fiji, and no longer the “ new kid on the block ”. that title belongs to another bank now. you have adjusted well and in line with the economic conditions faced here. you continue to make significant contributions to fiji ’ s financial landscape in partnership with a wide group of stakeholders. i read recently that bsp won the connected world forum award for the best bank - led mobile money programme at the mobile money global summit and expo in dubai. the connected world awards celebrate the very best in mobile money with specific emphasis on innovation & service. congratulations are definitely in order. bis central bankers ’ speeches innovation is definitely a hallmark of bank south pacific ’ s services being provided across fiji and we are fully appreciative of your new technology rollouts. you were the first bank in fiji to introduce sms banking and you rightly boast the largest network of atms and wireless eftpos machines across the country. i note that this refurbished branch has revamped its customer service areas. understandably there has been a migration to the second floor, but also there is a new foreign exchange bureau accessible to the street. this is no doubt a natural response to the tourist traffic through nadi on a daily basis. you have all now had an opportunity to look at our new flora and fauna series of notes and coins, which have been in circulation since the 2nd january. we hope that the fiji public will be proud of their new currency and that it will continue to be a source of pride for all fijians for a long time. we at the reserve bank trust that the images on our currency will quickly become household names and provide instant recognition of our heritage and of the beauty that surrounds us here in fiji. the reserve bank will continue to roll out its awareness campaigns over the next several months, including to schools. logistically, in terms of issuance of our new currency, all the coins and the $ 10, $ 20, $ 50 and $ 100 notes commenced issuing on the 2nd january. however there will be a co - circulation period with most of the old design currency notes up to december of this year as we run down stocks. this co - circulation will not apply to the old $ 2 and $ 5 notes. the old design coins will remain in circulation, so for those who are already missing the queen you may take some comfort in this. the new $ 5 polymer or “ plastic ” note will be issued once we have withdrawn the existing $ 2 notes from circulation. this is

$ 1. 8 billion at the end of last year, sufficient to cover 4. 9 months of retained imports of goods and non - factor services. ladies and gentleman, what is in store for us in 2014? pre - 2014 national budget forecast for growth in 2014 was 3. 0 percent. however, given the significant increase in government expenditure on infrastructure, wages and salaries and social benefits such as free education as announced in the 2014 national budget, growth is now forecast to surpass the projection and is currently being reviewed. additionally, the surge in consumption and investment spending is expected to continue and can even be further boosted by the increased disposable income. confidence in the economy is expected to remain strong and is supported by sentiments expressed by retailers and businesses in rbf ’ s business expectations and retail sales surveys which suggests a positive outlook for consumption and investment activity in 2014. macroeconomic fundamentals are poised to remain strong and conducive to growth in business in 2014. a growing economy should therefore augur well for the micro, small, and medium enterprises. 2. importance of the micro, small & medium enterprises ( msmes ) to the economy we all recognise that micro, small and medium enterprises ( msmes ) play a vital role in economic development. they are an important engine of economic growth not only for less developed economies but also the advanced nations. i am sure you all know why msmes are important. i will therefore re - iterate these factors briefly : • it raises economic growth : in developing countries in asia, smes make up the bulk of their economies, some as high as 60 percent of gdp. in fiji, there are bis central bankers ’ speeches approximately 4, 200 registered msmes, mainly in the agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and retailing and tourism sectors. it is estimated that the msmes sector accounted for almost 12 percent of our gdp in 2013 valued at around $ 800 million. however, total outstanding borrowing by this sector from the commercial banks was $ 316 million as at the end of 2013 or just above 8 percent of the total loans portfolio. this shows that this sector is still largely untapped and there is a lot of potential to develop a strong msme sector as this leads to job creation, empowering individuals, increase exports and investments and in turn economic activity. • it raises exports / investment : small businesses do not always stay small ; they grow. many of our now large companies like tappoos, motibhais, hot