THE recent November Honiara riots will certainly discourage foreign investors to come and invest in our country, and exacerbated by the Covid-19 and other factors, Principal Magistrate Felix Hollison says when sentencing two rioters, Thursday.
Mr. Hollison said the offending added to the destruction and devastation of considerable number of buildings and business houses mainly the Chinatown district, Kukum and Burns creek area, in East Honiara.
“The publicity that the recent Honiara riots received by the mainstream and international media portrayed a negative impression of the economic climate in the country which is sadly accurate,” Mr. Hollison said.
He added that the estimated loss is more than SBD 200 million at the minimum and this amount is expected to increase as the Central Banks of Solomon Islands is still in the process of collating data from the businesses, companies and individuals who were affected.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Newsroom, Honiara
