ATTORNEY-GENERAL
says there are lots of investment opportunities here
Acting Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there is a lot of opportunities in Fiji for investors to capitalise on.
Officiating at a New Zealand Fiji Business Council (NZFBC) trade mission event in Suva yesterday, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Fijian government stood ready to help not just traditional investors but also other investors.
The New Zealand Fiji Business Council mission has brought to Fiji a group of New Zealand businesses as diverse as Pacific Engineering Projects Ltd to Sailax Shipping and Freight. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said some investors could open the doors for a more knowledge-based Fijian service.
He said the economy had been growing in the past consecutive seven years and was expected to grow more in the next eight to nine years.
However, he reiterated that Government realised that they must have the right resources and interventions to capitalise on the growth with the right human resources.
With agriculture being an important investment sector in Fiji, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said he believed that there were lots of opportunities in the agricultural sector. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said with the change in the law allowing for agriculture lease term to increase from 30 years to 99 years, there were opportunities for people to invest.
He said there were a lot of opportunities for NZ companies whether in the services sector or manufacturing because Fiji is the hub of the Pacific.
With the World Bank moving offices to Suva, World Health Organisation and NGOs, business and investors who wish to set up here in Fiji are able to connect to these and other agencies. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said these facilities could develop and take advantage of the agencies around them.
Meanwhile, the Fiji New Zealand Business Council (FNZBC) is aware that Fiji is New Zealand’s largest trading partner in the Pacific.
NZFBC chairman Chandar Sen said government agencies such as the Reserve Bank of Fiji; Investment Fiji; the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority and the Immigration Department were among those making presentations. Mr Sen also invited Mr SayedKhaiyum on June 15 to NZ to attend a one-day annual conference in Auckland.