Our economic growth prospects favourable: RBF Governor Ali
According to him, lending activity continues to support recovery, foreign reserves of $3.6 billion remain comfortable and Fiji’s recovery is on track.
Fiji’s economic growth prospects are favourable however volatile global events could impact growth trajectories moving forward.
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Ariff Ali, echoed similar sentiments while speaking at the Attorney-General’s Conference on Saturday in Nadi.
The current permacrisis he said continued to weigh heavily on global growth prospects and recession fears run rampant.
“A wide array of policies was implemented to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and assist in the recovery,” Mr Ali said.
“Domestic economy is recovering well. Prospects are favourable but volatile global events could impact growth trajectory moving forward.”
He said COVID-19 had unprecedentedly affected the world while the Russia-Ukraine crisis intensified with sanctions, having a farreaching impact across the globe.
The war, which has led to spikes in prices in global energy and food markets, has also resulted in a persistent supply chain issue with freight costs remaining above pre-pandemic levels.
Geopolitical tensions and inward-looking policies continue to impact trade, and global inflation continues to soar.
Locally, Mr Ali said RBF injected $1.6 billion into the economy by investing in government bonds, providing advice to Government, helped businesses and households weather the crisis by introducing the Small, Medium Entrepreneurs Credit Guarantee Scheme, worked with financial institutions on the debt repayment moratorium amongst others.
According to him, lending activity continues to support recovery, foreign reserves of $3.6 billion remain comfortable and Fiji’s recovery is on track.
COVID-19 had unprecedentedly affected the world while the Russia-Ukraine Crisis intEnsifiED with sanctions, having a far-reaching impact across the globe. Ariff Ali Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji