Page 25 - IB Jan 2018

Economy Development E-ticketing or e-misery P26
Media Shake-up for Radio Australia P28

DEVELOPMENT AGRICULTURE
Make land more accessible: IMF

Fiji urged to reopen must engage with all stakeholders before
introducing major policy changes.
“That will avoid unpleasant surprises,
credit bureau it will be better received by the private
sector.”
Also part of the team was Fiji’s repre-
by Mereseini Marau-Totoka sentative to the IMF- Lanieta Rauqeuqe.
The team had fruitful discussions with the
THE Fijian Government will need to im- Attorney General and Minister of Economy
prove its land lease processes if it has to Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, the Governor of
create a business friendly environment for the Reserve Bank of Fiji Ariff Ali, other
the private sector, says the International senior public officials, several govern-
Monetary Fund. ment agencies, development partners,
And the IMF projects that Fiji’s economy private sector representatives, and other
would grow by around 3.5 per cent in the stakeholders.
coming year and would maintain that Staff from the Asian Development Bank
growth in the medium term. also joined some of the discussions. The
Improving land lease processes is one In addition, a possible growth slowdown team thanked the Fijian authorities for
of the few conditions the team from the in China could affect Fiji through its trad- their hospitality and excellent cooperation.
IMF who were recently in Fiji suggested to ing partners, especially Australia and New Based on the preliminary findings of this
government from their preliminary find- Zealand. On the domestic side, Murphy mission, the team will prepare a report that
ings on their annual country surveillance. said a stalling of structural reform mo- will be presented to the IMF’s executive
Murphy said in order for the private mentum could discourage private sector board for discussion and decision.
sector to thrive which would in turn drive development and investment. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Fiji has
economic recovery, conditions must be “Sustaining strong growth will depend released its first publication on financial
put in place to improve the business on maintaining financial stability, rebuild- stability for Fiji. The publication of the
environment. ing fiscal policy buffers, and boosting Financial Stability Review is one of the key
While Murphy and his team acknowl- private sector development. Improving strategies under the Bank’s strategic goal
edged the existing mechanisms to use the business environment will propel of macroeconomic stability stated in the
land and several efforts by the Fiji Govern- private investment and growth as fiscal Reserve Bank 2014 - 2018 strategic plan.
ment to improve leases like the introduc- and monetary policy support is gradually In summarising the assessment in the
tion of a land bank, they heard from the withdrawn.” October 2017 Financial Stability Review,
private sector that lease processes were Among other conditions they suggested Governor Ali stated that “the sound finan-
lengthy and time consuming. would improve economic growth was the cial position of financial institutions, mod-
“What they told us is the lease condi- re-establishment of a credit bureau. The erating debt concerns of the household
tions are not flexible enough to satisfy team believed that was a key piece in the and corporate sectors, together with the
both owners of the land and others trying financial infrastructure. positive macroeconomic conditions have
to get the lease.” “Remember there was a data bureau contributed to the stability of the Fijian
“We believe there is space for improve- that was shut down in 2016, we think it’s financial system.”
ment there.” important to open a new one. This institu- The report further highlights that with
Murphy and his team noted that Fiji’s tion plays an important role and govern- the growing effects of climate change,
projected growth rate for this year is 4 per ment is working on that,” said Murphy. natural disasters remain a great concern
cent despite recovering from the stron- “Hopefully in 2018, there is concrete news as they can significantly impact domestic
gest cyclone ever to make landfall in the on that one. This is a key measure in im- growth prospects and in turn, the stability
southern hemisphere- Tropical Cyclone proving business environment.” of the financial system.
Winston. This is its eighth consecutive He said the re-introduction of the credit Governor Ali emphasised that the Re-
year of expansion. bureau would allow lenders to know who serve Bank will continue to strengthen its
After spending two weeks in Fiji from has a good credit record and who hasn’t. macro-prudential surveillance framework
the end of November to early December, “That allows to cover better risk man- to deliver its key mission of macroeco-
the team also concluded that risks to the agement, the process of financial inter- nomic and financial stability.
economic outlook are largely related to mediation will be less risky. That would He also announced that the IMF will
external development. Murphy says the facilitate growth, which makes the lending be undertaking a financial sector stability
island economy is vulnerable to natural business less risky.” review of Fiji’s financial system in early
disasters that weigh in on growth. A The team also suggests that government 2018 which will complement the work
tightening of global financial conditions must rationalise price control. Murphy said currently undertaken by the bank.
could affect capital inflows. they believed that the Fijian government r mememarau@gmail.com

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