§ 54. Mr. Gammansasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in obtaining compensation for expropriated British interests in Burma.
Mr. DaviesAn agreed settlement between the Government of the Union of Burma and the Rangoon Telephone Company Limited was reached in April, 1949, on compensation for assets of the Company taken over by the Government on 1st January, 1946. Settlement was for rupees 20 lakhs, convertible into sterling (approximately £150,000). This sum has been paid and remitted to the United Kingdom.
An award to the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company was made on 7th January, 1950, by a special Commission set up by the Government of the Union of Burma, of compensation for assets of the Company taken over by the Burmese Government on 1st June, 1948. The award was of rupees 41 lakhs, convertible into sterling (approximately £307,500), as against the Company's claim of nearly £1,500,000. This award is subject to appeal to the Burmese Supreme Court and the Company's decision on whether they will accept the award has not yet been announced.
No offer of payment has yet been made by the Burmese Government to British timber firms for assets taken over by that Government on 1st June, 1948. An agreement for payment of compensation was reached previous to the take-over between the British timber companies and the Burmese Government in respect of assets taken over by the Government on 31st January, 1949. In this case compensation is to be in the form of logs delivered to the British companies' saw mills in Rangoon, but owing to the interruption of river communications by disorders only half of the logs have been received.