The second ordinary general meeting of the Metal Industries of China d. was held at 2 French Bund, the offices of the secretaries and general managers, Wheelock and Ca. Ltd, yesterday, Mr, C. E. Marden' (Chairman) presided, and he wi supported by Messrs.' Ellis Hayim, V. K. Song, directors, and Mr. W. J Hawkings (representing the secretaries). The shares represented totalled 161,120, The directors' report and statement of* accounts for the period March 16th to December lst, 1937, was as follows:—After providing for commission to general managers and manager, and directors and auditors' fees, there is a balance at the credit of the Profit and Loss account of $123,614.32, which the directors recommend should he allocated as follows:—$16,583.10 to write off preliminary expenses and underwriting commission, $107,031.22 to carry forward to 1938, The chairman, in his speech, said:—
"Frozen For Long Period"
The actual balance sheet as required by the Hongkong Companies Ordinances conveys only an incomplete idea of the state of your company's business and your directors accordingly decided to circulate with it a consolidated statement incorporating the balance sheets of the subsidiaries.
From the balance sheet itself you will observe that very substantial amounts are owed to the company's bankers, the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, and our general managers and secretaries,' Messrs, Wheelock & Ca, 144. Shareholders will, I am sure, wish to be associated ith my expression of gratitude to both of these, bodies of gentlemen. To our bankers for maintaining most courteously the arrangements come to in times when it might have been expected that the company's business would have permitted fairly rapid turnovers, whereas we have been (as I shall presently explain to you) almost completely frozen for a long period, and to our general managers and secretaries who have core to our assistance most loyally, and you will agree with me that we may consider ourselves extremely fortunate that they were in a position to do so, A very large amount is due to the company from its subsidiaries, but this of course still remains a liability of group. Other investments are represented by vessels purchased with the object of operating until they are written down to a point where they may be profitably broken, and it is to this source that we must look, for the time being, for almost our only revenue,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.