The PNG economy, even in these tough times dwarfs Fiji. Solomon Islands has an estimated population of between 400,000 and 450,000 people and a land mass significantly larger then Fiji. While the economy has struggled for many years it has real potential. Not many realise that the Solomon Islands produces more copra then Fiji, has major reserves of timber and minerals along with some of the most beautiful islands in the South Pacific. Sure there are negatives but they get highlighted so much that I thought I spend some time on the positives.
Service based industries are well positioned to take advantage of the region.
I won't even try to start on the French territories. My point is, why scrap over tiny portions of a market of 750,000 people when there is a regional market of around 6 million people sitting there waiting to be developed. You don't have to be huge to tackle some of these markets. The issue is thinking of the possible rather then the impossible. In many respects developing a branch in Honiara should be similar to developing one in Labasa.