Oil rises as markets expect continuous fall of inventories

FNPF reopens COVID-19 unemployment assistance

The Fiji National Provident Fund COVID-19 unemployment assistance will reopen on Monday, August 9 (2021) for the continuation of phases two, four and the voluntary members relief. However, the new rounds will only be available to members with sufficient General Account balance. FNPF Acting CEO Viliame Vodonaivalu said the relief would only assist those who...

Taxi association shows support for budget

Nasinu Taxi Association president Shiv Shankaran has supported the 2021-2022 National Budget as incentives in place for taxidrivers would help them especially in this pandemic. Speaking in an interview with this newspaper yesterday he said the incentives would not only benefit taxidrivers but taxi owners as well. “Regarding the issue on taxi bases, the abolishment of taxi bases is to some extent a good thing, reason being that some...

Economic growth – Fiji gone backwards by a decade, says Chand

Fiji has gone backwards in terms of economic progress roughly by a decade according to Fiji born Australian Professor Satish Chand. Prof Chand, who is a professor of finance in the school of business at the University of New South Wales based at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, revealed this during a virtual panel discussion last week. He said the country’s recovery could only begin once...

Designer takes advantage of pandemic

Director and fashion designer of Kuiviti Pacific, Epeli Tuibeqa has taken advantage of the pandemic which he stated has brought about a lot of positive opportunities for his business to bloom. During a virtual panel discussion on Youth Entrepreneurial Resilience and Support Mechanism, he said one good thing which had come out of the pandemic was their production had been amazing in the fashion...

‘Great time to start’ – A lot more assistance within the entrepreneurial space

There is a lot more support within the entrepreneurial space for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) than there was before. According to Tasty Kitchen Collective Founder Nikita Irvin during a virtual panel discussion on Youth Entrepreneurial Resilience and Support Mechanism, when she started up her business Tasty Island Treats in 2017, there was no funding mechanism available for a for-profit business as it was all...

Fiji receives $332million in personal remittances in first five months

Fiji recorded $332million in personal remittances for the first five months of this year. The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) announced in its July economic review issued yesterday. The central bank said personal remittances increased by 27.7 per cent, contributed mainly by higher inflows from personal transfers. It stated that that more-than-offset the decline in...

Cloud technology to ‘improve performance’

Vodafone Fiji will be helping businesses take advantage of the benefits of Oracle cloud computing across Fiji and the Pacific. According to a statement from the company, it was a member of the Oracle Partner Network (OPN) and among the Oracle solutions it helped to deliver was the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. This was a next generation cloud built for enterprises seeking higher performance, lower costs and easier...

Women take on leadership roles

HFC Bank has made four new appointments to head the bank’s corporate banking division. According to a statement from the bank, it was the first in Fiji to have an “all women” corporate leadership. The bank appointed Umesh Prasad to head of treasury and corporate services, Vandhana Sharma to head of corporate banking West, Shilpa Jogia as the corporate manager Suva and Devika Prakash as the...

COVID-19 has seriously battered tourism industry, says Lal

Tourism is Fiji’s biggest foreign exchange earner and has been seriously battered by the COVID pandemic. Government backbencher Virendra Lal said the crisis had also taken a significant toll on people not only in Fiji but all across the globe. “This pandemic has viciously brutalised our economy and dealing with the unexpected problems caused by...

Fiji’s central bank enhances support facility

The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) Board has announced further enhancements to its Disaster Rehabilitation and Containment Facility (DRCF) to assist businesses. This, following its monthly meeting on Thursday, according to a statement from the bank. It was revealed the changes included an additional funding allocation of $200 million, a limited and tiered guarantee targeting...

‘Businesses struggle to stay open’

Businesses are struggling just to remain open, however, the key to reviving them and getting out of this predicament was the reopening of the borders. This was revealed by Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation CEO Kameli Batiweti during a virtual discussion hosted by the Fiji Law Society on Thursday. He said for borders to open,...

RBF commends Fiji’s national budget

The Reserve Bank of Fiji has commended the 2021-22 National Budget and the expansionary stance given the urgent need for Government to make up for the shortfall in the spending power of households and investment appetite of businesses. RBF governor Ariff Ali said as announced in the budget, the central bank would provide a $200...

Fiji Airways returns two leased aircraft

Two aircraft leased in 2018 by national airline Fiji Airways have been returned to the lessor. In a statement, Fiji Airways managing director and CEO Andre Viljoen said the two aircraft (Island of Beqa and Island of Vatulele) were returned a few months ahead of the end of the lease agreement expiration date. “The two...

Empowering women

Fusion Hub is set out to reduce the waste consumption and economically empower women. Founder Sagufta Janif is adamant to make that impact within the community having already assisted about 120 women. She said she started the hub because she saw there were a lot of problems regarding irresponsible management or disposal of waste in...

Congress cancelled amid COVID-19 uncertainty

The World Exchange Congress which was to be held in Fiji and hosted by the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX) has been cancelled. The SPX in consultation with Terrapinn Holdings Ltd (Terrapinn), which was the international event manager, announced the cancellation of the congress yesterday. The congress was stated to be an annual meeting for...

Institute records decline in revenue

Free Bird Institute Ltd (FBL) has recorded a total revenue decrease of 46 per cent as a result of declining student numbers compared with the same period last year. According to its market announcement on the SPX website, chief financial officer Waisale Iowane, while presenting the financial results of the six months which ended June...

RBF grants conditional approval to Kina Securities for Westpac Fiji acquisition

Fiji’s central bank has granted conditional approval on Kina Securities Limited’s (KSL) application to buy Westpac Fiji. The Board of the Reserve Bank of Fiji reached this resolution after its deliberations yesterday on the comprehensive assessment conducted on KSL’s application. The Westpac Group had announced its intention to sell its Westpac Pacific Business – Westpac...

A-G: Fiji’s debt level projected to increase to $9bn

Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji’s deficit for the 2021-2022 financial year was projected at 16.2 per cent of GDP and debt expected to rise to $9 billion or 91.6 per cent of GDP. However, he said by adopting a very conservative revenue estimation strategy, actual debt could be lower than projected if borders reopened...

A-G: Government not responsible for Fiji Mahogany Trust reports

Government is not responsible for Fiji Mahogany Trust reports, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told Parliament yesterday when the Parliamentary Committee of Supply was deliberating programs in the 2021-2022 National Budget. He said this while answering queries from SODELPA Leader Viliame Gavoka on why the trust was allocated $250,000 in the budget. Mr...

MP Ratu Naiqama asks Government to explain tax revenue projection

Opposition Leader Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu has called on Government to explain how $1.6billion in tax revenue could be collected when the economy had further contracted this year, and was likely to remain subdued throughout the 2021-2022 financial year. “As per the data presented in the estimates, the revenues projected for 2021/22 is expected at 77...

MP Radrodro quizzes citizenship status of new CEO

The citizenship status of the newly-appointed Fiji Development Bank CEO, Saud Minam, was queried in Parliament yesterday. The issue was highlighted by SODELPA MP Aseri Radrodro when contributing to the debate on the 2021-2022 Appropriation Bill in Parliament. He claimed the Government continued to appoint people they favoured. He said they had turned Fiji into...

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4th August