XN000022-1973-01-08 — Page 5

Monday, January 8, 1973

RECORD NUMBER OF NEW COMPANIES INCORPORATED

Busy Year At Companies Registry

The high level of business activity in 1972 was reflected in the

operations of the Companies Registry, where many records were again broken.

The Registrar General, Mr. W. Hume, announced today that 4,810

new companies were incorporated in 1972 with nominal capitals totalling

over $5,550 million, both figures being the highest ever recorded for

any year,

The rate of increase in the number and size of companies in recent

years can be guaged by comparing the figures for 1968, when the number

of new companies incorporated was 1,675 with nominal capitals of nearly

3540 million.

Thus in a period of only four years, the number of new companies

incorporated has almost trebled, while the nominal capitals have increased

more than ten times.

Mr. Hume added that in addition to the huge nominal capitals

of the new companies, existing companies increased their capitals by more than $10,458 million, an increase of 218 per cent over the previous record

of $3.291 million in 1971.

Of the companies incorporated in 1972 (with the 1971 figures

in brackets), 1,262 (999) were import and export companies; 844 (676)

were land investment companies, and 668 (290) were finance companies.

/Apart