U.N. Experts To Study Fiji's

Business and

Development

U.N. Experts To Study Fiji's Inter-Island Transport

A detailed and integrated survey aimed at improving the transport situation between the scattered islands of the Fiji group is to be undertaken jointly by the Fiji Government and the United Nations Development Programme.

THE survey is part of the colony’s new five-year development plan.

It will take three years to complete, at a cost of SUSI million.

UNDP will contribute the major portion of the money $U5634,700 and Fiji will pay the equivalent of $416,624. The plan of operation was signed by the parties in New York in July.

The United Nations, as the execut ing agency, will provide a team of international personnel, including a project manager, port and shipping specialists, road transport experts, economists, civil engineers and a hydrographer. It will also grant fellowships for advanced training and will provide a small amount of equip ment consisting of soil testing and hydrographic surveying instruments.

The Fiji Government’s contribution will take the form of professional and other staff, building facilities and services.

The project manager, assigned by the United Nations, is Dr. Werner K.

J. Nittscher, a transport expert from Hamburg, Germany, who arrived in Fiji in mid-September.

The UNDP Administrator, in his report to the UN recommending the project, said ways of applying latest transport techniques would be in vestigated, with the aim of obtaining the most effective transport at the lowest cost.

500 Islands

Specialists would, for example, examine the use of air cushion (hovercraft) vehicles for coastal and inter-island shipping, and con tainerised cargo carried by landing craft.

The project would survey roads, shipping and port facilities and result in recommendations for their improvement.

Fiji has more than 500 islands, of which 100 are permanently inhabited. Two-thirds of the popula tion of almost 500,000 live in one of the two main islands—Viti Levu— and the remainder are distributed over Vanua Levu (the second largest island) and the smaller islands.

The Administrator said in his re port; “International air and sea com munications are well developed, but internal and inter-island links are inadequate. Many communities lack effective transport facilities, a situa tion aggravated by the rugged topography and the distance between the islands. The main problems at present are the irregularity of road and shipping services and the high cost of transporting goods. All of these factors have hindered economic growth as well as social integration”.

During the first six to nine months of the project, existing data will be collected as a means of presenting a comprehensive picture of the present state of Fiji transport. The information will also be used to prepare projections of transport re quirements over the next three decades.

Following the preparatory phase, specific studies will be undertaken to plan projects for the decade 1967- 1976. These will include a feasibility and, if necessary, an engineering survey of the Suva-Nadi road which links the capital with the main inter national airport and population centre on the western coast.

Other studies will be concerned with the possible use of cargo con tainers and coastal hovercraft services and with projects involving roads, wharf sites and local air strips to be developed during the next decade.

Finally, semi-detailed projections of transport needs in Fiji, and means of meeting those needs during the decade 1977-1986, will be prepared.

Record Profit For

Carpenter Group

VI/'. R. Carpenter Holdings Ltd.

" reported a record consolidated net profit of $4,989,663 for the year ended June 30 last—the group’s 23rd successive annual profit increase.

The profit incorporates the results of a large group of subsidiaries operating in the Pacific Islands and Australia.

Among these subsidiaries are the New Guinea Company Ltd., Island Products Ltd. and Coconut Products Ltd. in Papua-New Guinea; and Morns Hedstrom Ltd., Millers Ltd. and W. R. Carpenter & Co. (Fiji) Ltd., in Fiji.

The latest group profit is an in crease of $296,757, or 6.3 per cent over the result for 1964/65.

It was struck after charging $2,265,409 (down $181,497) depre ciation and amortisation; providing $2,299,037 (up $26,179) for taxa tion; and deducting $107,935 (down $3,603) interest of outside share holders. Tax provision shown above includes $73,311 in respect of Fiji dividend tax.

The consolidated result is equiva lent to an earning rate of 33.26 per cent, on issued capital of $l5 million. (Over)

This compares with the previous year’s earning rate of 35.76 per cent, on smaller average capital of $13,125,000.

Dividend is unchanged at 15 per cent. for the year, absorbing $2,250,000 of the profit. The final dividend of per cent, is payable on November 30.

Group reserves rose during the year by $2.9 million to a total of $36.8 million. Major items in this total include $10.2 million of revenue reserves; $11.9 million of undistri buted profits; and $ll.l million of capital reserves.

Accounts of the parent company show income of $3,472,438 from subsidiaries and $731,223 from in vestment.

In their annual report, directors say that the group’s Pacific Islands sub sidiaries achieved another good rise in merchandise turnover.

Production from wholly owned estates amounted to 11,569 tons of copra and 1,067 tons of cocoa.

Directors also state that net profits of Australian-based subsidiaries re mained on a generally satisfactory basis.

