redeeming the debentures, and are convinced that carrying on only means increasing the load of debt. The estimated expenses for the estate for 1922 are $.$57,635. If you add to this, Shanghai expenses of almost Tls. 6,000 plus interest on debentures, and compare same with what might be the proceeds of a crop estimated at 140,000 Ib., I think you will agree that your vectors' decision to bring matters a head is fully justified.
I now beg to propose the extraordinary resolution, viz:—That it has been proved to the satisfaction of this meeting that the company cannot by reason of ity liabilities continue its business and that it is advisable to wind up the same and accordingly that the company be wound up voluntarily and that Mr. Eric Arnold Prince, of Shanghai, po and he is hereby appointed liquidator for the purposes of such winding up.—Proposed by the Chairman, seconded by Mr. R. N. Truman.
Tus Press"
Nagasaki learns that the Japanese Government has decided to grant a subsidy of Y.350,000 for the Nippon Yusen aisha's Sabeest. seri00 between Nagasaki and Shanghai, which will be opened at the end of this year. The ip company, however, anticipates a loss of at least a million yen a year and has requested the Government to increase the subsidy to Y.700,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.