Governor, Reserve Bank Savenaca Narube of Fiji

Mr Narube said overall imports would rise as the Fiji dollar weakened coupled with higher duty which would raise the price of cement and cars out of Japan, dampening demand.

RESERVE Bank of Fiji Governor Savenaca Narube has reiterated the need for Fiji to raise domestic production of food, in order to mitigate the impact of soaring international food prices.

In a statement, Narube said that in the medium term, Fiji’s economy was forecast to grow by 1.

Narube said all sectors were expected to grow, with the exception of the community, social and personal services and finance, insurance, real estate & business services sectors.

Launching the system yesterday, Mr Narube said the Real Time Gross Settlement System called FIJICLEAR would not only improve efficiency in making and receiving payments, but will also help in safeguarding financial stability.

Mr Narube said the payments system was the backbone of a country's monetary and financial system and played a crucial role in a country's economic development"It is through the payment systems that money goes around.

Mr Narube said on its first day, FIJICLEAR handled total payments of about $172million, of which commercial bank payments were about $10million.

Savenaca Narube said there was a critical need for data on this sector.

Mr Narube said small and micro-enterprises entrepreneurs needed great training, for example in basic book-keeping, marketing, business planning, feasibility assessments, even on how to fill in the many forms that might be necessary and sometimes relatively complex, details needed in loan applications.

increase in the purchasing power of consumers.

Commenting on the 2008 Budget announcement later this week, Narube said that government should watch its distribution of resources to the various ministries.

After a steady recovery since 2001, Mr Narube was able to report last month that investment was at its highest level in many years.

An uncertain political environment scares away investors and tourists, both of which have played a critical part in our growth in the last five years, Mr Narube said in a central bank report.

As businesses continue to face problems with banks, Reserve Bank Governor Savenaca Narube says that despite this, they are happy with the credit rates offered by banks.

Narube said that from an industrial level this was good for the economy.

Narube said there needs to be more awareness needed to engage more exporters into using the Export Finance Facility.

portrait of QEII will be retained.

Reserve Bank of Fiji governor Savenaca Narube says while the global crisis will affect the real economy, its impact on Fiji’s Banking system is limited.

Narube says Fiji’s banking system remains strong, resilient and adequately capitalised.

held until his appointment as Governor.

last month that investment was at its highest level in many years.

Narube said in a central bank report.

Narube was reacting to Fijis rising inflation, which in recent months has topped 7.

Narube says the RBF was forecasting inflation to come back at five per cent at year end.

Mr Narube said “the global financial crisis and economic slowdown in our major trading partners is expected to have dampening effect on the domestic economy.

On the financial sector, Mr Narube said that Fiji’s banking system remained strong, resilient and adequately capitalized.

While the global crisis will affect the real economy, Mr Narube said its impact on the banking system was limited as liquidity is high and the financial institutions do not have any direct exposure to the international financial market given that bank lending was confined to domestic entities.

On the Bank’s objectives, Mr Narube said while domestic inflation had reached a 20-year high of 9.

Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) Governor Savenaca Narube said a snapshot of domestic economic conditions showed that Fijis economy declined heavily in 2007 but is recovering this year, albeit at a lower growth rate.

Unemployment is rising and poverty is worsening and now Fiji faces the global financial crisis, Mr Narube said.

Mr Narube said the crisis would have an impact on exports.

Mr Narube said the major drivers of the economy would be Tourism, Agriculture fishing, forestry, Manufacturing, except garments, Mining gold and Water.

Narube says the RBF does not know the details of that yet.

Narube said the key economic challenge that Fiji is facing is to correct the widening trade imbalance.

While the RBF since May 2004 had progressively raised interest rate and tightened liquidity to safeguard the external financial position of Fiji, Narube said even back then they had highlighted the need for Fiji to raise its exports.

The Chairman of the Macroeconomic Policy Committee and Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Savenaca Narube has announced that all sectors, except manufacturing and mining, were envisaged to record lower-than-expected performances, which have resulted in the relatively larger economic contraction.

Mr Narube said “the domestic economy remained weak, with growth forecast at 1.

Mr Narube said the international inflationary pressures have abated somewhat, as inflation eased to 8.

And realising the challenges it anticipated to face in this transition, FINTEL chairman Savenaca Narube said the company was prepared to take on these challenges and adapt to the changing demands of the new deregulated operating conditions.

Narube said FINTEL's new beginning needed a new face reasoning in this new trading condition, branding was everything.

These commitments go well beyond the call, Narube said while launching the new brand and image at Suva's Holiday Inn.

Savenaca Narube has been straight forward with the people of Fiji with no political agenda - he's stating it as it is!The replies in the media by failed politician and con-man Fred Caine has been obviously aimed at rubishing the reports coming out of Reserve Bank and they're placing MR Narube as the face to attack.

Speaking at the Economic Summit, Savenaca Narube said with so many figures flying around about the state of the economy, the Reserve Bank stands by its figures.

The way forward for US is to successfully change some of the existing structural features of our economy, Narube had said.