The Surprising Claims of Tropicane Ltd

Tropicane Ltd.

ALTHOUGH we have not ascertained that the Company known as Tropi cane, Ltd. —to which reference was made in our June issue—has been granted any sugar-growing land in Papua yet, we have been informed that this Company already has salesmen out on the job, attempting to sell bonds in a sugar growing enterprise. The Com pany advertised in ‘‘The Sun” on August 17 for “a first-class bond sales man.'’

We have no wish to discourage any genuine enterprise based on the rich resources of Papua; but we would urge all persons who are asked to purchase shares or bonds in Tropicane, Ltd. to examine the position and claims of this Company very carefully. They should satisfy themselves before investing any money that the Company really knows something about the business of grow ing and marketing sugar.

We have procured a copy of a pros pectus issued by this Company, dated April 4, 1932, and on page 18 thereof, under the heading of “Estimated Re turns,’’ we find some remarkable cal culations. The Company, apparently, proposes to obtain 10,000 acres in Papua for the purpose of sugar grow ing. It makes the extraordinary as sumption that it will cultivate the whole of these 10,000 acres and will secure four tons of sugar from each acre. It assumes that it will get £8 per ton for its sugar, and it adds to this figure a British preference of £4 per ton. It therefore reckons that it will have an annual income of £480,000 per annum. It estimates that the cost of producing those 40,000 tons will be £6/7/6 per ton, or a total cost of £255,000 —thus obtaining a net profit of £225,000.

In the view of practical sugar men these figures are ridiculous.