savenaca narube : overview of fiji ’ s economy summary of a presentation by mr savenaca narube, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, to the 19th australia fiji business forum on the fiji economy, sunshine coast, australia, 9 october 2006. * * * 1. economic performance • economic growth has averaged around 2. 4 percent over the past 5 years and is expected to average around 2. 7 percent in the next 3 years. • investment performance has increased since 2001, with the momentum coming from the private sector. 2. what are our key challenges? • challenge 1 : underperforming resource based sectors • o gold production has performed poorly in spite of favourable international prices recorded in recent years o forestry showing signs of recovery in the medium term o fisheries sector has shown some growth but is still below potential o mitigating factors : a company restructure is underway at the vatukoula gold mine incentives are being offered by government for investment in agricultural production greater public - private partnership is being encouraged government is looking at ways to improve market access for these sectors value adding initiatives are also being promoted challenge 2 : sugar o sugar production is far below its potential with sugar exports performing poorly when compared to previous years o preferential pricing is gradually being withdrawn : o o 60 percent of fiji ’ s sugar is exported to the eu market eu preferential price will undergo a 36 percent reduction over a period of 4 years, beginning in 2006 expiring land leases also pose a challenge for the sector : around 2, 800 farm leases will expire by 2008 about 10, 300 farm leases will be expiring over the next 25 years mitigating factors : sugar reforms are underway with support from the indian government adb support through the alternative livelihoods programme is ensuring that those displaced by the reforms have assistance eu support has also been promised • • the multi - party system will facilitate the passage of land tenure legislation through parliament diversification within the industry to produce ethanol is also being considered challenge 3 : debt o increasing government debt is becoming an issue of sustainability o while, the higher fiscal deficits in the past worked well to raise economic growth, we now need to relook at our strategy to secure sustainability o mitigating factors : strategic development plan 2007 - 2011 has a strong commitment to lower deficits to around 2 percent in any year of the sdp plan period this is expected to help bring the level of government debt down to 49 percent of gdp by 2009 challenge

inia naiyaga : fiji ’ s economy, outlook and performance of its insurance industry keynote address by mr inia naiyaga, acting deputy governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the launch of lici ’ s new “ double bula life plan ”, suva, 4 october 2012. * * * his excellency, the high commissioner of india – mr vinod kumar mr sanjeev kumar jain, acting general manager ( lici fiji ) management and staff of lici distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen introductory comments bula vinaka, namaste, and a very good evening to you all your excellency, thank you for gracing us this evening with your presence. i wish to thank mr jain for the invitation to be here this evening, and may i at the outset congratulate lici for reaching its 56th year of operations in fiji tomorrow, 5 october 2012. october is always a month of reflection for us here in fiji, as the celebration of our independence falls on this month, and together with it comes a sense of pride for what we have achieved as a nation, the resilience we show as a people when faced with challenging circumstances, and the renewed spirit of working together for the betterment of our future. i believe these are the same things we are celebrating for lici fiji today, in this month of october. a sense of pride to have been involved with fiji for 56 years, the resilience to remain an improved market player over the years of which some were very challenging, and the renewed spirit to serve the people of fiji with products and services that give us options, and suit our requirements. you are launching your new plan at a crucial phase of our economy ’ s business cycle. let me therefore make some comments on our economy : fiji economy & outlook our latest growth forecast of 2. 7 percent for 2012 is currently being reviewed as we finalise preparations for the 2013 national budget announcement. however, we at the reserve bank are assured that all indicators are generally moving in line with expectations. real sector growth has been broad based with some sectors exhibiting lower growth than forecasted and some others exceeding forecasts. investment is picking up and consumption is strong. in terms of the reserve bank ’ s twin statutory objectives, inflation is trending downwards ; the year - end inflation forecast remains unchanged at 3. 5 percent, and foreign reserves are comfortable at just under $ 1. 6 billion or the equivalent of 5 months of retained imports