Mukden, Jan. 27.
Manchoukuo's Five Year Industrial Plan, despite the entire change in the financial situation, occasioned by the resent war, marches steadily on. The first foreign interest to take advantage of the alleged opportunities Which this programme may offer was the Otto Wolf concern, which is giving long-term credits, " The heavy Industries which are to be combined under the Manchuria Industry Ca. holding company capitalized at Y450,- (000,000, half of which is subscribed by the Manchoukuo Government, require equipment for which (oreign technical taid and foreign Investment are reportedly welcomed.
The German credits available for twelve months from November 15, are Timited to £2,000,000, bear interest 85 per cent. per annum from the delivery of the goods, are payable 10 per cent. by Sterling drafts and 190 per cent with special marks from the account arising from products Imported into Germany, are payable semi-annual Installments, may be extended for two further amounts of £2,000,000 each are guaranteed by the {wo governments who agree to render the necessary assistance, and will not effect the present trade in cameras, dyestuffs and other chemi cals.
Independence Desired is the natural purpose of the heavy industries to supply plant and equipment which will) render the country independent of foreign imports, 80 this particular sort of trade, though it may be the best available fat present, does not open any long avenue of ful tire commercial relations.
The present industrial programme seems 'a far cry from the. simple formula which was announced early 1982, Manchoukuo was to supply. the raw materials for Japan's needs naa market for the products of Japan's factories. The difference is that the factories are coming here, In increasing numbers. This of course will shorten the haul for the raw materials and for the manufactured goods and, what is of more im-Portanee, will place the Japanese manufacturers inside of a protective {aril wall Flour mills, sugar mills, match factories, "breweries, cotton, hemp Jand woolen spinning mills and textile industries whose products are subject to Import duties will have difficulty in competing with the increasing new plants within Manchoukuo. Of course Japan's inferests are carefully safe-guarded by such laws og that controlling the 21 important industries, that limiting Imports and exports, and that controlling all foreign exchange.
There is no suggestion that the injerease in the light industries is to Interfere with supply of raw materials fo Japan, nor, to deprive Japan's manufacturers of this dearly-bought matkel. The manufacturers, or the companies here, created by them, merely derive greater advantage from this market.
Increasing Live Stock Manchoukuo is principally an agricultural country, and Japan. is Seeing 10 it that the fruits of the Inbours of 34 of the 36,000,000 habitants of this empire, approach more nearly the standards which Japan requires. Live stock in large. numbers are indispensable for tilling, harvesting und transportation, and Digger and better fleeces are needed for the woolen mills, so the Manchoukuo Government and the South Manchuria Railway are continuing jand extending their work for the improvement and the increase of live stock.
'The Five-Year-Plan includes the production of 2,300,000 horses, 4,200,009 sheep 2,744,000 cattle and" §.257,000 hogs. Nearly 22,000,000 yuan are to be spent in this work, while a pro-notion of 192,000 tons of hides' is called for in addition.
More and better soya beans will not only assist to safeguard the German credits but will ensure that the largest term in Manchoukuo's Customs returns continues to grow as the annual budgets increase. " Kallang, though barred from the neighbourhood of railway lines and towns, lest its towering foliage shelter bandits or guerilla bands, still figures largely in the programme. in mining however that we see the most spectacular progress. Coal has long ranked as one of the major assets of Manchuria, but the estimated deposits reported in 1929 were less than half of the current estimate and more, new discoveries are, from time {o time, noted in the daily press. The Manchuria Coal Mining Ca. (60,000, 00 yuan) reports 4,000 million tons reserves in its Hsinchiu field alone. While the production for 1936 was only 12,000,000 tons for the country, the new plan calls for 25,500,000 tons per annum.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.