Fiji: More

Than

‘Black

Sex’

Japanese investment in Fiji

continues to build up, par ticularly in the area of land and tourism investment.

As the money moves in, so do the Japanese tourists, mostly on tickets paid for at home, to stay in accommo dation with a strong Japanese

interest. Why they come,

according to Fiji tourist indus try operators keen to cash in, varies from sun, sea, cheap golfing facilities, just a new place to go and an interest in “black sex”.

The suggestion of black sex as a drawcard has been hotly denied by United Tourist Fiji Ltd which has been promoting Fiji in Japan, and by the chair man of the Fiji Visitors Bureau, Mr Mahendra Patel, who de nounced the idea of trying to attract tourists with “such pub

licity”.

When Taisei, one of Japan’s biggest construction groups, bought into the resort develop ment of Pacific Harbour, 55 km from Suva, steady, if not furi ous, development was expected to result and the possibility of the scheme attracting more Japanese investment was con sidered likely. At that stage, Taisei formed the SPP-Taisei Ltd with Southern Pacific

Properties of Hong Kong, in

which the British P&O ship ping group is a large share holder. They paid out $5 million for 2 400 ha of the 2 800 ha section which South Pacific Properties owned at Pacific Harbour.

Taisei took the bulk of re

sponsibility of planning and

developing the resort, and had

plans for small village-type

complexes similar to that already established at Pacific Harbour. A resident Taisei planner now lives at Pacific

Harbour although no building

has actually begun.

It now appears that the

Japanese yen-backed invest-

ment is to be joined by the petro-dollars of the Arabs.

Saudi Arabian multi-mil lionaire Adnan Kahshoggi’s

Triad Holdings Corporation is

buying out the SPP share holders in Pacific Harbour and the chain of Travelodge hotels

in Fiji.

The already-established sec tions of the Pacific Harbour re sort, operated by Hotels and

Development Ltd, a wholly

owned subsidiary of SPP, will now be fully owned by the Saudi Arabian group, with Taisei International Corpor ation Ltd “developing other sections of land at the Pacific Harbour complex”, an SPP spokesman said.

On the other side of Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu, near Nadi, Fuji Kon Fiji Ltd. a Fiji based subsidiary of a Japanese consortium, is planning to build Fiji’s biggest hotel on Denaurau Beach.

Fuji Kon Fiji has a sublease on a 10 ha piece of developed land at Denaurau Beach com

plex. The planned capacity of

400 rooms of the new hotel would outrank Denaurau’s other hotel. The Regent, as Fiji’s largest. It is understood that the proposed $2O million hotel could also involve one of two major names in inter national hotel business Sheraton or Hilton. Managing director of Fuji Kon Fiji, Mr Denis McElerath. said development of the hotel depended on water.

The 263 ha Denaurau pro

ject was master-planned in

1970 as a destination resort.

The 300-room Regent of Fiji

hotel was just the first step. Mr McElerath said.

Also on that side of Viti Levu is the island resort of Man, 80% owned by Todeco (Fiji) Ltd, a

private company formed by

more than 30 large Japanese corporations as a vehicle for investment in a wide range of fields in Fiji and possibly other areas of the South Pacific.

Managing director of Mana Island Resort Fiji Ltd is Mr Motoo Koyasu. He has applied for permission to build 800 000 worth of extensions to the re sort complex, which are still in the planning stage.

In another sphere, fishing, business is booming for the Japanese investors. The Pacific Fishing Co, formed by C. Itoh and Co Ltd of Osaka and

Nichiryo Ltd of Tokyo, opened

a freezing factory at Levuka 13 years ago to handle tuna

landed by Japanese, Korean

and Taiwanese vessels. Four years ago they and the Fiji government signed an agree ment under which the freezing facilities were expanded to can fish. The government acquired a 25% holding in PAFCO, with C. Itoh retaining 60% of the

shares and Nichiryo’s holding

dropping to 10%. Another 5% is owned by 20 local share holders.

Last month PAFCO an nounced it had won a record $4 million contract to supply canned albacore tuna to Canada’s biggest food distribu tors, British Columbia Packers, of Vancouver. General man ager and director of PAFCO, Mr Hiro Tanaka, said it was a significant achievement which

showed Fiji could compete with other world tuna pro ducers. Japan has always been chief supplier of canned albacore to BCP. But last year Japan had a bad season and failed to meet its quota. Last year PAFCO provided BCP with $3 million worth of fish and when Japan was hit by a bad season again earlier this year, supplied another $3 million worth. BCP has now signed a $24 million contract because it was satisfied with the quality of Fiji canned albacore. he said.

Meanwhile, the Fiji Govern ment has taken 20% share in Fiji Can Company Ltd, formed with Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd. to produce cans in a newly

completed factory which

expects to reach an annual out put of a million cans by 1980.

Fiji’s “green gold”, its pine

plantations, are due for first harvest in 1980. The Fiji Pine Commission is looking to Japanese markets to take much of the wood and pulp pro ducts.

While there has been little

major increase in Japanese

investment in Fiji in the past year, it is now a well established fact of tropical life and is obviously in the country to stay.

And with it come the Japanese tourists, 6 000 last year, mostly on Japanese air line charters, and the Ministry of Tourism estimate there will be more this year. Locals say you can tell where the Japanese money is by the number of Japanese guests at the hotel.

Part of the Pacific Harbour holiday complex in Fiji - now the Arabs are joining the Japanese in the venture