CO129-581-16 British propaganda in Hong Kong 18-4-1939 - 29-10-1939 — Page 39

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British Finance and Commerce.

Trade and Finance.

By Robert Mackay.

The healthy state of British financial and commercial enter- prise is revealed in the latest monthly statement of average weekly

During July the balances of the eleven London clearing banks.

averago

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deposits held by these banks increased by over £21 millions

In the same month business

the total being £2,239,893,000.

financed by the banks was at a weekly average of £982,000,000, compared with £980,100,000 in July, 1938, while the item for acceptances etc. was £122,000,000, compared with £115,100,000 in 1938. The aggregate paid-up capital of these banking institutions is £78,197,000 and their reserve funds stand at over £60 millions.

As regards commercial conditions, the sound position of

British trade was referred to by the Minister of Transport in a

attention to the consistent progress recent speech, when he drew made by such industries as shipbuilding, coal-mining and engineering, in spite of difficulties in world economy.

British industrial

recovery, he said, had not been due solely to defence expenditure, and the British visible balance of trade for the first six months of this year was £20 millions better than in the first six months of 1938. Another important aspect was, as the Minister stated, the

Confirm- fact that the standard of living had continued to rise. ation of this uninterrupted improvement is afforded by the latest

During July 363,114 licences were returns of wireless licences.

issued, bringing their total number to well over 9,000,000.

This

represents a net increase of 20,640 over June, and follows a rise

of 26,060 in June over the May figure.