Pacific Commerce and Produce

More Plans For Japanese Capital In Fiji

Economic penetration of the South Pacific by the Japanese jems to be centred at the moment on Fiji. In recent years there has een a spectacular invasion of the South Pacific territories by

jpanese capital.

ITHIN the last 12 months, Jap anese concerns have established panics in Fiji with capital some re in the region of £500,000. anno Oceania Ltd., with its lidiary, Banno Mining Company, : over the manganese mines in h-west Viti Levu. More than a rter of a million pounds went that venture, but much more has ? into the Pacific Fishing Com / Ltd., which is on the verge of finding negotiations with the Fiji eminent for the establishment of sh processing factory at Levuka, s old capital. lans include the construction of h freezing factory and a fish meal t to be fed by 105 fishing vessels, i April there was news of the rtration of two new Japanese iced companies, Pacific Enter ;s Corporation Ltd. and the fic Fruit Company Ltd., which 'een them, have share capital of )0,000. tie former is interested in timber, the other in fruit —any fruit the les of association say—but it’s fe bet that bananas are the target. ) far, there is no clue to the tity of the concerns that are ex sing their faith in Fiji’s future le tune of £600,000. ominal shareholders in both s are clerks in the office of the i solicitors responsible for the work of registration, ic real shareholders will be ed when the capital is transferred Fiji and, a PIM correspondent :asts, they will be Japanese and ably directors of Banno Oceania, is believed that the Japanese con is interested in timber on the d of Vanua Levu. ready the Fiji Development Com , a subsidiary of the Colonial fiopment Corporation of Great iin, has timber mills established the main island of Viti Levu, at Kadavu, in co-operation with

the Fletcher Timber Company of New Zealand.

There is little room for the Jap anese on Viti Levu, and all the room in the world on Vanua Levu which has plenty of standing timber, although much of it is rather old.

Some reports say the timber mills will be situated near Savusavu and from Savusavu will go whole logs, which are all the Japanese are in terested in, and bananas.

Japanese fruit importers like Fiji bananas, but not in the state in which last year’s shipments reached them.

They were forced by agreement to pay the price for the December ship ment but most of the bananas were in such poor condition that they never reached the shops.

The Japanese think the problem could be solved if the bananas are grown and properly looked after in large plantations, and the Pacific Fruit Company is the result.

Eyes are directed towards Vanua Levu, where part of the Pacific Fruit Company’s £300,000 capital may be used to create a large banana planta tion, possibly near the timber stands.

A survey was carried out some time ago on Savusavu’s ship berthing pos sibilities, and plans are being con sidered for enlarging the wharf to take banana boats and timber boats.

Australia Ratifies New

Coffee Agreement

Commonwealth Parliament in April ratified the International Coffee Agreement, which Australia’s repre

sentatives signed last Novembei, following the International Coffee Conference meetings held earlier that year.

The Agreement, signed by 54 countries (representing 95 per cent, of world trade), will not come into force until ratified by 20 exporting countries, accounting for at least 80 per cent, of world exports and 10 other countries accounting for a similar proportion of world imports.

Among the latter must be USA which accounts for about 50 per cent, of world coffee imports. However, because US representatives took a lead at the Conference, with the view that coffee stability was essential to the sound economy of South American nations, it is not anticipated that the US Senate will hold up ap proval.

Australia has a two-fold interest in the proceedings—she joined the Agreement as an importing country, but Papua-New Guinea is a coffee exporter and special provisions were written into the Agreement to meet the Territorys’ needs. P-NG, classified as a “Trust Territory”, received per mission for a quota-free export of 100,000 bags (132 lb each) and has been given five years to reach that target. After that, it seems certain the Territory will be given that figure as its fixed quota.

P-NG, in 1961-62, exported coffee, mainly Arabica, worth £1,557,300.

Tourism Development Plan

For New Caledonia

A Sydney building materials and hardware retailer, Lanray Industries Ltd., has joined with the Bank of Indo-China and other French and New Caledonian interests, in a new company, Societe Touristique et Hoteliere S.A., to develop tourism in New Caledonia.

A five-acre site has been bought on a beach about three miles from Noumea, the capital, and it is in tended to develop hotel, restaurant and other allied tourist facilities there.

Lanray will have a 50 per cent, in terest and the Bank of Indo-China 50 per cent., but 10 per cent, of Lan ray’s equity will be held for Mr.

Henri Corboz, Sydney restaurant pro prietor, who will manage the venture.

The new company plans to spend

£250,000 on the development plan— £loo,ooo provided by Lanray and the balance mostly by loan “on favour able terms”, from the Bank of Indo- China.

A survey showed that at present there are less than 140 hotel rooms in New Caledonia, which has a resi dence population of 80,000 and is serviced by airline and shipping routes to and from the US and Australia.

New Caledonia authorities forecast that potential revenue from tourism would grow from the equivalent of £200,000 in 1961 to £2,000,000 by 1970, provided facilities of inter national standards were established.

Lanray, incorporated in 1947, has had some ups and downs. It ex perienced two bleak years in 1956 and 1957 and a receiver was appointed.

