Ten days ago, the Standard and Poors (S& P), a leading rating agency revised its earlier negative rating of Fiji. The economic outlook has now been rated as stable.It is a relief for Fiji's decision makers. They have toiled hard in the midst of challenges of all kinds: natural disasters and impact of global recession. Adverse effects of floods and fall in export earnings caused Fiji to decline by 2.5 per cent.
The stable rating given by S & P is due to comfortable foreign reserves level presently standing at F$ 1.1 billion, equivalent to imports of 5 months. The reserve position has been built through a mix of prudent policies, besides the painful decision of devaluation of the currency in April 2009. These included cautious monetary and fiscal policies. The statutory reserve requirement (SRD) ratio was once raised to 7 per cent to meet the inflationary fall out of an unprecedented credit boom of 2006, and exchange controls.
Fiscal discipline was another measure which reduced the rise in price level. Prudent polices also contributed to better exchange rate management keeping the limited exports competitive. The current account deficit was reduced to an estimated 8.6 per cent of GDP in 2009 from 17.7 per cent in 2008.If the international economy improves in 2010, Fiji is expected to grow at a modest 1.9 per cent.
Professor Jayarman goes on to discuss likely improvement in tourism industry, greater bank liquidity, a fall in bank lending rates, increased time deposit rates, increased limits on foreign exchange transactions, inflation at 6.3% compared withy 8.5% a year ago, and weaker demand that should prevent further rises in domestic prices. He concludes, "So as the year ends, Fiji looks forward to a steady recovery." 3 Comments.
3 comments:
HAPPY NEW YEAR CROZ and team!!! Fiji is on the way up and yous all are doing a great job!!
Even the Fiji Times has stories on growth in Fiji - what is the world coming to...... lol
This is the worst possible news for the madmen at Solivakasama and other extremist blogs. They now know they're on the back foot, as evidenced by the following less-than-confident Christmas message from their leader, Tui Savu.
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As Freedom bloggers, we should not be lured into wishful thinking this titanic struggle against the illegal regime will be won within a short time, but we can be assured our objectives to remove the illegal regime, eradicating the coup culture and bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice is a foregone conclusion.
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Can it be that the normally rabid Tui Savu can see the writing on the wall? Incidentally, Savu is really the Tui Townsville. He's a solicitor with the Queensland government department that provides legal services to indigenous people. His name and address is in the local phone book and he cheerfully answers his own phone at work. I wonder whether his employer realises that much of Savu's time is spent performing his role as "Chairman of the Worldwide Solivakasama Movement". Or that his poisonous blog site regularly calls for the assassination of Frank Bainimarama and other members of the regime. I think it's high time the Queensland taxpayer learns that this messenger of violence is on the public payroll.
I don't understand people like Sai Lealea in Wellington and Tui Savu in Queensland. If they were so patriotic about Fiji and wanted a better life for their own kind at home, why did they leave Fiji and use their intelligence elsewhere? Don't they realise that they are merely being used by NZ and Australia to further these two countries hegemony on the South Pacific Island nations and especially Fiji?
these guys think they are fighting for democracy but Fiji had never been a truly democratic country since independence. What Frank is doing was simply the natural progression Fiji would have gone through hadn't we had coup 1987. Fiji would have been gradually changed its electoral system and removed all forms of institutionalised racism when the FLP won election in 1987 and were allowed to lead the country through its 4 year term.
Sai Lealea and Tui Savu are merely playing into the scenario in which NZ and Australia would like Fiji to remain in because it would have given these two countries and easier path to support the various elements that keeps the general populace enslaved into colonial mentality.
What Bainimarama is doing is turning the environment around giving the ordinary i-Taukei folks the chance to have a truly independent opinion over their political future without submitting to the political masters of their chiefs.
This country badly needed a strongman like Bainimarama to put the crocked indigenous politicians and their blind chiefs into their proper place. Enough brainwashing and manipulating of the ordinary folks. Time for a new ERA in Fiji.
Thank you Bainimarama.
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