§ 35. Colonel Nathanasked the President of the Board of Trade what he estimates to be the amount and nature of foreign investments held in this country at the latest convenient date, and the comparative figure for 1914?
§ Captain WallaceAccording to estimates made by Sir Robert Kindersley, the nominal amount of British capital invested overseas at the end of 1936, the latest date for which particulars are available, was £764,000,000. As regards the nature of these investments and the qualifications to be attached to the estimate, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to Sir Robert Kindersley's article in the "Economic Journal" for December, 1937. Comparable figures for 1914. are not available, but it has been estimated that British oversea investments in 1913 amounted to approximately £4,000,000,000.
§ Colonel NathanIs the right hon. and gallant Gentleman able to distinguish between foreign investments, as stated in the question, and overseas investments?
§ Captain WallaceI am afraid that is all the information I can give without notice.
§ Colonel NathanMay I ask whether, in view of the desirability and importance in the case of certain eventualities of this country being possessed of a large amount of the foreign currency available to it, steps will be taken by the Government to relax the present restrictions on foreign lending?
§ Captain WallacePerhaps the hon. and gallant Gentleman will put that question on the Order Paper.
§ Mr. ThorneWill the right hon. and gallant Gentleman be good enough to communicate with the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a view to taxing overseas investments and getting another source of revenue?