the customers. westpac again has been at the forefront of such developments. one product that we are keen to push is the export finance facility where eligible exporters can access bank loans at low interest rates. unfortunately, for some reason, it has not been used much by exporters and the banks. westpac came to us suggesting some changes to the facility and i thank them for the initiative. we have therefore introduced most of the changes that they suggested and we hope that these changes will make the facility more attractive and facilitate the growth in exports – which we sorely need to improve our balance of payments position. i encourage you to talk to your bank commercial bank or the fiji development bank about this facility. there were two cabinet decisions recently that pose considerable interests to the industry. we heard that cabinet has approved the establishment of a financial services ombudsman scheme. there are several countries like new zealand and australia that has such a scheme and we can learn from their experiences in the operation and the funding of their ombudsman. when properly set up, this ombudsman scheme should help both customers and bankers settle disputes in a timely and efficient manner. we have also heard that cabinet has also approved the establishment of a financial services commission. we certainly look forward to government discussing this rather complex issue further with all stakeholders. westpac nakasi let me turn to the branch that we are opening this evening. i am pleasantly surprised at the development happening in nakasi. i know the locality very well as i used to live here in the early eighties. in fact, the apartment that we stayed in was at this very site that this complex has been built. there was only the gulab supermarket and cinema at that time. now, we have major supermarkets and shopping centers that have set up in this area. i am sure that this growth will continue into the future. i am therefore pleased that a commercial bank has decided to establish a branch in this busy part of the suva - nausori corridor. it makes good business sense for westpac to establish a branch here. westpac is the only bank branch for kilometers in any direction. your customers must be glad that they don ’ t have to travel far towards suva or nausori for their banking services. i am told that this is a fully - fledged branch which offers a dynamic business centre complete with an interview room and a separate business teller ’ s area. the new branch will cater not only for businesses, but also residents

is expected to contribute to growth in wholesale & retail trade and hotels & restaurants and transport & communication sectors. in addition, better performances are expected from agriculture, forestry and fishing and manufacturing sectors. the re - opening of the vatukoula gold mine will also contribute to economic growth in 2008. government policies i said that predictability and certainty in government policies and their implementation is also important. as you know, the government budget will be delivered in two weeks time. we look forward to the announcement of economic policies that will take us forward in the next two years. in my view, a key foundation of such a policy framework is to allow the private sector to be the growth locomotion. for the private sector to better play this role, it needs certainty and predictability. another important component of the framework would be reforms to allow us to use our scarce resources as effectively as possible. financial system let me now say something on the financial system. i would like to start by emphasizing that the financial system remains sound. with the credit ceiling in place and the slowdown in the economy, the rate of credit growth has declined to around 8 percent compared to the highs of close to 25 percent eighteen months ago. i consider this rate of growth commensurate with our current economic conditions. i wish to clarify that the reserve bank does allow banks to exceed their credit ceiling for lending to priority sectors, for investment and to the micro, small and medium sized enterprises. at the same time, the bank has allowed liquidity in the financial system to rise which has led to lower interest rates. we intend to review the credit ceiling at the end of the year. the efficiency of the financial system is important to everyone particularly businesses and investors. we launched “ fijiclear ” – fiji ’ s electronic payment system on 16 october. fijiclear is an important component of the bank ’ s overall plan to modernise the financial system in fiji – it will improve efficiency in making and receiving payments as well as help safeguard financial stability. the system is secure and its key elements are speed, certainty, reliability and convenience. payments using this system will deliver funds the same day compared to 3 to 6 days required to clear cheques. i invite businesses to start taking advantage of the new system. we worked very closely with laurie in his role as the chairman of the association of banks in fiji on this project and i must thank him and his association for their support and cooperation. rooster poultry it is with this investment and