202
PROPERTY AND ASSETS.
.$157,954.59
Cost of estate....
Machinery, plant and general equipment 67,14.12
Cyanide plant
Main shaft
Main and klidah dams
Buildings
Roads and bridges
Life stock and Bullock carts
Furniture at mines
Stores in stock at mines
Developnient of concession ...
Stores in transit
Cash in Hongkong and Shanghai
Bank Hongkong
$1,855.22
Cash in Hongkong and Shanghai
Bank, Singapore
1,463.10
Fixed deposit with Hongkong and Shang-
hai Bank, Hongkong
Dividend account, 1896.
$938,52
Accumulated preferenc dividend
account 1897
589.97
Suspense account
Head Office furiture
Cash on hand at Mines
Postage 8 amps n hand
[
Cash in hartered Bank of I. A. & C.,
Kuala Lumpur
Timber and firewood on hand
Merchandise Loaned
Cash in hands of Pekan agent
Advances made to employees at Punjom Mines adjustment accou, t
Advance to Telegraph Master at Kuala
Lipis.
Accounts Receivable:
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
THE LAOU-KUNG-MOW COTTON SPINNING AND WEAVING CO., LD.
12,320 27 10,000.00
The following is the report presented to the 8,000.00
shareholders at the fifth ordinary meeting of 10,322.56 5,284.76
the Company beld at the Offices of the General 617 6 Managers on Wednesday, Shanghai, on the 1st 1,286. March :- 22,153.48 The Directors submit their report, together 2,909.97 with the accounts of the Company, for the 4,289.08 twelve months ending 31st December, 1898.
The working of the Company during the first six months of the year was satisfactory, and in view of the accumulated balance of Tla. 54,057.98 at credit of profit and loss account on the 30th of June, the Directors felt justified in declaring an interim dividend of four per cent, thus absorbing Tls. 24.000. Unfor- tunately, owing to the heavy fall in the yarn market in the last half of the year, the second six months' working resulted in a loss. In order to avoid an accumulation of stook, night 405.3
work was discontinued in the middle of 1,292.66 August, and has not since been resumed. 55.00 With the opening of the new cotton season prices for the raw material were much reduced, and this, 47.38 coupled with the improvement which has taken 1,149.22 place in the yarn market, brought about more |
1092 satisfactory conditions.
2,818.32
12,500.00
15 8.49 5,068.09
513 67 799.91 545.43
93.69
Interest due on dividend ac
count
..$ 16.47
Balance due on September
and October gold winnings 1,920.45 Advance obtained on Decem- ber gold winnings.........
8,150,00
10,086.92
Value of gold concentrates on hand
Balance at debit of working account.
52.79 19,840.98
$344,948.43
WORKING ACOUNT, 15TH NOVEMBER, 1897,
TO 31ST DECEMBER, 1898.
To co-t of cyanide working
and laboratory
To sundry charges: –
Insurance
Upkeep of police
Charges on gold shipments...
Payments to Toh Kaya L pis.
Travelling expenses......................
To Manager's salary and office expenses
After deducting the interim dividend above referred to, the year closed with a balance at credit of profit and loss account of Tls. 10,600.18; this the directers recommend be writ. ten off to Depreciation Account.
DIRECTORS.
Mr. J. M. Young and Mr. Chung Liang-ya retire in rotation as required by the Articles of Association, but offer themselves for re-election. AUDITORS.
[March 11, 1899.
the report gave the following review of the conditions of the cotton market during the year:-As is stated in the report, the working of the mill during the first six months gave such satisfactory results that the Directors felt them. selves fully justified in declaring, out of the accumulated credit of Tls. 54,000 in Profit and Loss Account on the 30th June, an interim dividend of 4 per cent. In view of the ad verse circumstances which had to be contended against during the later part of the year, this payment of aldividend is perhaps to be regretted; at the time, however, there was no indication of coming troubles. The price of local cot- ton bad certainly risen to an absurdly highi level, but this we could view with comparative indifference in view of the supplies laid in at a lower cost, and the continued strength of the yarn market. It was a month or so later that indications of serious trouble showed themselves; the markets both in Hongkong and Shanghai began to be flooded with Indian spinnings, and Japan also unloading on China. The flooding of the market with supplies occurred at the very worst time of the year-yarns being slow to move during the hot weather. By the middle of September there was an accumulated stock of imported yarns in Hongkong and Shanghai of fally 100,000 bales, and a stock of local spin- nings of between 15,000 and 20,000 bales; more- over, the situation in Shanghai was rendered #ll the worse by a movement of the Hongkong stocks to this market. The situation brought about its inevitable result, and a drop of from 10 to 15 per cent. in yarn prices fol lowed, some connts being absolutely unsaleable. The losses which were incurred upon these Indian and Japanese shipments are likely to prevent a similar exploitation of the Chinese market for some time to come. To further aggravate matters were the conditions of the local cotton market, to which. both as they were then, and as they are now, I wish to ask your particular attention. From the beginning of the year there set in, as I have said, a steady rise in the price of local cotton, which, though in its earlier stages it was counterbalanced by a corresponding advance in yarn prices, became absolutely absurd when, towards the end !of June, the market quotation stood at Tls, 117 per picul. I may remark in passing that the company had no contracts at any such ridiculons prices. I may perhaps be better 18,791.99 able to illustrate the difficult'es of th
