§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek to encourage those British companies with major cash assets to invest a greater proportion of their cash assets in manufacturing industry.
§ Mr. ButcherInvestment decisions are a matter for the commercial judgment of individual firms. They will depend on where the most profitable opportunities exist. Government policies are helping to increase the 459W profitability of manufacturing which is at its highest for many years. The net real rate of return on capital employed in the United Kingdom by industrial and commercial companies rose markedly to 10.5 per cent. last year—the highest level since 1965.
As a result the Department's latest investment intentions survey indicates that investment by manufacturing industry, including leased assets, is expected to rise by 12 per cent. this year.