to highlight some of these major accomplishments : • the enhancement to its life product offering through the launch of the bula prime product in 2011. • the re - branding of dominion house to bsp life centre, which now accommodates all of bsp life ’ s operations. • the opening of a new customer services centre on the ground floor of bsp life centre. i am told that walk - in customers are averaging 2, 000 per week, double what they were before the office opened. • the opening of a lautoka office, to complement the nadi branch and to provide greater service to customers in the west. • the rollout of new medical products earlier this year, including the introduction of an india evacuation product at very affordable premiums. i understand that bsp life has partnered with the world renowned apollo chain in india which provides a broad range of specialist medical services. access to india is now seamless via hong kong or seoul and the quality of services at apollo, i am told, is world class. in 2012 apollo treated over 60, 000 international patients at their delhi facility alone. i think these numbers provide some indication of the acknowledgement of the quality of the treatment available. bis central bankers ’ speeches • in so far as investments go, the bsp life portfolio has grown to $ 323 million. most of this money is invested in fiji, helping to provide employment for our people and helping to grow our economy. • i also note the strong financial standing of the business as publicly declared in the company ’ s recent key disclosure statement for 2012. this augurs well for future growth and ongoing returns to bsp life policy holders. i am pleased to note a significant investment in marketing by the bsp group to create awareness of the need to invest and protect our financial future. with the take - up of life insurance at less than 15 percent of our population, bsp life has taken a lead role in creating awareness of the critical need for us to have insurance and protect our loved ones. bsp life and bsp bank have also been key partners, along with other stakeholders, in the reserve bank of fiji ’ s ongoing efforts to promote financial inclusion and financial literacy in fiji. launch of bula elite and concluding remarks ladies and gentlemen, it is clear that bsp life has strongly established itself in life and health insurance in the fiji market over such a short period of time. tonight is another special milestone in the company ’ s growth as a major player in fiji ’

& storage, building & construction, and the agriculture sector. most notable, however, is its dominant role in servicing private individuals ’ financing needs for taxis, mini - buses, carriers, tour operators and rental cars - - your typical small and medium business enterprises. these areas often cover the highest risk and are completely reliant on the successful management of the particular business. while risk management is at the forefront of ensuring the soundness of a financial institution, the competitive market in which credit institutions operate calls for continuous innovation in designing products that will be successful. the potential for increased trade by fijian entrepreneurs has long been identified and the four trade finance facilities that will be launched by merchant finance limited this evening will complement similar trade finance facilities currently offered by other financial institutions. perhaps more importantly however, they are specifically designed for small and medium enterprises ( smes ), and small farmers. i do not wish to delve into the features of these new products as we will shortly be provided with all the details, but i can congratulate merchant finance on its product development initiative and thank the company for its continued commitment to better service and innovation. bis central bankers ’ speeches the fijian economy ladies and gentlemen, it is somewhat of a tradition on these occasions that i say a few words on our economy. i think it is particularly pertinent at this time in view of what has been happening around us. so please bear with me. i did mention earlier this week at the vision investments limited listing that it is still too early to come up with firm numbers on the damage caused by tc winston and that we were still assessing the impact on our projected growth numbers. before the event, the fijian economy was forecast to grow 3. 5 percent this year, and possibly even a little better. what i can now say is that while we expect a number lower than 3. 5 percent, it is certainly not all doom and gloom. it is still early in the year and we are hopeful that many of our sectors will be able to bounce back quickly if given the right support. clearly we have seen through pictures and the media that enormous damage was done to our informal sector private dwellings, mainly in villages that were in the path of the storm, and these will take time to rebuild. our agriculture sector has also been severely impacted and will need special attention in order to recover. this includes our sugar industry. thankfully, in terms of the business sector which drives much of our economic activity, we have noted that