Business highlights
JANUARY
■ CHALLENGES faced by some bus companies operating in the country were highlighted during the month, with some of them closing down operations. Also in January the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service uncovered a vehicle racket and seized an illegal shipment of vehicles. The Fiji Times also published stories on liquidity in the banks and its impact on the economy. In this month the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism also advised businesses on digital registration.
FEBRUARY
■ ONE of the listed entities (Future Forests Fiji) on the South Pacific Stock Exchange was delisted as it failed to provide its annual reports after the company was unable to recover from the damage it sustained during the past cyclones. In this month Ministry of Local Government reforms saw the merger of Public Rental Board and the Housing Authority. The Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association joined The Fiji Times to raise awareness on the challenges facing the tourism industry through weekly articles.
MARCH
■ BORDER closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of events such as the World Exchange Congress that was supposed to be hosted by the South Pacific Stock Exchange this year. Banks and financial institutions introduced hardship relief packages for their customers who were affected by the pandemic and lockdown. Small tourism operators succumbed to the impact with some closing down their operations.
APRIL
■ MINISTRY of Local Government and Housing announced repayment relief packages for Housing Authority customers. With Suva under lockdown the ministry also decentralised markets and set up satellite markets to allow market vendors to sell their produce. TC Harold devastated businesses in its wake leading to food banks being set up by the Ministry of Local Government with the Fiji National Provident Fund paying out members affected by the pandemic crisis and the cyclone.
MAY
■ FUEL and LPG prices dropped as per a review by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission
(FCCC) while businesses continued to highlight challenges faced. The Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF) assisted its members as it reported the closure of 66 businesses affected by the pandemic crisis. In the midst of challenges, Bred Bank invested $2 million to renovate its branch, showing its confidence in the economy.
JUNE
■ THE Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and Tourism Fiji launched the “Love our Locals” campaign to encourage locals to help revive the tourism industry. In this month kava traders raised their concern at the drop in kava prices which affected their income. Digicel invested $14 million in its network upgrade while in this month the Fiji National Provident Fund paid out $3.2m to members as per its COVID-19 relief
withdrawal scheme.
JULY
■ INTERNATIONAL credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Fiji’s rating from stable to negative in July. Also in this month the Fiji National Provident Fund declared 5 per cent interest for members and credited $286.2 million into members’ accounts. Government announced its 2020-2021 National Budget.
AUGUST ■ THE Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Monitor revealed the Fiji economy was projected to record an historic economic contraction of 15 per cent in 2020 because of COVID-19. The World Bank Group halted publication of the Doing Business report as an assessment was conducted in regards to the irregularities of the changes in data. Telecom Fiji announced its decision to invest $180 million in fibre infrastructure over the next five years. The Reserve Bank of Fiji’s economic review for the month said liquidity increased by $206.6 million between July and August.
SEPTEMBER
■ GOVERNMENT welcomed the internal audit on the Doing Business report by the World Bank. Vodafone notes an increase in international money transfer via M-PAiSA, from $1.5 million to $8.5m in the past few months. The Australian government committed $100,000 through the Market Development Facility (MDF) to support the resourcing and activities of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Council of Fiji. Reserve Bank of Fiji reported a net profit of $30.1m for 2019 to 2020 financial year. The month also saw an increase in fuel and LPG prices.
OCTOBER
■ MORE than 5000 applications for the concessional loan for MSMEs were assessed of which more than 3700 valued at $22.5 million have been approved. Warwick Fiji reopened its doors to the public, re-employing 50 locals. The SPX recorded 19 new/first time investors with majority of them investing in Fijian Holdings Ltd (FHL) and Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Ltd (ATH) shares. Fiji and the United States signed the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. HFC Bank recorded a net profit of $9.025 million for the year ending June 30, 2020.
NOVEMBER
■ RESERVE Bank of Fiji highlighted that inward remittances noted a strong growth (2.3 per cent) in the year to September. More than $136 million was paid out to 177,000 FNPF members under the COVID-19 withdrawal scheme relief which included a $43.7m government top-up. The Fijian Holdings Ltd announced Jaoji Koroi’s appointment as its new group CEO effective from March next year. Fiji National Provident Fund board chairman Daksesh Patel said they would start the process of finding a replacement f its outgoing CEO as soon as possible.
DECEMBER
■ WESPTAC Group announced sale of Westpac Fiji and Westpac’s 89.91 per cent stake in Westpac Bank PNG Ltd to Kina Securities Ltd. Digicel Fiji launched its mobile wallet to give its subscribers access to digital money and payment options. FijiCare Insurance Ltd marked 20 years of being listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange. The RBF reported a net profit of $30.1 million, slightly higher than the $28.9m recorded in the preceding financial year. Banks in Fiji pledged their support for the STC Yasa relief and rehabilitation efforts. FNPF extended its COVID-19 withdrawals for members until March 2021. After 30 years of operations, Nadi Bay Herbs (NBH) ceased its basil farming and export operations as a result of COVID-19 related impacts on its export markets.