The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22
4 JAPANESE MARKET LETTER
SECURITIES YIELD BETTER RE-
TURNS THAN OURS.

SECURITIES YIELD BETTER RE-
TURNS THAN OURS.
Highest Priced nsilread Steeas Nets che
ysuyeFs . l.A.Per Ccnt.-"0FdEnafiIy''
stock Queted' IN enc Cfreuiar-The
Exchanges Incorporated and Pay Wen.
Tho Japanese arc not Known az keen
stock speculators, but there are evidences
that they are learning tho ways OF the mar
het. Within the past few yoars many houses
have begun dealings IN stocks and honda
and some Of these Issue market letters
after the fashion OF brokerage houses In
Wall Street. A few publish market letters
In Ensiiah, with tho idea, apparently. Of
attracting buying from American and
English investors.
These marhet letters, printed In English;
contain comments on the stock and bond
market and furnish detailed information
Of the capital and earnings Of the various
railway and Industrial companies, the divi-
dsnds paid on the stock, the current quo
tations for the stock and the approximate
return 10 the present quotation.
One Of these iBaued recently by N. Hay
ashi, q broker with houses In Toxic and
Yokohama, shows that Japanese railway
stocks pay dividends IN excess OF the average
American Issues and at current quotations
yield a better return to the investor. The
stocks Of ten railroads arc given tn tho list
and OF these all but two. the Yokohama
Railway Company and the Hokkaido Rail-
way Company, are dividend payers. The
lowest dividend IL at the rate Of 8 per cent,
and the highest NJ the rate Of is per cent.
The average return 70 the investor In the
eight dividend payers Is considerably better
than s per cent.
The Hokkaido Colliery Railway Company;
apparently a coal road, IL the melon stock
Of the liss, occupying the place held In our
market by Delaware, Lackawana and West
ern, also a coal road and the highest priced
and biggest dividend paying railroad stock
In the New York market. On q capital OF
27,0oO, 900 yen Hokkaido stock last year
paid Is per cent. and at the end Of the year
showed q legal reserve Of 1,o52, 900 yen, a
special reserve Of LOIS 400 yen and a surplus
Of 1887 carried to the credit Of the next
term.
This stock was most active In the market,
advancing In q week from 9sH to i04, the
par value Of the shares being 80 yen. At
the high figure the stock yields about 7X
per cent. to the investor. Lackawanna in
the New York market has sold as high as
$50 this year az O result Of dividends ag-
~gregating 1oX per cent. in 1905. Ordinarily
the market price Of Laokawanna yields the
purchaser less than 4 per cent.
Other good dividend payers are the
Nippon Railway, which distributes Is per
can't ~ . ,avitot ~ m mn mn rao. 1eoyo
10 per cent. on 90, 100; Sobu, 10 per cent. on
o.ooo, 900, and Kyushu, 10 per cent. on e2.-
10000. recent quotation for these stocks
was: Nippon, l0s.6o; Sanyo, IS. 20; sobus
1850, and Kyushu, Is. A noteworthy point
about the railroad companies Is their small
capitalization In comparison with the CAP
italtzation Of American companies. But
two companies have a capitalization In ex-
cess Of 81, 200 900. A Government regula-
ton compelling companies to report the
amount OF capital stock oad In offers the
investor protection against the purchase
of watered stock.
News to investors In railroad stooks b
given in this way in'the circular:
The stocks have maintained their position
without any change In the market as ex-
perienoed In last week. and very few BUSH
ness has been transacted during the
week, owing TO the inactiveness of bust
neas circles In general. but with the
favorable opportunity In future In con.
sequence Of the time Of the purchase Of
the Fusan-Seoul Railway have been fixed
for the first OF July by the Government, which
has been long und er consld Iteration. The
Government will issue Q loan OF about 20, 900
900 yen. including the price OF the Seoul
Chemulpo Railway Company, and hand II
to the railway company during the present
fiscal year. On Saturday last the Hankaku
Railway Company held It's general meeting
at Osaka and the directors announced a
dividend OF so per cent. per annum for the
past six months. An extra ordinary meeting
was then held In which II was resolved that
on the security OF the company's property
1900. 900 yen be borrowed from the japanese
Ind ustrial Bank at interest OF 7.3 per cent.
per annum. The Hokkaido Collicry Rail-
way: Fair business has been effected during
the week at 3 or 4 yen In advance.
Japanese traction stocks are not as gooI
dividend payers as the steam roads, bit
many Of them are more remunerative than
the average Of American fractions. In
Toxic there are W companies, the Toxic
Electric Car Company and the Toxic Street
Railway Company, paying 10 and 8 per cent.
respectively. while another. the Toxic
Electric lramway company, pays but IA
per cent. One OF the traction companies.
the Odawara Electric Tramway Company;
is the only corporation on the stock list
which has followed the Occidental custom
Of Issuing both preferred and common
stock. Tho Japanese broker, In looking
for an English name to describe the COM
mon, happened on Ordinarily and char
acterizes the common stock as Ordinarily
stock Odawara, according to the list.
paid I per cent. OF the Ordinarily" and 10
per cent. or the preferred. The common
stock sold at rates netting ~ per cent. to
the investor and the preferred Of rates
netting 10.
In his information for investors tho
Japanese broker says In one circular that
good business has been lone for electric
railway companies In Toxic, showing an
advance OF yen l or . as compared with
last week, In consequence Of the grand
military review and the grand imperial fes-
tlval.' In the next week the broker was
compelled to revise his advice because of
Government action. .The shares Of the
Toxic electric companies he stated then,
lowing to the receptions by the Municipal
Hall Of the proposal to increase the car
fares. IRE in o bad condition notwithstand-
ing large income In the cherry season.
The circular gives interesting informa-
tim ~ kka hiw NroAAa l.~swol H. Al. lon