Fiji cuts

income tax

FIJIAN workers received a welcome Christmas present from their in terim government: a 20 per cent cut in income taxes. Duty was also slashed on a wide range of goods. Both initiatives were seen as the government’s acknowledgment of the rapid recovery made by Fiji’s economy after the reces sion of 1987.

Finance Minister Josevata Kamikamica pointed to increased revenues from >ugar and tourism, favourable world prices and growth in non-traditional ex ports as the main trends which have re vived the country making for an eco nomic growth rate of an enviable 12.1 per cent.

“It is pleasing to note that, as a result of economic growth, combined with res traint in government spending, we are now in a position to reduce the overall tax burden without damaging our fiscal policy unduly,” the minister said.

Assessment for income tax will now begin at Fs3ooo rather than F 52500, while the 20 per cent tax reductions will

bring down the highest marginal rate

from 50 to 40 per cent but non resident dividend withholding tax is dou bled to 30 per cent, The rate of indirect taxation has been reduced or removed on a variety of food items, computers, communication and

transmission equipment, tourist goods

and on imported beer, liquor and

cigarettes.

Import and export duty on gold and sugar has been increased, while duty on petrol and diesel will rise by two cents a litre. Duty on local beer and cigarettes is to go up. Altogether, the government hopes to raise $13.6 million from its new indirect taxes.

In his budget speech, Kamikamica said

Fiji had to follow aggressive policies to attract foreign invesment. The future economic growth lay in exporting, and the country would have to improve pro ductivity and skills so that it could com pete with traditional industrial countries.

“And we must make Fiji a desirable place to live, so that we do not continual ly lose skills and manpower,” he said.

The key elements of government eco nomic policy would continue to be de regulation, expenditure restraint, tax re form, keeping wages competitive inter nationally and mobilisation of all sections of the community to support economic expansion.

The government’s capital expenditure for the next year will be about F$ 122.6 million. Forty per cent of that total would be spent on infrastructure de velopment. Improvements will be made to the Kings Road on the main island of Viti Levu and Suva’s Princes Road, and completion of the Vanua Levu circu minsular road. F 5500,000 will go to wards developing free trade zones at Levuka, Lautoka, Kalabu outside Suva and Suva.

The government’s operating expendi

ture has been estimated at F 5292.7 mil lion, compared with the 1989 mini budget figure of F 5282.4 million. □

Kamikamica

Japan-Marianas air pact ROUTES between the Northern Marianas and Japan are to be opened by a new aviation pact signed recently in Tokyo. Two United States and two Japanese carriers will be allowed to fly from Guam and Saipan to any Japanese city not now served. In addition, Con tinental and Japan Air Lines will be joined by other United States and Japan carriers which will be able to serve Nagoya, Fukuoka and Naha from Guam and Saipan. The new services reflect the growing popularity of the Northern Mariana Islands with Japanese tourists.

Tonga credit bureau opens BUSINESSMAN S.L. Wong has furth ered his involvement in Tonga by open ing a credit bureau at Ma’ufanga. The bureau, with Tss million capital, will provide local customers with Visa, Amer ican Express, Mastercard and Diners’

Club cards.

Mr Wong is close to completing nego tiations to build a major hotel on Tonga tapu and an 18-hole golf course on ’Eua.

The latest development is that Wong has been involved in discussions with King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV regarding fishing and industrial enterprises.

China helps Samoa CHINA is to lend Western Samoa US$5.5 million interest-free following a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana. This sum is in addition to an earlier loan of U 552.75 million which has been earmarked for a new govern ment complex to be built during 1990.

Mining laws slated PAPUA New Guinea’s Mining Act was “hopelessly inadequate” as a basis for modern mineral exploration and the mining industry, according to Michael Hunt, an Australian mining law expert.

He told a conference in Port Moresby the legislation was based on a 1927 Queensland law, and there had been an apparent unwillingness to update it.

He said he was frustrated that it was more than a year since his last visit to Papua New Guinea and still there had been no bill introduced to the country’s parliament even after he had helped draft a new law.

Fiji eyes fishing licences FIJI is to introduce a new licensing sys tem to limit the catches of snapper and tuna in the country’s waters. Fisheries officials estimate the current fishing fleet is capable of taking twice the sustainable yield of snapper. The deepwater fleet will be limited under the regulations; also boats over 12 metres in length will be prohibited from fishing close to the shore and reef edges where small boats now operate.

Tourism hope TOURISM is expected to generate re venues of Fs2Bo million this financial year, a rise of 55 per cent over last year’s FslBl million, according to Fiji’s Finance Minister Josevata Kamikamica. Sugar production will also be up, but the coun try will nevertheless have a widening trade deficit reaching Fsl9o million, although the government is hoping that tourism will result in a much better bot tom line figure for the current account.

