Briefs

Cost of electricity to decrease in Fiji SUVA, Fiji - Electricity rates in Fiji will drop one and a half cents per unit this month.

A statement by the Fiji Electricity

Authority (FEA) said there would be another similar reduction in August of next year.

FEA Chairman Lionel Yee said the reduction in rates would apply to commer cial, industrial, domestic and institutional customers.

Yee said the reduction was made possi ble by the continuing decrease in FEA’s total debt, which fell from FJDS344 mil lion (US$l76 million) in 1987 to FJDSI23 million (U 5562.9 million) this year.

He said the reduction was made possi ble by localizing offshore loans and the prepayment of debts.

Reacting to the announcement, the Fiji Chamber of Commerce welcomed the rate drop, saying it was time the FEA imple mented the cuts.

“The reduction is welcome because we have been hearing this for years and noth ing has been done,” said Chamber Chair man Himmat Lodhia.

Vanuatu's GDP grows marginally PORT Vila, Vanuatu - Vanuatu’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 0.2 percent so far this year despite an earlier forecast of a decline.

Finance Minister Sela Molissa said the

GDP improved despite the negative

impact of riots, the devaluation of the Vanuatu currency and the Asian economic crisis. The Ministry of Finance earlier had forecast negative growth this year due to a fall in tourist numbers resulting from damage to an Air Vanuatu plane. The air craft was put out of service for a time after hitting a hailstorm near Sydney, Australia.

The country’s economic growth results

primarily from improvements in the agri

culture sector, particularly a boom in kava exports.

Last year, kava exports increased ten fold compared with 1997, resulting in rev enue worth $ll million. (Radio Australia)

Air Niugini wins international tender for Vietnam Airlines deal PORT Moresby, PNG - Air Niugini won a contract to wet lease its second Airbus to Vietnam Airlines, its managing director Andrew Ogil announced.

He confirmed that the Airbus had been leased to provide scheduled services for Vietnam Airlines, operating from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney, Melbourne, Osaka and Hanoi.

The lease existed for two weeks last month, beginning July 5 and ended July 17.

Included in the agreement was the pro vision of an Air Niugini flight crew, which consisted of two pilots, two engineers and six flight attendants.

Mr. Ogil said Air Niugini was proud to have won the lucrative contract against stiff competition from other major regional air lines, adding the contract generated a sig nificant amount of commercial revenue towards the airline’s cash flow situation.

Air Niugini maintained its normal inter national scheduled services during the wet lease arrangement. (The National) JAL boosts flights to Saipan SAIPAN, Northern Marianas - Buoyed by the positive results of its additional flights, Japan Airlines has decided to operate 10 charter flights in July and August from the cities of Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in a move to boost visitor arrivals in the CNMI.

Despite the absence of charter flights last month. JAL ferried a total of 16,692 Japanese tourists, which resulted in a 113 percent jump in the number of travelers over the same period last year.

The June 1999 total included 10,824 passengers from Tokyo and 5,868 from Osaka.

JAL’s share of the total number of tourists arriving in the CNMI from Japan during January-May 1999 was over 50 per cent.

From June 21-22, 1999, Yukiharu Enomoto, JAL District Manager, and Kaishun Nishigaya, Sales Manager, visited JAL’s sales office in Osaka, Nagoya and

Fukuoka where they discussed the opera tion of more charter flights.

They were joined by MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio, Board Chairman Dave M. Sablan, Marketing Director Nor man Berg and Lt. Gov. Jesus R. Sablan.

During the trip, MVA presented its promotional plans to the airline’s sales personnel in those cities.

Since last year, JAL has been continu ing to assist the Commonwealth in its pro motional campaign in order to recapture its lost market share in Japan.

Worried about the fate of its huge investment on the island, JAL had been offering charter flights and discounted rates to lure more visitors to the islands.

The airline invested more than $l5O mil lion during the past 15 years for such pro jects as La Fiesta San Roque Shopping Plaza, Hotel Nikko Saipan and Tropical Laundry & Linen Services. (Saipan Tri bune).

Japan assists Tonga's vanilla and watermelon exports NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga - A Japanese company has donated testing equipment for use in improving and expanding Tonga’s vanilla and watermelon export businesses.

The vanilla testing equipment also will be able to be used to test the quality of kava and other crops that are dried before export.

The other testing kit, for watermelon, can be used on squash pumpkins, papaya (paw paw) and a variety of other fruits.

Two representatives from the Nittsu

Shoji Company presented the equipment,

worth US$2,OOO, to Tonga’s Commerce Minister, Dr. Massaso Paunga.

The equipment will be used initially to test vanilla and watermelons selected for shipment to Japan. The machines will help Tongan exporters meet the exact product quality standards required by

Japan traders.

Tonga’s Trade Division will be in charge of operating the two machines. (PACNEWS/Radio Tonga) II