and domestic capital markets via corporate and household confidence. with regard to prices, import prices are rising, mainly reflecting the rebound in crude oil prices in addition to the prior depreciation of the yen. domestic wholesale prices are declining mainly due to the decrease in prices of electrical machinery. consumer prices continue to be somewhat weak owing to the decline in prices of imported products and their substitutes. corporate service prices continue to decrease. as for the conditions surrounding price developments, the prior yen depreciation is exerting upward pressure on prices. however, with the ongoing adjustments in economic activities, the balance between supply and demand in the domestic market is likely to exert downward pressure on prices. furthermore, in addition to the declining trend of machinery prices caused by technological innovations, the decreases in the prices of goods and services reflecting deregulation and the streamlining of distribution channels will continue to restrain price developments. overall, prices are expected to be weak for the time being. moreover, given the high degree of uncertainty regarding future economic developments, the possibility that weak demand will intensify downward pressure on prices warrants careful monitoring. this report is based on data and information available at the time of the bank of japan monetary policy meeting held on june 14 and 15, 2001. the bank ’ s view of recent economic and financial developments, determined by the policy board at the monetary policy meeting held on june 14 and 15 as the basis for monetary policy decisions. in the financial market, the overnight call rate is basically moving at about 0. 01 percent under the guideline for money market operations to maintain the current - account balance at the bank of japan at around 5 trillion yen. interest rates on term instruments are level on the whole. the japan premium remains negligible. yields on long - term government bonds recently decreased to 1. 1 - 1. 2 percent after remaining flat at 1. 2 - 1. 3 percent. the yield spreads between private bonds ( bank debentures and corporate bonds ) and government bonds are mostly unchanged or contracting somewhat. stock prices continue to be weak, reflecting the somewhat more cautious views of market participants toward future corporate profits. in the foreign exchange market, the yen appreciated against the u. s. dollar toward early june, but has weakened thereafter and is currently being traded in the range of 120 - 123 yen to the u. s. dollar. with regard to corporate finance, private banks continue to be more active in extending loans, mainly to blue - chip companies, while carefully evaluating

empowerment & participation of women in social and economic activities. so you see, we are interested for the simple reason that microfinance can play a key role in the economic development and wellbeing of our people and country. we believe that through microfinance, many of the poor and unbaked in our communities will have the opportunity to access financial services to improve their living standards. ladies and gentlemen, microfinance is not only about loans. it also includes savings, payments, micro insurance services and capacity building of clients. i hope that at the end of our expo, the people of labasa would be better informed about these financial services. not only that, but we would like to see new micro business initiatives spring up, resulting in improved living standards. the theme for this third microfinance expo is “ inspiring growth through microfinance ”. when we look at statistics, the informal sector, which includes small and microentrepreneurs, contributes around 17percent of our gdp. 1 in some asian countries, this particular sector form around 60 – 80 percent of gdp. you can see then that there is a lot that can be done to develop the microfinance and small business sector to become a major contributor to the development and growth of our country. the north can contribute to this objective. labasa, as well as the entire northern division has become a national priority in government ’ s current development focus. there is availability of vast untapped resources in the northern division. with proper policies and support in place, these resources can be harnessed to produce business opportunities and source of living for the people in this region. the government is keen on realizing this. we intend to visit some projects under the northern development initiatives today. we have heard some encouraging developments and will see them whilst we are here. rbf policies to support and promote microfinance in the last 17 months, you may have noticed that the reserve bank has implemented a number of new initiatives to promote microfinance and greater financial inclusion in fiji. in april 2009 a new department was established in the bank, the financial systems development and compliance group. this group has been tasked with spearheading developments in the areas of microfinance, financial literacy, remittances, complaints management, capital markets and payments systems. to develop microfinance in fiji, the reserve bank issued a policy in december last year to all commercial banks to establish microfinance units at all their branches by january