Nickel profit for Sofinor

NEW Caledonia’s Sofmor nickel company, in which native Kanaks were encour aged to buy shares two years ago, posted a SUS 6 million profit in 1991.

Its prospects for exports this year look promising with orders from Japan, France, Germany, the United States, Spain and Italy. It plans to sell 700,000 tonnes.

Nickel mining is the territory’s biggest local-income generator and foreign exchange earner, with exports bringing in 72 billion Pacific francs. Other exports are meat, prawns, canned foods and agricultural goods. Nickel brings 90 per cent of export revenue.

Under the 1988 Matignon Accord, Kanaks from economically-depressed northern province are being encouraged to buy shares in nickel industry-related companies. Former nickel-mining chief executive, Jacques Lafleur, sold some of the mine’s operations to the Sofmor company.

Expansion of nickel mining in the north is seen as a way of boosting the economy and involving the Kanaks in commerce. The north is relatively unde veloped, while other parts have fishing, tourist and small-scale agriculture indus tries. Feasibility studies are being done on the suitability of a Fiji-type taxfree scheme to attract investors.

New Caledonia lifts trade barriers FIJI and Australia’s push to capture the consumer goods market in New Gale

donia has received a huge plus with the territorial government lifting restrictions on a wide range of commodities it has traditionally imported from France.

France’s high commissioner Alain Christnacht who, since taking office last year, has been actively trying to integrate the French territories in the region, said he has removed import-licensing require ments for 408 categories of goods. He said the new move to gradually free up the New Caledonia market will see only 117

categories, including imports of beer,

restricted. New Caledonia has had tough trade protection against all 525 imported products, allowing only European and particularly French goods with preferen tial access.

Over the past two years Fiji and Australia have sent trade missions to New Caledonia to boost exports into the territory of 167,000 population. France’s plans to integrate the territorial markets within the South Pacific Forum region started soon after former French premier Michel Rocard visited the South Pacific, making stopovers in Australia and then Fiji in August, 1989.

After Fiji embarked on a trade promo tion mission to New Caledonia last year with hopes of selling fish, furniture, garments and other manufactured goods there, Christnacht followed it up with a delegation of senior government and Kanak representatives visiting Suva in August. He had announced then that he would look at ways of boosting inter island trade. □