GPH to be rebranded

Insurance company records growth in revenue

Insurance service provider FijiCare Insurance Ltd has recorded an increase for its gross revenue from insurance activities by 47 per cent to $F31.83 million in 2019, according to non-executive chairman Avi Raju in its 2019 annual report. He said the medical underwriting continued to be a core growth driver of their business as it had...

Improving Fiji’s trade efficiency

The Biosecurity Authority of Fiji has now gone live with its phytosanitary certificates, meaning effective from July, BAF will be creating and issuing Fijian phytosanitary certificates using the Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS) for commercial consignments exported from Fiji. BAF acting chief executive officer Surend Pratap said GeNS provided a secured platform that would enable...

Open for business – Gounden is not going to chicken out

“I started blank. I had no idea on how to do business, or banking or track expenses. But I have always raised chickens in our back yard and so it made sense to do this as a business.” Award-winning Gopal’s Poultry Farm in Coqeloa, Labasa, stands out as a progress story, owning its success to...

Partnership to strengthen export opportunities for Fijian kava

A partnership was signed today between the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Plus Program and Fiji Kava Ltd’s subsidiary South Pacific Elixirs Ltd (SPE) to strengthen export opportunities for Fijian kava to Australia and other international markets. According to a statement issued today, SPE and PHAMA Plus will partner on the design, procurement...

$50,000 fuel station for town

Wellcome Supermarket in Tailevu opened a new $50,000 gas station on its premises last Friday. According to manager Rajendra Prasad, the storage capacity of the fuel cost about $35,000 and the whole setup was in the vicinity of about $15,000. “This service station was here before but in the last three months they shut down...

Grant triples up

The Westpac Women and Girls Education Grant program has tripled the number of grants on offer for 2020 in light of the COVID-19. Westpac Fiji had launched the annual competition for education grants to women and girls a decade ago according to a statement from the bank. “I’m pleased to say that equality is a...

Tourism activity enterprise focuses on locals

With the tourism industry coming to a halt most businesses dependent on foreigners are now focusing on being more inclusive to locals. One such business is Ecotrax which had lost majority of its clientele as the borders had closed early in the year. “We obviously realised the local market wages are different to foreign tourists,”...

Prasad appointed as Acting CEO of the South Pacific Stock Exchange

Pretesh Prasad has been appointed as Acting CEO of the South Pacific Stock Exchange. This follows the conclusion of the contract of the current CEO, Krishika Narayan, said Chairperson of SPX Dr Nur Bano Ali. Mr Prasad started working at SPX as a market analyst in 2008. He has held various positions over the past...

Major uniform supplier back in business

A major supplier of corporate uniforms in the local market has bounced back after a devastating fire in 2017. National Uniforms which is part of Lotus Garments Manufacturing Company Ltd, announced its retail arm was now fully operational at 49 Ratu Mara Rd in Samabula. According to the business, after the fire most of its...

Young entrepreneur – Business opportunities open up during pandemic

As the impacts of COVID-19 affected businesses and economic activity in the country, a 23-year-old took the risk of becoming an entrepreneur. Sera Vuto started her seafood business after schools around the country came to a close when the first case of COVID-19 was recorded in the country in early March. The tertiary student decided...

$3.03 billion from tourism earnings in 2019

The total tourism earnings of 2019 was recorded at $3.03 billion as accommodation made up 33 per cent of this according to Fiji’s 2019 annual International Visitor Survey (IVS). Tourists were revealed to have spent $992 million or 33 per cent of total earnings with international airfares totalling $901m or 30 per cent of tourism...

Possible recovery

The central bank says Fiji’s economic recovery from 2021 may be higher if the coronavirus is contained this year, the planned tourism bubbles open and there is reasonable travel appetite. In his capacity as the chairman of the Macroeconomic Committee, Reserve Bank of Fiji governor Ariff Ali yesterday said in contrast, the economic downturn may...

Enterprise impact survey

A survey has revealed that Suva and Nadi had the highest number of enterprises that were no longer operating or were in partial operations as a result of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF) chief executive officer Kameli Batiweti today released the details of the survey that was conducted...

Board approves relief package for employers

THE Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) board has approved a relief package for employers. Fund CEO Jaoji Koroi said they understood the situation facing employers and the challenges for them to comply with the laws given the current economic situation. “Therefore, I would like to also announce that the board has approved a relief package...

Timely boost for work done by NGOs and social enterprises

NGOs and social enterprises supporting vulnerable communities to cope with the COVID-19 crisis through upskilling, providing financial education and creating income generation opportunities, received a boost in the form of computers and IT equipment from the ANZ Bank yesterday. The four organisations — Rise Beyond the Reef, Pacific Blue Foundation, Empower Pacific, and Quantum Space...

Airbus says to shed 15,000 jobs

TOULOUSE/PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus on Tuesday unveiled plans to shed around 15,000 jobs including 900 already earmarked in Germany, saying its future was at stake after the coronavirus pandemic rocked the air travel industry. Europe’s biggest aerospace group said it would cut some 5,000 posts in France, 5,100 in Germany, 900 in Spain, 1,700 in...

Ryanair expects to fly 4.5 million passengers in July

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ryanair <RYA.I> expects to fly more than 4.5 million passengers in July as it returns to a more regular schedule with 40% of its usual capacity for the peak summer month, it said on Wednesday. While that would be a drop of almost 70% from July last year, it would be a...

PM Bainimarama opens new $142k boardroom for Fiji Rice

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has assured farmers that the Government remained committed to assisting them. In opening the new board room at Fiji Rice Limited mill at Dreketi in Macuata, Mr Bainimarama said they would assist by tapping into new innovations and they would explore new ways of serving the agricultural sector and hardworking...

FTUC-FCEF sign bipartite initiative to support redundant Fijian workers

The Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) and the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF) have signed a bipartite initiative to support redundant workers in micro businesses. Called the Transition to Business (T2B) initiative, the project targets redundant formal sector workers who have started potentially scaleable businesses and build their capacities to sustain their micro businesses...

COVID-19: ILO reports 400 million people lost their jobs worldwide

A total of 400 million people lost their jobs worldwide between April-June due to COVID-19, states the International Labour Organisation. And 93 per cent of the world’s workers continue to live in countries with some sort of workplace closures, the ILO stated in its latest “ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work”. “The highly...

Air France aims to cut more than 7,500 jobs between now and 2022: BFM TV/AFP

PARIS (Reuters) – Air France <AIRF.PA> wants to cut more than 7,500 job positions between now and 2022, reported BFM TV and Agence France Presse on Wednesday, citing trade union sources. Air France is preparing voluntary layoffs in response to the coronavirus crisis, Chief Executive Ben Smith told Reuters on May 7, as he announced...

Motibhai hands over food packs to FRIEND food bank

Motibhai Group of Companies has donated 100 food packs towards Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises & Development (FRIEND) Fiji’s food bank. The food packs contain a range of products including nutrition bars for children. “FRIEND has been trying to assist those most in need with food supplies,” the organisation stated on its social media post...

Fiji’s central bank predicts further contraction of local economy

The Reserve Bank of Fiji predicts a further contraction of the economy this year as a result of the significant decline in tourism activity and its knock-on effects to the rest of the economy. In its June economic review, the central bank noted that given the weakening domestic economy, overall labour market conditions had worsened...

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