A report on the placement of recent orders for German reparations goods, was made here today to the Israeli corporation set up to receive and distribute reparations goods by Hillel Dan, director of the corporation.
Mr. Dan revealed that Israel had placed orders for the following products: 26, 000, 000 deutschemarks worth of railway equipment; 15, 000,000 marks worth of communications equipment; 10,000,000 marks for heavy industrial equipment; 7, 000, 000 marks for agricultural equipment; 10, 000, 000 marks for general industrial machinery; 3,000,000 marks for medical supplies; and 6,000, 000 marks for a variety of other products. He also reported that the floating repair drydock ordered from a German shipbuilding concern would reach Israel this summer.
It was also reported here today that Israel has ordered eight new fishing boats worth 8, 000, 000 marks from West Germany under the terms of the Israel-German reparations agreement. The vessels will be equipped with the latest electronic devices to help fishermen locate schools of fish and to estimate the kind and size of the fish.
EASIER CREDIT TERMS SOUGHT FOR SALE OF REPARATIONS GOODS
The management of the reparations corporation has decided to place before the Israel Treasury for approval a proposal that reparations goods should be sold to Israel firms on easier credit terms than those now prevailing in order to increase sales of goods.
The reparations corporation reached this decision after discussing the need to increase the sales of its goods with a view to facilitating the rapid use of reparations funds in the coming year and the credit purchase of goods on account of future installments of reparations funds. The corporation has requested an easing of existing credit terms, since Israel importers and industrialists are unable to increase their orders owing to the scarcity of money in the Israel economy.
An amount of 20, 000, 000 marks allocated by the reparations corporation for the purchase of industrial equipment for local industries still remains unused, and the corporation may possibly decide to use it for other purposes. The money has not been used because of the difficult credit conditions offered by the corporation – conditions made more onerous by the fact that credit grants are linked to the dollar rate of exchange to the Israel currency.
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