Shanghai, May 10.
A dividend of £3 was declared at the annual _meeting'of the North China Insurance Ca, Lid, held at ithe firm's head office on the Bund Jat 1030 am. yesterday. Mr. A, 21, JCobbett, chairman, was supported Messrs, L. J. Davies, W. P. JLambe and W, Nation, directors, and Mr. M. H. Ivy, general "manager. [Shares represented were 9,965, The chairman in his speech said:
The year 1997 was one of peculiar Jaimcutty in China for reasons well known to you all and we are the fortunate indeed, as was stated by the Chatrman of the Union Insurance [Society of Canton, with which com= pany we are affiliated, that—the roubles which act the' Far East {today are not of she same paramount importance to our business as they would have been some years ago.
In_ the Marine Account, the profit transferred 0 Profit and Loss is! £6,467.11. © from the 1996 account compared with £6974.17. 5 in the previous year, There is a substantial increase in premium for 1837 which partially due to the improvement in worldwide trade conditions during the fist part of the year and partially to Wor Risk Premiums 'No direct comparison can be made in the Fire account with the previous. year's figures since the 1996 Account Jcontained nine months' Agures only. [The profit transferred to Profit and HLoss amounted to £5,219, 7.10 or (62 per cent. of the premium which Jmay be considered very satisfactory.
In the Accident and General account there is an increase mium but again a loss has been sustained. Our experience is in com-Jmon with other insurance companies: transacting the classes of business included "under this heading and every effort 1s being made to bring the account on to a more satisfac~ tory basis.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.