Hong Kong interests

move into Cooks

Jardine Matheson, diversified Hong Kong trader which has made a $1 million timber invest ment in New Guinea, has now, with British bankers, taken up interests in three major Cook

Islands trading and shipping

companies.

With Lazard Bros, of London, Jardine has taken a 25 per cent, interest (121 per cent, each) in the 75-year-old Rarotonga-based Cook Islands Trading Corporation.

The corporation’s capital has been increased from SNZ2OO,OOO to SNZ6OO,OOO, and it has taken over the 88-year-old Rarotonga trading branch of NZ-based Island firm, A.

B. Donald Ltd. CITC also will main tain its 30 per cent, interest in the Cooks shipping company, Silk and Boyd Ltd., which operates three inter-island ships, Tagua, Akatere and Bodmer.

Jardine is also understood to be associated with the building of Rarotonga’s jet airport. In December last year, through a subsidiary, it took up a minority shareholding in the Malaysian business of Gammon (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Airport contract

As reported {PIM, Apr., p. 129), Gammon has since become the successful joint tenderer to build the airport at a cost of SNZS million.

Mr.. Neil McKegg, chairman of CITC, told PIM in Auckland in April that the McKegg family in terests in CITC would be maintained under its new shareholding arrange ments. The capital of the company had merely been increased consider ably. Jardine and Lazard have sub scribed funds.

He said the firm had been set up as a company in 1895. The late Mr.

Robert McKegg had taken it over in 1916 and made it a corporation.

Through a CITC subsidiary, Bradley British Overseas Ltd., the corporation had been associated with Jardine f or over 50 years.

Mr. McKegg said the corporation would concentrate on general trading and Donald would be a seller of building materials and hardware.

Jardines had nominated Mr. Duncan Cox, chairman of the NZ Hotel Corporation, to CITC’s board.

CITC was “interested” in hotel plans for Rarotonga but no proposals had yet been made, Mr. McKegg added.