Iam afraid that I cannot paint a very cheerful picture of Shanghai It is true that the value of the trade of the port in 1937 at 913 million Chinese dollars was only a million dollars less than in 1936, while the trade of China as a whole was actually greater in 1937 than in 1936. It increased from 1,647 million Chinese dollars to 1,792 millions, These are astonishing figures, They are due of course, to the fact that there was remarkable expansion of trade in the first seven months of the year, By the end of July imports had increased by nearly 37 per cent, and exports by 45 per cent. The year indeed opened under the most favourable conditions, Trade was booming, crops were promising, revenue was increasing and China's, currency and finance had been placed] on a much better footing, The Government was firmly established in- Nanking, and with its authority extending to all but the most remote parts of the country, there was u degree of unity hitherto unknown, The Shanghai Stock Market, which had been through a long period of depression, was moving steadily upwards, and on every side there were unmistakable signs of industrial recovery and trade expansion, Then came the tragedy of the Japanese invasion of China. The first rumble of war occurred in the North, but hopes of a peaceful settlement were not dispelled till fighting broke out round Shanghai on the 13th August, Fighting continued in parts "of the Settlement and nghai until the 10th Novemb Chinese were driven from all surrounding areas, Th's was a period of great anxiety, our chief anxiety being for the safety of our Staff and their families in Shanghai, Fortunately all of them came through unscathed, but business of course, was carried on only under the greatest difficulties, The trade of Shanghai dropped from 394 million Chinese dollars in the last five months of 1936 to 170 million dollars in the surrounded by Japanese forces, no communication is possible with the hinterland, and export trade is virtually at a stands tis, The recent imposition.by the Chinese Government of Exchange Control added to the difüculties of the situation. That control as you will have seen, has within the last day or two temporarily broken down, I can say nothing of the future except that with a return to normal conditions we are well equipped to resume our increasing share of financing the trade of Shanghai, and that past experience Shows what astonishing powers of recuperation Shanghai has, But trade cannot recover until the war ends, and unfortunately there are no signs of an early termination of the struggle.
The effect of the China-Japanese war was to increase the trade of Hong kong. The gross value of the foreign trade in merchandise increased from $803 millions in 1696 to $1,084 millions in 1937. The increase was partially due to the fact that much cargo intended for Shanghai was landed at Hongkong, taken delivery of there and re-exported, Many rich refugees poured into Hongkong from China, local industries were benefited, and retail trade improved,. But there are no less than 03 recognised banks in Hongkong, and competition between them is very keen.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.