. the global economy is recovering markedly and this should augur well for our exports and tourism industries, which are supporting the domestic economic recovery. on the sectoral performance, aside from the sugar industry, which continues to show low performance, recent data indicate continued strong growth in visitor arrivals and improvements for the gold and fish sectors. there is also some indication of modest increases in consumption activity with consumer spending aided by improvements in the labour market, increased lending and higher inward personal remittances. inflation declined further to 5. 4 percent in july from 5. 5 percent in june and is expected to further decrease to around 5. 0 percent by the end of the year. on the external sector, the trade deficit narrowed in the first five months of this year, thus keeping the foreign reserves at adequate levels. consequently, bank liquidity remains at high levels. overall, the domestic economy is showing sign of improvements however, the speed of recovery is slow. given the need to support economic activity and kickstart the economy, the reserve bank decided to maintain the overnight policy rate ( opr ) at 3. 00 percent during the august board meeting. capital markets in fiji ladies and gentlemen, let me brief you on some of the work that we are doing to develop the capital markets to another level. at the outset, i wish to state that a partnership approach will help progress this faster. as i mentioned earlier, two weeks ago we had a similar seminar in suva and i am happy to say that it was a great success. the rbf had also organised 2 microfinance expos – one in ba and the recent one last week during the hibiscus festival. financial literacy sessions by financial institutions, spse and some players in the capital markets were also carried out during these events. it was encouraging to see the general public at these two venues expressing interest and wanting to know more about the capital markets. in march this year, the reserve bank formed the capital markets development taskforce. the membership of the taskforce is mainly from the private sector with governor sada reddy as the chair. it was the rbf ’ s intention that the private sector involvement in the development of the capital market, similar to the cmda days, continued hence the formation of the taskforce. the taskforce will assist the rbf in strategising on how to tackle some of the longstanding challenges that have hindered the development of capital markets in fiji. “ grow your company, grow the economy

: have you considered the capital markets? ” – what can be done? our role is to see that we create the regulatory and business environment in the capital market that is conducive and supportive of private sector development such that they become the engine of growth in the economy. we hope that by having this seminar in the west and inviting some prominent companies listed on the spse to share their experiences, businesses in the community will be better informed and encouraged to use the capital market given its associated benefits. i assure you that the reserve bank will do whatever it can to ensure the development of the capital markets, and will play a pivotal role in public education and investor awareness programs to foster confidence in the markets. we will also spearhead initiatives in partnership with other agencies including government to develop the capital market. similarly, we will dialogue with fellow regulators and find amicable solutions to areas that are deemed restrictive to the capital markets realising its full potential. our commitment to creating an enabling environment for businesses in the capital markets is evident in the reduced corporate tax of 20 % incentive for companies that list on spse and with minimum 40 percent local equity shareholding. i wish to mention that following cabinet approval, reviews are currently underway to amend the capital markets and unit trust legislations. this we hope will facilitate economic development and improve the governance structures of companies. ladies and gentlemen, today we are fortunate that we have with us those that have experienced what it is like to be listed on the spse. they will share with us their experiences pre and post listing. it is my sincere hope that this seminar will demystify some of the concerns that surround this industry and that in the process we would see more activities in the spse and capital markets going forward. i urge you all to make best use of this opportunity to hear from them and also network with our licensed intermediaries who can assist and answer questions that you may have relating to capital raising in the capital markets and listing on the stock exchange. thank you again for your time and i wish you all a very good evening. vinaka.