Business

Fiji’s economy is on track: RBF

December 2, 2018 6:41 pm

Fiji has recorded eight consecutive years of economic growth and is on track to grow by 3.2 percent this year.

This has been revealed in the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s August 2017–July 2018 Annual Report.

The Annual Report states that the RBF has continued to effectively achieve its key objectives of low inflation and maintaining a sufficient level of foreign reserves.

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Inflation averaged 3.1 percent in the financial year, peaking at 4.7 percent in July 2018 due to the impact of tropical cyclones Josie and Keni and an upswing in global crude oil prices.

At the end of July this year, the level of foreign reserves remained stable at around $2.2 billion which could cover five months of retained imports of goods and non-factor services.

Due to low investment yields on the global stage this year, the bank reported an audited profit of $31.5 million for the 2017-18 financial year.

The RBF transferred a total of $32.5 million to Government, of which $30.5 million was from the Bank’s profit and $2.0 million from the Revaluation Reserve Account (RRA).

The RBF Board with the approval of the Minister for Economy also transferred $1.0 million to the General Reserve Accounts to strengthen its capital base.

A milestone achievement of the Bank was the successful listing of Fiji’s Green Bond on the London Stock Exchange.