During the year the company sub scribed $1,760,000 in taking up full entitlements to a number of share issues and, as a result, acquired a further 1,450,000 shares in Wool worths Limited; 868,000 shares in Commercial & General Acceptance Limited; and 260,000 shares in Ansett Transport Industries Limited, Since the close of the year a sub sidiary, Southern Pacific Insurance Co. Ltd., has taken up its entitle ment to 189,383 shares in an issue by Associated Securities Ltd.

Shares and debentures held in listed companies are shown as hav ing a book value of $17,841,510 as at June 30 last, and a market value of $20,000,022 on the same date.

Other investments total $3,250,281, including $1,227,350 of Australian, Fijian and Samoan Government loans.

The accounts also show that group liquidity has been maintained. At June 30 last, cash at bank, on hand, and on deposit amounted to $5.7 million as against $5.2 million a year previously.

The annual meeting will be held on November 11.

It's A Flat

Copra Market

PHILIPPINE EM copra averaged only £Stg.6l 7s. 6d during Sep tember—the lowest monthly average recorded since November, 1962.

Since the end of September the

copra market has been very flat, hardly moving off £Stg.6o 15s. This market dullness has applied also to practically all of the edible oilseed group.

Chairman of the P-NG Copra Marketing Board, Mr. lan McDonald, said in Port Moresby in late October: “The reason for the decline in price can be found mainly in the in creasing supplies of copra and coco nut oil that have been reaching Europe over recent months.

“Recent statistics show that in August copra supplies to Europe and the US rose to 122,000 metric tons compared with 111,000 tons in August, 1965. This has brought the total for the period Jan./Aug., 1966, to almost 770.000 metric tons, an increase of 188.000 over the same period in 1965.

“Over the next six months or so it seems likely that world market supplies of groundnuts and copra will decline quite appreciably, and this, coupled with a better demand for soyabean on account of the high

percentage of meal used in stock foods required over the northern winter period, could result in a gen eral recovery in the edible oil market.

“There are, of course, indications of increased supplies of fish oil and lard, possibly also of sunflower oil and palm oil, but these could well fol low the upward price trend which is likely to be set by soyabeans, and thus not affect copra and groundnut prices.”

Mining Strike Ends

In New Caledonia

¥IfORKMEN at the New Cale ** donian nickel mining centres at Thio, Poro and Kouarou resumed work in late October after a 27-day strike—the longest in the country’s history.

The strike began in late September when negotiations broke down between union leaders and the mining company, Societe le Nickel, which

has monopolistic control of New Caledonia’s nickel industry ( PIM , Oct., p. 11).

The negotiations concerned the employment at Thio of two executive engineers (who had stated that they wanted no unionism among their employees) and a suspended union leader called Beneteau.

The unions wanted the engineers transferred from Thio; and the mining company, although prepared to reinstate the suspended union man, would not agree to re-employing him at Thio.

Neither side gained anything from the strike, but while it lasted the people of Noumea had less noisome red dust to contend with than usual because of reduced production at the nickel smelters.

The conditions of settlement in cluded the re-employment of all strikers in their former positions without loss of privileges, no re prisals by Societe le Nickel, and a three-month programme by the com pany to improve relations with its workers. The company also agreed to show more respect for trades union principles.

To Take Vacation

To help ease the situation, union leader Beneteau will take a two month vacation before he resumes work; and one of the engineers, who was described during the strike as a negrier (nigger driver), will go on holidays about Christmas. The engineer was previously in Katanga.

The strike is conservatively estimated to have cost 5A50,000 a day. While it lasted, there was wide spread sympathy for the strikers— many thousands of francs being sub scribed by the public to a special fund for them. Contributors included the police, public servants and

employees of the Bank of Indo- China, which, like Societe le Nickel, is owned by the Rothschilds.

Early in the strike, Societe le Nickel announced through the Rothschild-owned newspaper France Australe that, as it was unable to obtain nickel ore, the furnaces at its Noumea smelters would be closed down, and that about one-third of the smelters work force —about 900 men—would be put off. Others would be stood down as activities slackened.

The Societe said there would be “sorry” consequences if the furnaces were shut down, because it would take considerable time to ready them for relighting and men would only be taken back gradually.

With the South Pacific Games and Christmas coming up, some saw the announcement as an attempt to blackmail the Territorial Assembly, which was about to go into session.

However, if coercion was intended, the Assembly was not intimidated for it unanimously passed two resolutions supporting the strikers.

One resolution condemned the at titude of Societe le Nickel in the dispute and declared itself solidly behind the workmen and their unions.

The other set up a special fund to pay monthly familly allowance to the strikers.

Am. Samoa May

Get Watch industry

THE US Senate Committee has approved legislation to set watch manufacturing quotas for American Samoa, as well as Guam and the Virgin Islands.

Out of a quota of 4.7 million watches annually, American Samoa has been allotted 194,442.

The industry is a promising one

as a tariff loophole permits such goods to enter the US duty free if modifications are performed in Ame rican territories.

Several watch firms have evinced interest in setting up plants in American Samoa.