In 1958 it came back with a small profit of £1,056, since when the com pany has increased profits substanti ally year by year. Lanray’s funds for the new development scheme will come from its very large capital profit made last year when it sold the Adelaide brandy producer, Tolley, Scott and Tolley to Distillers Com pany.

Mr. Corboz, who will manage the project, is a Swiss national, whose wife comes from New Caledonia. He worked in Australia for Qantas for a year before opening his first res taurant in Sydney, El Capuchino, which was followed by two others.

Villa Franca and Allouette.

Pattern of Coconut Oil

Usage Changes

The use of coconut oil for food products (margarine, cooking fats, etc.) has been declining but increas ing amounts are now being used in inedible products, commented Mr. I.

McDonald, chairman of P-NG Copra Marketing Board in his monthly re port on April 1.

Particularly is this seen in the US, where coconut oil is used to a great extent as a source of lauric acid, which in turn is used in the manu facture of synthetic detergents and plasticisers. In addition, coconut oil in the States now accounts for about 15 per cent, of the total fatty in gredients of soap.

Less and less coconut oil is being used in the production of table mar garine and cooking fats, because US manufacturers prefer to draw on the abundant available supplies of domestic soyabean and cottonseed oil. On the other hand, the bakery and confectionery industries form a major outlet for coconut oil, taking advantage of the fact that coconut oil remains solid at room tern

perature, but melts quickly in the mouth.

The pattern of utilisation in Western Europe is rather different from that of USA in that coconut oil is used more in the manufacture of food, rather than in soaps and detergents, although usage in respect of the latter is increasing.

However, whichever way it goes, usage is such that coconut production will need to increase in order to keep level with the demand for copra and its oil.

P-NG copra production during 1962, was, at 110,635 tons, up a little over H per cent, on 1961:

The figures show that a steady im provement in grade quality is being maintained.

Top Australian Businesmen

To Investigate P NG

A group of Australian businessmen will visit Papua-New Guinea this month to investigate investment possi bilities in the Territory.

They are: Sir lan Potter, a well known financier; Sir James Kirby, a leading industrialist; Mr. Roger Dar vall, general manager of Australia and New Zealand Bank in Australia; Mr.

John Marks, chairman of Develop ment Finance Corporation; Mr. F. M.

Deer, general manager of Mutual Life and Citizens Co. Ltd.; Mr. F. M.

Hewitt, Member of the NSW Legis lative Council; and Mr. Steven Rich, managing director of Hunter Douglas, manufacturers of aluminium products.

The Commonwealth Director of Trade and Industry, Mr. G, D.

Cannon, will accompany the group which will arrive in Port Moresby on May 11. Later they will visit Rabaul, Lae, Bulolo, Goroka, and Mt. Hagen.

Company Notes

Burns Philp And Co. Ltd.—By De

claring a final 5 per cent, dividend for the year to March 31, BP’s maintain a 10 per cent, dividend rate on capital increased by the l-for-5 bonus issue last year. Since bonus shares did not partici pate in the interim dividend, actual rate for the year is equal to 11 per cent, on pre-bonus capital. Last October’s bonus issue raised capital by £1.2 mil lion to £7.2 million.

W. R. Carpenter Holdings Ltd.—

Parent company of the WRC group has announced steady interim 7Vsj per cent, dividend on capital increased by the recent l-for-4 issue. Shares created by the new issue ranked for half of the dividend. The company has paid 15 per cent, for the past two full years. Directors said that produce prices had been held at satisfactory levels and turnover fully

maintained during the first six mo of the company’s financial year to M

New Guinea Goldfields Lt

NGG reported in April that 973 oz. and 855 oz. silver were won from ( tons of ore treated at Golden Hi mill in March. Koranga tail race duced 381 oz. bullion. The sawmill 170,259 su. ft. of timber.

PAPUAN RUBBER.—Production on estates of Rubberlands Ltd. and Kei Rubber Ltd., both associates of St( ships Trading Co. Ltd., of Papua, creased last year, Mr. H. D. Undervi chairman of both companies, told si holders at the annual meetings in Moresby, in April. Rubberlands’ ou fell by about 10 per cent., to 421,000 Kerema, after a near record for the six months with 218,243 lb., suffere severe setback through above-ave rainfall—the second six months’ pro tion was only 184,555 lb., an all low. Kerema this year is installing English-made crepeing machine, enal it to convert scrap rubber into ci

Bulolo Gold Dredging Lt

BGD’s profit from New Guinea and tralian operations for the nine mo ended February 28 amounted to s2lf Canadian, including dividends rece from Commonwealth-New Guinea Tin: Ltd. Other dividend and interest inc amounted to $129,700, making a 1 estimated net profit of $346,100, ( pared with $258,300 for the same pe the previous year. During the months, recovery of gold was 13,853 (13,207 last year) valued at $484 <5462,2461.

1961 % 1962 % Tons Tons Hotair 46,051 42.3 51,571 46.4 F.M.S. . . 43,896 40.3 40,838 36.9 Smoke 18,964 17.4 18,226 16.7 108,911 110,635