The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-22
DENMARK BORROWS
$25,OOO,OOO HERE
National City Company Pur-
chases Twenty-Five Year
Issue Of Bonds.
PUBLIC OFFERING TO-DAY
Proceeds to Be Used to Refund
Maturing Debt and Aid
Danish Exchange.
PUBLIC OFFERING TO-DAY

The Kingdom OF Denmark has sold
to the National City Company $25.0o0.-
600 of its twenty-five year per cent.
sinking fund external gold bonds. and
the bankers. who have not formed a
syndicate to handle the transaction,
win offer the bonds to-day through
dealers on commission basis at par
and interest The cables from Copen-
hagen said that the company paid 95
for the bonds. but that price was not
confirmed yesterday.
The purpose of the new financing, re-
garding which preliminary negotiations
started several months ago. is to refund
maturing debt In part and to bolster
Danish exchange in part, the latter
being at a depreciation of about so per
cent. from parity and declined yester-
day rs points to 1875 cents as ex-
pressed in terms of the dollar. AL
though the new issue is a sinking fund
affair. such a fund will not go into
operation for five years. The bonds
are exempt from all Danish taxes.
present or future, and are callable as
q whole on October Is, 1925, or any
interest day thereafter prior to ma
turity at ITO II called for redemption
prior to October Is. 1885, and at 10735
If called for redemption thereafter.
The sinking fund payments begin in
semi-annual instruments of s62b.000
each on April Is, 1926. Up to and in
Guiding October Is, 1895. the funds will
be applied for the purchase Of bonds in
the open market If obtainable at not
more than 10 and interest and at not
more than 1071h and interest In the
case of bonds purchased thereafter. In
circular distributed by the bankers
the credit Of Denmark is described as
follows:
sThe Government has managed its
finances so conservatively that the ma
tional credit ranks high, even in COM
portant nations of the world. During
the twenty years preceding the war
Denmark borrowed abroad at from 3
to per cent. Five issues listed on the
Paris Bourse sold from 1904 to 1913 at
annual average prices to yield $50 per
cent and two issues listed in London
sold at annual average prices from 1906
to 1913 to yield 3.65 per cent. The
average yield of three issues listed in
Copenhagen was sos per cent. Septem-
Der %, 1920"
Other facts given in the circular are
that Denmark's total debt on March 81,
the statistics relating to foreign money
being expressed in terms of the United
States gold dollar at par of exchange,
was $246, 100000, a per capita debt of
$780, based on her present population of
3,023 900, one of the lowest per capita
debts. AS an Offset the Government
owns property valued at 5000 1S9. 900.
Discussing the agricultural and indus
trial position of Denmark, the circular
says in part:
1.-THE chief industries of Denmark are
agriculture and shipping. Scientific
knowledge practically applied Is the key
note of Danish agriculture, and in no
other country has dairy farming and
live stock raising been brought to such
perfection. The principal exports are
food products, the great need of the
world to-day. In 1916 exports of these
products were valued at S277.487 900,
and the annual average for the ten
years ended 1919 was s161.264000.
Farm land Is very widely held. nearly
60 per cent. OF the farms covering less
than thirteen acres EACH Through
network of cooperative associations the
people have standardized the products
OF these thousands of small farms and
have largely solved the problem of APP
plying large scale production to farming.
Denmark ranks equally with Holland In
shipping tonnage per capita. These two
countries are exceeded only by Norway
and Great Britain in this respect. Copen-
hagen, the capital and thoroughly
modern and progressive city, is not only
the leading port Of Denmark but, owing
TO its strategic shipping position, is the
chief distributing centre OF the whole
Baltic region. Its free port is the larg-
est in Scandinavia"