total dividends declared and distributed to shareholders amounted to around $ 57 million ; • the market capitalization, which represents the total value of stock listed on the exchange, reached a peak of $ 1. 2 billion in 2008 ; • the number of listed companies on the exchange has increased from 4 companies in 1996 to 16 in 2009 ; • the average value of trades per annum has increased from about $ 93, 000 for the first 5 years of the trading post to around $ 17. 1 million1 in the past 5 years ; • public companies have managed to raised around f $ 113 million using the stock exchange. considering the general level of fiji ’ s macro economic developments, these developments in the stock exchange are quite encouraging. challenges in the capital markets despite these achievements, i believe that we still have a long way to go in terms of developing a more vibrant capital market. fiji is generally regarded as having a relatively well developed financial sector among the pacific island countries. most of the basic fundamentals are in place, upon which we can built a more vibrant capital market. however, the range of investments and financing options available are very limited. the potential benefits of further mobilizing capital markets in fiji are significant, as you know - but so too, are the challenges. a number of challenges confront us in the development of the capital market in fiji. let me mention a few : 1. listing of more public companies and privatization of state enterprises to improve liquidity at the stock exchange - i believe that concerted efforts have been undertaken by both the spse and the cmda over the years to identify and recruit potential issuers of securities in the market. however, most companies remain reluctant to tap into the opportunities in the market. we need to find out why companies choose to remain private, or what ’ s hindering them to go public and list ; 2. development of new financial products – as i mentioned earlier, we need to make available more investments and financing instruments for both companies and potential investors, and provide financing options for government and municipal authorities ; 3. an efficient legal and regulatory framework is also an important element in promoting market integrity and investor confidence ; 4. a supportive macro - economic policy and financial environment is also critical for the capital market to grow as the economy grows ; 5. investor education is also important to raise the level of financial literacy both in the capital markets and financial sector generally. these are enormous challenges, which need to be addressed urgently if our capital market is to realize its

for short - term economic gains. as global experiences overwhelmingly show, the price that we will ultimately pay will be extremely painful. we can grow sustainably if we let growth be export - driven. i have suggested that we embark on a national export drive. like what the tourism industry has done, we can set targets for our traditional exports and even new exports. we can then mobilise the necessary resources and efforts to reach those targets. this cannot be the drive of government only. to be successful, it has to be a collective drive of the government, the private sector, industry organisations and even trade unions. we in the reserve bank are examining several ways that we could help promote exports. first, the forward exchange cover is still available for imports associated with exports, not only of goods, but also services. second, we are re - assessing the credit export facility that we offer through the commercial banks to see if it can be more attractive to small exporters. third, we are studying the provisioning of export credit guarantee with the help of the adb. lastly, we intend to convene a conference of interested groups on exports in the new year following on from our successful inaugural symposium two months ago. there are some emerging areas of exports that we need to harness. anaconda 2, shot in fiji and released recently, is, i hope, a leading wedge of what fiji can offer in the audio - visual industry. i believe that there is potential for growth in the information and technology industry. we have seen an increase in back - office services. we are fortunate to have invested in the southern cross submarine cable, which offers more than enough capacity to cater for the growth in the it related initiatives. before leaving this issue, i just want to emphasise the important role of fiscal policy in creating the enabling environment for growth and stability. fiscal policy has a greater and faster impact on the economy, and the role of government in promoting sustainable economic development is extremely vital. government has reduced the fiscal deficit to 3. 5 percent of gdp this year and further reduction is planned in the medium term. such a fiscal stance will strongly support the long - term sustainability of the economy and keep debt at a moderate level. raising the level of growth maintaining macroeconomic stability does not necessarily mean that we should be contented with lower levels of growth. we can and we must raise the long - term potential growth rate of the economy while maintaining stability. the only way to raise the potential of the