MSME bank report
FIJIAN Holdings Ltd (FHL) has completed a feasibility study it commissioned on the proposed establishment of a Resources and MSME Investment Bank in Fiji.
In a panel discussion at the inaugural MSME Conference in Suva yesterday, FHL group chief executive officer Jaoji Koroi said they had been provided the final report.
“The choices were whether we can establish a new bank to look at specifically for this space, or we can extend the services provided by Merchant Finance,” Mr Koroi said.
“One of the key objectives was to validate the demand in this sector and that has come out significantly,” Mr Koroi said.
“We have identified a lot of opportunities in this lending but it requires a different type of lending.
“It also needs a lot of hybrid financing.” Mr Koroi said they were looking at those options now to be implemented through Merchant Finance.
He said they were trying to expand the products offering at Merchant Finance to cater for the MSME segment.
“Merchant Finance will be coming to the market soon with a lot of products in this space, specifically for women, specifically vanua investments or products, land development and even resources sectors.
“We’re targeting resource sectors to be unlocked with resource owners and involve them in their business.”
In July last year, the FHL Group had issued an invitation for expressions of interest from reputable and qualified firms and individuals to undertake the feasibility study.
According to FHL, this initiative is part of the Government and iTaukei institutions’ collaboration for the economic empowerment of resource owners.