Permanent Secretary for Industry, Trade and Tourism;
Chairman and Board of Directors of Investment Fiji;
Sponsors; Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Distinguished Guests;
Members of the Media;
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Bula vinaka and a very good evening to you all. It’s good to see some familiar and new faces in the room which shows a great sense of commitment and optimism. Ladies and Gentlemen, 2019 marks the 27th year of the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards (PMIBA). It is therefore a pleasure being here to officially launch this much anticipated Awards.

Last year was my first year being part of the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards, as the Minister responsible for industry, trade and tourism.  It is encouraging to see how the Awards has grown and gained significance in the business community, especially with the focus on small and medium enterprises and young entrepreneurs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Parliament last week passed the National Budget for the 2019-2020 financial year. The budget lays out the blueprint for the second revolution of Fiji’s economic development or the continuation of the “Bainimarama Boom”, fuelled by spurring technology and innovation as one of the fundamental pillars.

Fiji is no longer an isolated island economy but an integrated hub of economic development. This transformation has brought about unprecedented benefits for our country. It has created investment opportunities, trade and economic partnerships, new jobs and continued development of our infrastructure.

We have been able to capitalise on the opportunities, by creating a conducive environment for investment, supported by favourable market conditions and an educated and skilled workforce. Investor confidence remains high with total investments maintaining contribution to the GDP of around 25%. A total of 134 projects - both foreign and local, valued at $872.45 million was implemented during the period August to April 2018/2019. This is expected to create 3,575 employment opportunities for Fijians.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fijian Government is cognisant of the changing global landscape and we are undertaking a number of reforms of the doing business processes and the investment legal framework to ensure that investment remain robust. In January 2019, the Investment Policy Statement was endorsed by Cabinet.

The Statement provides the Fijian Government’s principles and objectives in terms of investments and what the Government’s focus is in terms of types of investments that we want to pay special attention to. This is available on the Ministry’s website for you to access.

We are reviewing the investment law, so that we are able to better respond to the needs of the investors and create a modern investment climate. Furthermore, we are working in consultation with the Singaporean Government to review, redesign and harmonise the building permits and starting a business processes. Next month, we will launch an online information portal called “bizFIJI”.

This will provide information in relation to building permits and starting up a business all on a single platform. In addition, we will be taking the construction permit approval processes entirely online, with extensive work scheduled in the next financial year to prepare for the transition. We will also be undertaking extensive review of all doing business processes and implement reforms that will allow for immediate results for the benefits for all entrepreneurs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The 2019-2020 National Budget has a number of incentives for our emerging and existing businesses. These incentives will support growth in the areas of tourism, manufacturing, transportation, housing, retirement villages and aged care, ICT, research and development and waste recycling and the audiovisual industry.

We look forward to many of you capitalising on these incentives for the growth of your businesses or to venture into new sectors. The Fijian Government’s 5-Year and 20-Year National Development Plan (NDP) continues to transform Fiji into a modern, progressive and vibrant society. Increasing private sector investment and job creation is a key objective of the NDP. Fiji’s low and business-friendly tax regime and focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has created income-generating opportunities for Fijians and promoted exports and foreign exchange flows. 4 Ladies and Gentlemen, This year, Fiji hosted the Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors.

This strengthened our position as host for international meetings or MICE. MICE as you all know is a high niche segment of the tourism industry and our local operators are developing their product and services to meet the growing demands of this lucrative market. As Fiji’s largest foreign exchange earner, we continue to entice investors with new projects coming in every year. This is coupled by broadened incentives and new air routes – meaning new markets and new opportunities.

Ladies and Gentlemen, To increase Fijian exports, Investment Fiji is developing capability support programmes and enterprise development tools. These include the provision of technical assistance and logistical information, regulatory environment improvements and new market research. This key service is part of the agency’s support services, designed to assist local and foreign investors in developing comparative advantages of their products for export. Ladies and Gentlemen, Towns and Cities play a pivotal role in shaping a Nations Economy.

The ability of local municipalities to connect people and create a prosperous economic environment is seen as an area of high demand for investors across all sectors, leveraging industrial, commercial and residential economic opportunities. In Fiji, the two progressive urban economic belts are the Greater Suva Area and the Nadi-Lautoka corridor. Development permit applications and business licenses processed in these corridors are an indication of the economic wealth generation prospect. 5 Globally, cities realise the benefit of significant public investment, which then creates the conditions to attract private investment and promote economic opportunities. Fijian Towns and Cities are on this journey of transformation.

Our aim is to see that we are able to compete globally through a positive outlook and the master planning of our Towns and Cities which will lead to continued investment – both public and private. Over the last ten years, the Fijian Government has been consistently investing in the improvement of Fijian Town assets such as Municipal Markets/Bus Stands, Open Spaces and Sports Centres. A two-year programme with the technical expertise from Singapore to establish Master Plans for the Greater Suva Area, Lautoka and Nadi, is underway. On Wednesday, I opened the Master-planning workshop with the relevant stakeholders.

To develop a forward-looking plan for our towns and cities, input from all stakeholders is crucial, including you, the business community. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fijian Government has amalgamated the earlier Rural Local Authority functions with Municipal Councils to promote spatial planning. This also enable consistency and uniformity to business licensing and development permit management. It is expected that these policies will create a more urban investor friendly environment over the medium to longer term.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Coming back to today’s event, I wish to acknowledge Investment Fiji’s commitment to ensuring that the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards remains a premier event, where innovative and creative business ideas are rewarded.

We strongly believe that the contribution of each sector or business to the economy, despite size, nature and markets needs to be recognised. Ladies and Gentlemen, Your hard work and dedication towards the growth of the nation and the 2019 Prime Minister’s International Business Awards is one of the avenues to do so. 
The Awards, which has strict and transparent criteria, sets a benchmark of excellence, giving that additional push to local businesses to be more competitive and more importantly innovative. I encourage small businesses, young entrepreneurs, companies that have demonstrated remarkable success in the Fijian economy, to apply for the Awards. Keeping in mind, this is your awards and your achievements being celebrated.

Ladies and Gentlemen, With those words, it gives me great pleasure to officially launch the 2019 Prime Minister’s International Business Awards. Have an enjoyable evening.

Thank You. Vinaka Vakalevu.