Agitation appears to be very strong amongst the shareholders of the Han Yeh Ping Iron & Coal Ca. against what they allege is mismanagement on the part of the company's managers and directors.
Some time ago we had occasion to report that a large number of local shareholders had presented the management with a demand that a meeting of shareholders be called forthwith and that a statement of accounts be submitted for their examination. The demand was evidently pigeon-holed for, up to the present time, no action has been taken, At that time it was alleged that foreign loans had been contracted with the company and its properties as security, but no visible use was made of the money borrowed. The company, it was claimed, profited greatly during the war, but in spite of this no dividends were declared. No shareholders' meeting had been called since 1919, hence the shareholders knew nothing practically of their company or its activities, a privilege to which they were entitled.
It is claimed that up to the present the company has borrowed a sum not smaller than Y.30,000,- 000 from foreign countries, and a very large sum from the local Chinese banks. As the company said to be without means of paying, the Chinese banks refuse to grant further credit.
The manager, Mr. Hsia Kai-fu, whose dismissal has been demanded, has been in Japan for the past six months, and is now reported to have concluded a new loan for Y. 3,000,000 which will be paid in 10 monthly instalments of Y. 300,000, Hearing of this, the shareholders have again started their agitation and are demanding an immediate investigation. They declare that unless @ stop is put to this method of loan making, -the company will soon pass from Chinese to foreign hands.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.