Fiji calls for stronger intra-regional trade

Trade Pasifika 2014 was officially opened in Fiji Tuesday night with a firm recommendation from host country Fiji for stronger intra-regional trade among Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). This, it believes, will provide the best platform for exchange with international trade partners, given the many challenges that characterise business and entrepreneurship in individual countries…

Tourism Fiji on research trail

Tourism Fiji is seeking an internationally-experienced market research agency to conduct research into holiday visitor source markets. The research will focus on the key source markets for Fiji’s holiday visitors: Australia, New Zealand, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea and India. Ken Freer, Tourism Fiji’s director of global marketing said: “We…

Lack of business skills bug women

MANY Papua New Guinean women lack the basic skills for them to succeed as entrepreneurs. This was stressed by the prime minister’s wife Linda Babao in a remark at a fundraising breakfast sponsored by the PNG Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Babao said: “Women lack the basic knowledge in bookkeeping, budgeting, pricing, marketing, product…

Fiji central bank $39.9m transfer

THE central bank transferred $39.9million to the Fijian Government on Wednesday for the financial year ending December 31, 2013. In a statement, Reserve Bank governor Barry Whiteside said this comprised its total profit of $31.9m for the past financial year and $8m, which represented one-fifth of the balance of revaluation account as per the RBF…

Senior transport and energy officials meet in Nadi ahead of ministers’ meeting

Senior officials responsible for energy and transport in Pacific Island countries and territories gathered in Nadi, Fiji on Monday to participate in two days of meetings ahead of the Pacific Regional Energy and Transport (Aviation and Maritime) Ministers’ Meeting, which starts today. The officials’ meeting, organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in…

Simberi mine promotes safety among communities

ST Barbara’s Simberi operations in New Ireland has focused on community involvement to promote the national safety week which ended last Friday. Health and Safety superintendent Daan Van Pletzen said the company was putting more stress on schools around the island. Activities on Simberi began the previous Sunday, which saw nine different departments in the…

Japan joins Pacific infrastructure body

Usually when you are talking of billions of dollars of investment in the Pacific you are talking about countries like Papua New Guinea or East Timor. But, in terms of infrastructure, there is an organisation that has a budget of well over one billion dollars to invest in small Pacific countries.  The Pacifc Regional Infrastrucutre…