local market by representing its fluctuations in per centage. Taking as the basis the Tla. 58,892.17 | price of cotten in January, 1898, which then was abnormally high, the course of the market was in round figures as follows: frum Januárƒ to June the market rose some 12 to 15 per cent; from June to September it fell (from June prices) between 25 and 30 per cent; from Sep- tember to the present date, the pendulum has again swung the other way and here has been a rise from the lowest point of nestrly 25 per cent, which in effect brings us back to the prices of January, 1898. The fluctuation between highest and lowest quotions during tho 14 months has been (on lowest cost basis) very: nearly 40 per cent. Now, gentlemen, it is clear- 715,800.00 ly absurd that fluctuations such as this, which 263,020.65 are entirely unwarranted by any movement 560.00 in cotton prices in other parts of the world, 1,783.08 should occur in Shanghai. The plain inference 18,902.80 is that the still undeveloped condition, as I 10,600.18
may call it, of the Shanghai cotton market is being exploited by the cunning of native speculation. I venture to think, however, that this native manipulation of the local market Tls. 186,542.87 rests upon such a slender foundation of ignor. 31,715.64 ance and shortsightedness, that it can without 511,449.29 much difficulty be checked. Cotton is a com
62,405.16 modity which has what may be called a world's 2,919.80 value, and it is absurd that such world's value
Mr. G. R. Wingrove again offers himself for re-election as the Company's Auditor
A. KORFF
Directors. J. M. YOUNG
ILBERT & Co. General Managers.
Shanghai, 23rd January, 1899.
PROFIT AND Loss Account, 31ST DECEMBER, 1898.
To interest..
Dr.
To age, oy expenses.... To directors' and auditor's fees
To interim dividend of 4 per cent. To balance
Tis. 12,041.99
4,500.00 2,250.00
By balance of spining sccount 1898..
Tb.
24,000.00 10,600.18
20,168.87
187.44
83,046.36
Tls. 68,392.17
BALANCE SHEET, 31ST DECEMBER, 1898.
LIABILITIES
Capital: 8,000 shares, of which are issued
7,158....
Overdraft at bankers
Tia.
Dr.
To cost of mining....
$59,687,07
To cost of milling and water
power.......
23,716.75
15,933.84
$99,387.66
$ 774.00
1,168 68
Cr,
68.03
By balance 1897
390.00
Less appropriations.
618.36
3,557.05
By premium on shares By transfer fee"
TI.. 21,108.37 950.00
99.45 87.99
Tle.
--
To legal expenses.
233
To head office expenses
5,668,64
To telegrams..
237.25
at Punjom
11,555.44
To agency fees and general expenses at
Punjom
9,874.30
To Royalty to Sultan of Pahang
8,187.37
To Royalty to Cas-el Gold Extracting
Co., Limited, Glasgow.
1,000,81
Unpaid divide de
To reconstruction expenses and charges.
1,881.16
(ash due General Managers
To direc:ors' fees
2,734.36
Sundry creditors
To auditors' fees
150.00
Balance of profit and loss account
To transport and saw mill expenses
2,499 51
To exchange account
79.29
To hotel and hospital expenses
1,459 28
To cost of prospecting
1,818.96
ARIETS.
To value of invoice of Chemicals jetti-
soned on voyage out.......................
215.64
Reservoir and land improvements Machi-ery
$150,128:28
Value of stock...----
Cr.
Yarn
By proceeds of gold winnings..........................
$128,170.79
Cotton and waste
By interest
745.78
Mill stores
By transfer fees
-110.1
By fine..
181.81
U expired fire insurance ........
By license fees
108.75
By sundry revenue...
Unexpired reut...
108.70
By profil on sale of stores
$677.43
Yarn duty passes in hand.
By profit on sale of medical stores 19.08
By balance..............................
876.51 19,840.98
$150,128.38
21810,1585
Buildings
Property-Chinese houses and land Furniture.........................
Tis. 1,010,666.71
.....108,837.25 94,695.87 2,160.00 16,669.83
2,848.42
of
of China cotton should be upset, to the extent which it has been, and is, by the cunning of the native speculators. There is reason to think that the present speculative rise will result in 221,802.45 | badly burnt fingers to its originators, but; how- over this may be it seems to me that one means prevening further repetition of this mani | pulation of market lies in combination among the foreign buyers; that, in fact, something in the nature of a Cotton Exchange be est ablished, having for its object the regulation of local cotton prices in relation to world's value, and preventing the cotton sellers from playing aftone buyer against another, - whích ở thếy
4,185.92
· 1,160.98
Tla. 1,010,666.71
The Chairman, Mr. C. J. Dudgeon, in the course of his speech in moving the adoption of
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