Shanghai Land Investment Ca.
The forty-first annisal general meeting of shareholders in the Shanghai Land Investment Ca, Ltd, was held at the company' office, 28 Jinkee Road, on March 11. The Chairman (Mr. A. M. Cannan) presided and there were also. present:—Messrs, Maurice Benjamin, E, Arnhold, Chun Bing-him, Mein Austin, P. W. Massey (direc: tors), N. L. Sparke (manager), and other shareholders, a total holding of 23,244 shares being represented.
Mx. Sparke having read the notice convening the meeting, Chairman said I presume that as usual we may take the report and accounts as read. T am again in the happy position of being able to congratulate shareholders on the accounts as presented to you today, The figures for gross rentals, the eum transferred from rental" working: account and the total aniount avail able for appropriation all exceed last records, We are, therefore, able to recommend the maintenones. of our dividend to include the new bogus shares and also to place considerable sums to reserves and to carry forward to the new account slightly more than Tis, 900,000, I trust that the recommended appropriation will meet with your approval, With the figures before you, we could, no doubt, have ro-commended an increase in dividend, but in View of the fact that the suggested distribution involves an increase of 20 per cent. over the sum distributed last year by. wa of dividends, I believe that the best interests of the company would not be served by increasing the dividend at this jane ture. If you accept the carry forward of Tis, 012,208.89, your directors will, at the anneal general meeting, favourable position to consider the question of some additional return. to shareholders for the current year's working, You will see from the accounts that gross rents are increased by Tls. 57,615.71, outgoings are me creased by Tls. 11,597.07, giving a net increase in rents of Tis, 4 078.64, This increase in particu Tani gratifying because, during the past two years, we have sold cor-tain properties, in spite of which, and mainly ata result'of resdevelopments, we have not only maine
able to show an actual increase. tained our net rentals, but we are This is, T venture to say, no small achievement, Profits on land sales for the year 1029 amounted to Tis, 480,000.19 compared with Tls. 763,450.00 for the year 1928, Sundry debtors and debit balances are reduced from Tis, 458,008.06 to Ts. 365,204.91 During the past year, wwe have continued: our programme for the redevelopment of our estates sh tuated in the North Szechuen Road and Quinsan Gardens. The apart: ment building to which T referred st year is now In course of ce struction on the site of the old Cuss toms Club. This building will be known as the Pearce Apartments and will be seven storeys high, hav ing ten shops on the ground floor,' heating chamber, staff quarters, foreign caretaker's flat and a smal estate office. The upper floors axe Planned to contain 72 flats, There will be six staircases and lifts. Tha building will be ready for-occupation in November and, from the number of applications already ter ceived, there appears to be no doubl: that we shall have very little dite ficulty in finding tenants. The reconstruction of our houses on the west side of Quinsan Gardens into modern flats was finished during. the year and they are almost. fully let. We propose to continue develop the Quinsan Garden area a first-class. residential district, We shall, if the demand justifies it construct -a companion' building the Pearce Apartments on the: west? side and a further block on the north side. 'This proposed re-development Scheme is likely to show a very: satisfactory return on the money: invested and will, on completion,' materially increase, the company's: rent-roll.
The Hongkew Hotel w: during the latter part of and I think T can say a factor in increasing ' the values: of our property on the North Szex chuen-Road. We have begun ths redevelopment of our, Hongkew" Creek Estate: with, new" Chinese: "shops "and: houses. The old houses?
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.