Bank nets $76,000 profit

Business Bulletin

Asian bank to review

lending policies

THE Asian Development Bank has announced plans to overhaul its lending

policies and organisation. Bank president

Mitsuo Sato said the organisation, based in Manila, had suffered from what he termed an “approval culture”. He said because of this the bank had granted loans liberally without sufficiently check

ing the quality of projects.

Besides paying more attention to the benefits of project, the bank would change its corporate culture and organ isation, and increase the expertise of staff.

A report drawn up by a task force last year called for a weeding out of inactive and slow-moving projects, in co ordination with developing countries.

The United States, which holds equal power with Japan in the bank, has questioned a plan to double its author ised capital of $23 billion and has demanded more quality control.

Solomons Development

Bank nets $76,000 profit

THE Development Bank of Solomon Islands has recorded a net profit of about U 5576,000 for 1992. The bank’s 1992 annual report says the profit was an increase of 19 per cent over the previous year.

It says at the end of 1992, loans stood at US$7 million, an increase of 26 per cent over the previous year. Total loans approved for 1992 were $2.7 million, compared with just over $1.6 million in 1991.

The bank says more than 73 per cent of loans approved were to projects outside Honiara. The report also reveals that there has been a shift in lending from agriculture to commerce, industry and services.

TVNZ, bank discuss

Fiji television proposal

OFFICIALS representing Television New Zealand and the Fiji Development Bank were scheduled to meet in Suva towards the end of last month to discuss outstanding issues relat’.ng to the estab lishment of a permanent television ser vice for Fiji. The meeting was confirmed last month by the managing director of the FDB, Laisenia Qarase.

The FDB has been asked by the government to take the lead role in the establishment of the national television service. Shareholding in the proposed Fiji TV company would consist of the FDB (51 per cent), TVNZ (15 per cent), the corporate sector (14 per cent) and the general public of Fiji (20 per cent).

Once a business plan is finalised it is expected to be submitted to government

for approval. The business plan will contain all technical and operational aspects of the proposed television service, including a time schedule for implement ation.

Air NZ’s the best, says

British travel industry

THE British travel industry has voted Air New Zealand the best carrier to the Pacific. The airline won the accolade ahead of fellow nominees British Air ways, Cathy Pacific and Qantas in an annual contest run by the London-based

magazine Travel Weekly.

It is the first time Air New Zealand has taken one of the publication’s “Globe” awards, which recognises excellence in service, customer satisfaction and indus try support. The winners are chosen by the 28,000 readers of Travel Weekly, which caters for all levels of the industry from travel agents to airport authorities.

PNG’s Misima boosts

gold production

GOLD production for the fourth quarter and for 1993 from Papua New Guinea’s

Misima gold project was higher than

anticipated. Placer Pacific PNG, a major partner in the project, in a statement containing final figures for the year, said this was mainly because of higher grade and recoveries even though the Decem ber part was marginally lower than the

September quarter.

The statement said favourable weather and the availability of right equipment and short distances helped maintain the production rate of the

previous quarter.

Fuel prices go up

in Solomon Islands

FUEL prices in the Solomon Islands went up last month. The increase is the result of a fuel tax being imposed on refueling station in the country. The tax will earn the government U 52.5 cents per litre of diesel and 1.5 cents per litre

of petrol.

Commissioner for Income Tax Alfred Pohe says the increases were to have been effected on February 1 but were delayed a week because of administrative reasons.

Cooks import tax

becomes campaign issue

THE Cook Islands Private Import Tax

(PIT), already condemned by the busi

ness community, has become a campaign issue for the country’s March 24 general election. Democratic Party leader Sir Thomas Davis and Alliance Party leader Norman George have both said their respective parties as government would abolish PIT.

Sir Thomas said the Democratic Party position was to abolish PIT, and instead get money from stimulating the economy and the increased business that would result from this. But Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Henry has asid his government would continue PIT. Sir Geoffrey said the PIT was introduced to cover the situation where goods were brought in for personal use or for use in an area where there was no turnover tax paid.

Northwest to suspend

Sydney-LA flights

NORTHWEST Airlines, the American carrier at the centre of a lengthy bilateral air dispute between Australia and the United States last year, has all but abandoned flights between the two countries. The airline said in a statement it would suspend its thrice-weekly Sydney-Los Angeles services from next month and retain only one of its

contentious Detroit-Osaka-Sydney

flights.

Northwest executive vice-president in ternational William Slattery said the airline, which came close to financial collapse last year, had decided to expand its profitable routes between Japan and the US. He said the airline had not been able to generate the results it had projected when the service was launched in 1991.

Recession plagues

tourism in Hawaii

HAWAII’S tourist industry is reported to be still plagued by the recesssion.

Hotels had a 72 per cent occupancy rate for 1993, one per centage point lower than in 1992.

The only island to show an increase was Maui which lowered its room rates, but all other islands, including Oahu, where Waikiki is located, saw declines of between three to five per cent. The president of the Hawaii Hotel Associ ation, Murray Towill, said although last year was the third bad year in a row, the

industry was now cautiously optimistic.

Tourism programme gets

European Union sl6m

THE Pacific Regional Tourism Develop ment Programme has received further funding from the European Union. Over US$l6 million was handed over to the Tourism Council of the South Pacific by the head of the European Commission for the Pacific Gerd Jarchow.

The funding is expected to result in over 260,000 additional tourists arriving in the South Pacific in the next four years. The programme’s main aims have focused on tourism planning, marketing, education and training and the establish ment of the tourism council. □