BUSINESS BETTER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 July 1939, Page 5

BUSINESS BETTER

POSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA.

MORE THAN HALF UNION'S TRADE IN JOHANNESBURG.

In spite of widespread complaints about stagnation, business in South Africa —and particularly in Johannesburg—has actually been on the upgrade in recent months. The most reliable indicator of the volume of trade —namely, the bank clearings—show a substantial improvement for the first two months of 1939 compared with 1938. Considerably more than one-half of the entire business of the Union, so the figures prove, is done today in Johannesburg.

Whereas the bank clearings for the whole country in January. 1938. amounted to £71.859,041, they had risen by about £9,000,000 in January. 1939, the total being £80,828.240. Johannesburg accounted for almost the whole of the increase, the turnover of the local Bankers' ClearingHouse being £49,467.226 for January, 1939, compared with £41,965.859 in January, 1938. This indicates an improvement in Johannesburg business of about 20 per cent. The figures for February. 1939. show that the improvement was maintained. for South African bank clearino--; soared from £74.748.152 for the same month in 1938 to £82,419.408 this year. Again Johannesburg was in the lead, the city's turnover touching the record figure of £52,075.978. as against £46.323.682 in February. 1938. "Whether this improvement continued during the month of March, when the Czech crisis look place, we do not yet know," said a banker, "though there is little reason to doubt that it did. Further Clearing House totals will not be available for some weeks, to come.”

Business men are puzzled at the unexpected nature of the figures, although it is admitted that many of the complaints made are exaggerated. "In any event,” a business man said, "it shows how solid conditions really are in South Africa, and how one should discount the scaremongers." Totals of bank clearings for 1938 show that the huge sum of £934.000.000 passed through the South African banks, of which £581.000.000 was handled in Johannesburg.

Comparisons with oversea show that Johannesburg banks are doing more business than those of St Louis, U.S.A., which has a population of more than 1,000,000 people, and of Manchester, England, with 800.000 . people. Incidentally the second largest turnover in South Africa is at Capetown. which has less than one-filth the Johannesburg figure £ 102.1)00.000). followed by Pretoria (£99,000,000 >. this being due to the large volume of Government payments made there.