industry. specific policies related to the passenger car industry include compliance with euro 4 fuel standards and lower duties on both new vehicles and fuel efficient cars, including hybrids. this is important, especially when we need to look critically at reducing our fuel imports bill, which stands at nearly 30 percent of our total imports bill each year. looking ahead, i can see immense opportunity for the industry. fiji ’ s growing economy has resulted in a wider consumer base and, importantly, today ’ s automobile industry needs to strike the right balance between meeting customer product demands, minimizing costs and their impact on the economy and protecting environmental standards. i understand that asco motors and fiji ’ s automobile industry have moved towards introducing new models which are fuel efficient, affordable and have higher reliability and essentially transforming the future of mobility – which is timely for fiji especially in the event that global fuel prices begin to turn around sharply. the benefits from government ’ s higher capital spending are now clearly seen in our improved roads and other infrastructure. however, an unintended consequence of more affordable automobiles is increased congestion on our roads, as i have highlighted earlier with the growing number of registrations. i am sure we have all been a little frustrated, some more so than others, when caught in the morning and afternoon traffic jams in and around suva. while the scale is no way near the level i have experienced in manila or bangkok we are slowly getting there and it will be critical that the future effectiveness and efficiency of our road systems are addressed in a timely manner. the recent experiences we have been facing with our bridges and overloading of heavy trucks not only exacerbates the delays and travel times, but has a significant economic impact for businesses in general. therefore, in order to keep up with the growing economy and rising vehicle demand, the continued successful implementation of quality and adequate infrastructure as well as adherence to road standard requirements, are essential. concluding remarks ladies and gentlemen, in closing, let me just say that the economy has come a long way in recent years. despite the cyclones this year, there is still a great sense of confidence when we talk with the private sector and when we analyse the consumption and investment data. this year fiji will register its seventh consecutive year of growth. we have not had a similar period of sustained growth since the early 1970s. looking into the future, the near and medium term outlook for the fijian economy remains positive. as for the reserve bank ’ s twin monetary policy objectives, we see

so - called lending into arrears. such an approach would have to be designed to limit the moral hazard implications, incorporating strict conditionality. but it can be useful as a means of supporting a country as it takes remedial policy action through bridging finance. the issue of the standstill is, as many of you will know, controversial in the sovereign context, notwithstanding the fact that an informal standstill plays a crucial role in corporate workouts. voluntary debt rollover agreements with creditors or bond restructurings are, i believe, useful aspects of effective psi. but historical experience of involuntary sovereign debt standstills, in the form of payments suspensions, has not exactly been encouraging – the process has often been inefficient and inequitable. nevertheless, there are circumstances in a sovereign debt crisis where the immediate payments relief provided by a standstill may make an important contribution. an example would be where capital flight is pervasive because immediate policy adjustment is insufficient to bring about adequate voluntary private sector refinancing. in these circumstances, a standstill may realise the same advantages as in a corporate workout if it provides breathing space for remedial policy measures to be evaluated and put in place ; if it promotes creditor co - ordination and avoids unjustified creditor preference by treating creditors of the same type equitably ; and if it provides incentives to both creditors and debtors to reach a voluntary arrangement sooner rather than later. that is a lot of ifs and, as i have noted, a further provision is that if the standstill is supported by imf lending into arrears, it would need to be subject to strict conditionality. but again these conditions could usefully borrow from the corresponding provisions attached to corporate workout standstills. in both cases, the standstill should be subject to a strict time limit ; it should allow for a full release of all relevant information from debtor to creditors on a timely basis ; it should facilitate equitable treatment of similar types of creditors ( for example through the formation of bank creditor and bondholder committees ) ; it should provide for the seniority of any new money ; and above all it should deliver the rapid presentation of a restructuring plan to creditors. what this means is that any sovereign debt standstill would need to be orderly, efficient, equitable and expeditious. easier said than done, of course, especially given the fact that generally no single organisation represents the disparate