Institute of Pacific Relations

Philippine Commonwealth Attracts Chinese CapitalAuthor(s): Catherine PorterSource: Far Eastern Survey, Vol. 8, No. 20 (Oct. 11, 1939), p. 241Published by: Institute of Pacific RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3022331 .

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1939 Chinese Captial in Philippines; Agricultural Labor in Japan 241

exported to the United States. In return for some incon-

venience to American industry her sponsored regime has probably lost, during the years 1938 and 1939, from U.S.$20 to 35 million in foreign exchange?not to

speak of the additional fuel to the flame of the organ? ized forces in the United States who are working for

boycotts and embargoes. John R. Stewart

PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH ATTRACTS CHINESE CAPITAL

Chinese financial circles have been showing signs of

increasing interest in the Philippine Commonwealth as

a possible investment center for capital that has been

lying idle as a result of the Sino-Japanese war. In

recent months business and banking representatives have visited the islands, and now it is announced that

a new branch of the Bank of Communications will

open in Manila before the end of the year. The head

office, owned by the Chinese Government, is in Hong?

kong. One other important bank and at least one invest?

ment company are seriously considering opening offices

in Manila. In fact, the opinion has been expressed by

leading Chinese that the American immigration law is

the chief obstacle to the inflow of more Chinese capital. Both in number and in capital represented, newly

registered Chinese stock corporations rank in impor? tance after Filipino and American. In 1938 they regis? tered 21 stock corporations, represented paid-up capi? tal of P390,000, compared with 18, with a paid-up

capital of P477,000 in 1937. In six months of 1939, seven Chinese corporations were registered, with paid-

up capital of P333,000. The largest Chinese investment at present is con-

centrated in merchandising. With investments running into P50 million, or nearly half of the total estimated

merchandising investment in the country, the Chinese

easily control the retail trade. The milling and market?

ing end of the rice industry, with ownership of at least

75% of the rice mills and most of the rice warehouses, is also in Chinese hands. Their share of total invest?

ment in the lumber industry is over 10%, ranking after

American and Filipino. The head office of the China

Banking Corporation is in Manila; its total resources

of P27 million at the end of 1937 represent chiefly resi-

dent Chinese capital. There has been a great deal of

activity on the part of resident Chinese in the local

real estate market in recent months. This is considered

significant in that it represents in large part the invest?

ment in the Philippines of money earned there which

was formerly sent to China. In passing, it is interesting to note that the Chinese in the Philippines have con?

tributed some P12 million to the war chest alone since

the outbreak of hostilities in China in 1937.

The Philippines has long proved attractive to the

Chinese people, who have been trading with the Islands

since before the Christian era. They have mingled more

or less freely with the Filipinos, intermarried, and set?

tled in large numbers in a land which can hardly seem

foreign to them. Yet, as one of their spokesmen says,

they "never forget that they are Chinese." They form

the bulk of the foreign population of the country, esti?

mates of their numbers running from 100,000 to 150,000

?immigration statistics are admittedly inadequate in

this respect. (The second largest foreign group is Japa?

nese, numbering between 20,000 and 30,000; there are

slightly over 6,000 Americans in the Philippines.) The

presence of so large an alien group is underlined by reason of the fact that under the present application of American laws both Chinese and Japanese are ineli-

gible to citizenship. The whole question of foreign investment in the

Commonwealth is one causing perplexity to the Philip?

pine people. On the one hand, they are eager to see

new capital coming into the country; on the other,

they are becoming watchful of the nature and extent of

foreign financial influence. Article XII of the Philip?

pine Constitution limits the disposition, exploitation,

development or utilization of all agricultural, timber

and mineral lands of the public domain to citizens of

the Philippines or to corporations at least 60% of the

capital of which is owned by such citizens. However, there is nothing to prevent the acquisition by aliens of

privately-owned lands used for residential, commercial

or industrial purposes. A not inconsiderable area in

Manila is now held by aliens as registered owners in

fee simple. While the situation is causing no difficulty at the moment, the potential dangers are not over-

looked. Catherine Porter

SERIOUS SHORTAGE OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR IN JAPAN

A recent publication of the Japanese Ministry of

Agriculture and Forestry calls attention to the increas?

ingly serious problem of shortage of labor on the farms.

With the withdrawal of many thousands of men for

army service, and the migration of others to seek jobs in the booming war industries (see "Japanese Labor

Under War Pressure," Far Eastern Survey, July 19,

1939), shortage of agricultural labor threatens the

maintenance or expansion of agricultural productivity. Hence the Ministry outlines steps by which it is hoped to deal with this problem, in order to maintain and

increase production of domestic supplies and more espe?

cially of those products, such as raw silk and canned

foods, which can be utilized for export purposes. So much has been heard of the surplus population

on Japanese farms that it may be surprising that even

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