CO129-557-9 British protection of companies in China 26-3-1936 - 27-2-1937 — Page 29

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3.

of Singapore companies is compiled from the record so

kept.

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6. It will be seen that there are five in all. Two

of these are not Chinese. The Bata Shoe Company Limited

is a Swiss-Czech concern and the Singapore Rubber Works

Limited is Dutch. Of the Chinese companies the Ho Hong

Bank is in liquidation and about to be amalgamated with

the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, and as

for the Eastern Realty Company Limited, 19,994 of its

20,000 shares are owned by the Oversea-Chinese Banking

Corporation Limited. For all practical purposes, there-

fore, Mr. Small's vast mumber of Straits Chinese companies

operating in China is reduced to one. the Oversea-Chinese

Banking Corporation Limited And as regards that one I

would invite Your Excellency's attention to Sir Cecil

Clementi's despatch to the Colonial Office of November

13184/33 13th 1933 (Peking despatch to Shanghai No. 63 of March 9th

1934) reporting that the Bank had been involved in

Chinese political activities objectionable to the

Colonial authorities.

7. I had never previously heard of the Great

Eastern Life Insurance Company Limited, mentioned in the

Singapore despatch, but from enquiries since made in

local insurance circles I gather that it does not do

business in this country. Of course there may be other

Singapore Chinese companies which do operate in China

without our knowledge and without registering at a

Consulate as required by the Order in Council. By the

terms of that Order they are not entitled to be recognized

or protected as British companies, but the proviso is

added that they shall nevertheless be subject to the

jurisdiction of His Majesty's Courts, and it is this

/unfortunate