Garment exports are expected to rise dramatically, doubling to Fs7o million this year and rising to $9B million next year.

Bougainville at ready

DIRECTORS of Bougainville Copper

Ltd (BCL) have decided to keep the mine in a state of readiness rather than mothball it. The company was faced with these choices after months of closure forced by rebel violence violence which continued the week of the com pany’s decision. The mine’s major share holders, CRA Ltd and the Papua New Guinea Government, will advance K 45 million between them to BCL so that most of the remaining 2400 employees do not have to be retrenched.

Airline seeks listing NORFOLK Island Airlines Ltd is to seek listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.

It is planned the company will acquire the shell of Kennedy-Taylor Ltd, a firm already listed on the main board of the exchange, with that company’s electrical business being sold. The airline would then buy shares in Kennedy-Taylor, which in turn will buy the entire share holding in Norfolk Island Airlines’ main

subsidiary.

Record lending in PNG PAPUA New Guinea’s Agriculture Bank approved a record K 32.3 million in loans in 1987, according to the latest annual report tabled in parliament. This was up K 1.2 million on the previous year. Smal lholders received Kll million spread over 3295 applications.

American Samoa tax rises THE American Samoa senate has approved substantial tax increases in a move to tackle the territory’s financial troubles. Liquor and tobacco taxes will be tripled, while those on firearms and ammunition will be doubled.

Hawaiian airport growth

HAWAII’S major state airports experi

enced significant passenger growth dur ing the 1989 financial year which ended on June 30. Keahole Airport showed the biggest rise 13.4 per cent by hand ling 1.25 million passengers. Honolulu International was up 7 per cent with the state’s largest traffic figure of 22.34 mil lion people. Passenger numbers in creased at even the smaller airports: the 103,255 who moved through Lanai air port represented a whooping 31.9 per cent increase on the previous year.

Niue airport plans RUNWAY lighting and fuel shortage tanks are to be installed at Niue’s airport as an attempt to attract regional airlines to call at the island, whose transport links suffered when Air Nauru was grounded. The airline used a Boeing 737 to service Niue, but now Air Samoa is flying to the island using only a Twin Otter aircraft.

Saipan gets paddle steamer A REPLICA Mississippi paddle steamer has joined the Saipan cruise fleet of Showboat Inc. The double deck vessel, which has a steel hull, is the only one of its kind in Pacific waters and can carry 149 passengers. The crew will dress in costumes similar to those worn in the American south in the late 1800 s and the band will play music from that period. The vessel, named Jambalaya, in the latest attraction in the fast-growing Micronesian tourist industry.

Drought hits Niue beef NIUE’S main source of fresh beef, a farm run by an American national, is now in danger of going out of operation after a four-month drought. The oper ator has been forced to hand the farm back to the government because there is no pasture to feed cattle. The govern ment is now considering using the land

for forestry.

Elcom makes good profit PAPUA New Guinea’s Electricity Com mission recorded a net profit of K 8.4 million last year despite machine break downs and poor rainfall. Two gas tur bines had to be leased from Britain to meet power demand.

Finance Minister Paul Pora said the commission’s major project, the Yonki hydro-electricity scheme in the Eastern Highlands, which will cost the govern ment Kll7 million, is expected to be commissioned in April 1991. Yonki will provide a realiable power supply to all major Highland centres as well as Lae and Madang, and will also generate elec tricity for mining ventures in the Ramy

area including the Hidden Valley gold

project.

Nauru recruits tradesmen SOLOMON Islands tradesmen are being recruited for 12-month contracts on Nauru. More than 200 applications were received for the 38 available positions.

PNG to sign treaty PAPUA New Guinea has signalled it will sign an investment treaty with Australia to reassure investors, many of whom are concerned about the safety of their hold ings in that country. Australian business interests will be guaranteed they will not be nationalised, as will be the repatria tion of investment when a company pulls out.

The decision was announced by Trade and Industry Minister John Giheno. A Papua New Guinea delegation plans to visit Australia to negotiate what will be known as the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. The Bougainville crisis and other outbreaks of violence have led to increasing concern about economic stability in the country.

Air Tungaru waits KIRIBATI airline Air Tungaru is now waiting on the United States military to do its bit before regular services can be gin with the leased Aloha 737. The Kiri bati authorities have met US demands for improvements at Canton Island so that there is an adequate landing strip there as an alternative to Tarawa.

All that stands in the way of scheduled services is for a US Hercules to make a test landing at Canton to satisfy the Americans that a large aircraft can use the airfield. Air Tungaru has made several representations to the US Embas sy in Suva to speed the process along.

The airline is now hoping it will be flying a weekly Honolulu-Christmas Is land-Tarawa-Nadi route before the end of this month.