High hopes
p. 32 · Read in the full issue
in Solomons
SOLOMON Islands are placing high
hopes on a foreign investment boom. The country’s Minister of
Primary Industry and Commerce,
Edmond Andresen, said proposals worth more than $BlOO million are being con sidered. These included hotel develop ments worth $62 million, an $lB million brewery, and timber processing worth $3O million.
Thirteen proposals are being studied by the Foreign Investment Division and will be ready for approval by the Foreign Investment Board. This list of specific plans includes two fish processing pro jects worth a total of $3,185 million, mining prospecting ($1.9 million), cocoa planting ($3.2 million), timber and veneer production ($31.5 million), shoe manufacturing ($300,000), hotel ($42 million) as well as car rental, furniture making, shell buttons and insurance
proposals.
A West German company executive recently visited Honiara to update cost ings originally made in 1982 when his company proposed to build a brewery in the Solomon Islands. But at the time there was much community opposition and little government support for the
proposal.
Andresen said most of the investment enquiries came from Australia, and some from Europe and Asia. □