FIJI SUN: Australian investment in Fiji in 2013 increased by a whopping 559 per cent when compared with 2012.
The Permanent Secretary for Industry and Trade, Shaheen Ali, revealed this, saying this increase followed a period of decline.
Australian investment in Fiji in 2013 was $340 million (US$183 million), up by $288.4 million (US$155.5 million).
In 2012 it was $51.6 million (US$27.8 million).
“It is therefore clear that Australian investors are returning to Fiji to take advantage of the investment boom currently underway,” he said.
Ali was addressing 19 investors from Australia who are currently in Fiji exploring opportunities in a number of sectors such as include tourism, agriculture, manufacturing (garments), education and many more.
The group is made up of those from Australia as well as former Fijians.
He was speaking in Suva during the Australian Investment and Trade Exploratory Seminar organised by the Consular General Sydney.
Reiterating the Prime Minister’s words,Ali stressed smart investors are not waiting until after the elections in September to invest.
“Smart investors – who have confidence in Fiji – are putting their plans into action now to enjoy to the maximum benefits of an upward trend,” he said.
“No doubt these investors will be rewarded in the long-term for your foresight and decisiveness.”
Ali said Fiji is not just the perfect investment destination in the Pacific but is the ideal location for trade.
“More and more businesses are beginning to understand that Fiji is not only a market of 800,000 people, but a gateway to a market of more than 10 million across the Pacific,” he said.
“The bottom line is that Australia and Fiji are natural trading partners and we must work together to reach the full potential of our relationship.”
Ali revealed that a recent report for Fiji’s National Trade Policy Framework indicated there is a huge amount of untapped potential for trade in the Australian market.
“Eighty per cent of exports to Australia are currently made up of garments and gold,” he said.
“If these commodities are removed, exports to Australia would be equal to Fijian exports to New Zealand, which has an economy seven times smaller than Australia.
“Clearly, there’s lots of room for growth in our trading relationship.”
Ali encouraged the investors to consider the potential of outsourcing parts of their production processes to Fiji.
“We believe that there are comparative advantages here that make sense to a company’s bottom line,” he said.
– FIJI SUN
