mas'interest expense in fy22 / 23. to combat inflation, the major central banks raised interest rates at an unprecedented pace. in fy22 / 23, the us federal reserve raised the target range for its policy rate by a total of 4. 5 % points. singapore dollar interest rates also increased sharply. the singapore overnight rate average ( sora ) rose by 3 % points during this period. mas could not have avoided this interest expense. doing so would have undermined exchange rate policy and domestic market functioning. if mas had not intervened in the foreign exchange market, the exchange rate would have appreciated even more, and this would have severely hurt the export sector and economic growth. if mas had not mopped up the excess liquidity created by this intervention, the market mechanism for determining interest rates and allocating capital would have broken down. this in turn would have created financial vulnerabilities such as excessive credit growth and inflated asset prices. the negative currency translation effects and interest expenses reflect the consequential cost of carrying out mas'function as a central bank – which is to conduct monetary policy conducive to sustained non - inflationary economic growth. the relevant measure of mas'financial performance is not currency translation effects or interest expenses but how well its investments have done. mas made a small gain of s $ 0. 6 billion on its investment portfolio amidst a depressed market environment. last year was an unusual year for financial markets, with both equity and bond markets performing poorly. the rapid increase in policy rates by global central banks, elevated inflation and slowing economic growth adversely affected both bond and equity prices. most of these losses were unrealised, and we made valuation provisions against them. mas accounts for its investments on a lower of cost and market value ( locom ) basis. this is a conservative approach as we fully provide for any unrealised valuation losses below cost but we do not recognise any unrealised valuation gains. mas'investment performance has to be viewed from a longer - term perspective given the year - to - year volatility in financial markets. 7 / 16 bis - central bankers'speeches since the 2008 global financial crisis, mas'investment portfolio had benefited from a period of low inflation and low interest rates. including this latest year, mas recorded an annual average investment gain of s $ 11. 7 billion in the last 15 years. the key question mas focuses on is not whether the negative currency translation effects or interest expenses persist but whether the

barry whiteside : brief comments on fiji ’ s economy opening address by mr barry whiteside, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the launch of bsp life ’ s new “ bula elite ” product, suva, 13 june 2013. * * * mr. robin fleming, chief executive officer, bsp group mr. kevin mccarthy, bsp fiji country manager mr. malakai naiyaga, managing director, bsp life limited members of the board, management and staff of bsp life limited and bank south pacific distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen introductory comments bula vinaka and a very good evening to you all! i am delighted to be here this evening at yet another key bsp event, this time to launch bsp life ’ s new bula elite product. thank you, malakai, for your kind invitation. since establishing its presence in fiji, the bsp group has elevated the standards of innovation for financial products and services in both banking and insurance, and has become a leading player in both industries. the launch of another life product is a further endorsement of the success of the bsp group and the key role it plays in fiji ’ s financial system. we at the reserve bank are seeing the flow - on effects of such business success in our domestic economy, through increased positive sentiments and actions by the private sector. let me therefore make some comments on the economy. economic update & outlook we all know that fiji is a small open economy – so what happens globally will generally find its way back to us in one form or the other. while global growth is trending upwards, it is really being pulled along by growth in the major emerging economies ( or the brics as we refer to them ). in contrast, slowdowns are forecast for most of our trading partners in 2013, with much of the eurozone in recession and having been there for the last 4 to 6 quarters. but all this has not dampened our own recent domestic output and the forecasts we have set for the near term. on the domestic front, gdp growth this year is forecast at 2. 7 percent, a little improvement on the 2. 5 estimated for 2012. an important takeaway is that our growth is broad - based with almost all sectors making a positive contribution. in 2013, growth is being led by agriculture, manufacturing, the finance and construction sectors. while we know that investment is the “ driver ” of growth, it is the private sector that is the recognized “