Business Briefs
Business Briefs
Fiji
Fiji’s Central Reserve Bank in November issued a forecast showing that the nation’s tourism-dependent economy will shrink by 8 percent during 2000. More than 7,400 workers have lost jobs since rebel leader George Speight led a May 19 raid on Parliament, taking dozens of lawmakers hostage in an unsuccessful coup. The Fiji Visitors Bureau estimated that 285,000 tourists will visit Fiji in 2000, 140,000 fewer than forecast before the coup attempt.
American SamoaAnyone caught avoiding cigarette taxes in American Samoa will be fined $1,000 per cigarette, according to legislation signed into law by Gov. Tauese Sunia. “By imposing stiff penalties for failure to pay excise taxes on tobacco products, I believe (we are sending) a strong message to those seeking to circumvent our tax laws,” said the governor, who is a smoker, in late October. Reps. Otomalesau John Ah Sue and Vasai Fred Vasai introduced the legislation. “With all these recent cases of cigarette smuggling into American Samoa, we had no local laws to combat this problem,” said Ah Sue, who applauded the governor’s action. “Don’t mess with American Samoa. We might be a territory, but don’t let our small size fool you with the power that we have.”
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The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program has agreed to provide a $6.8 million loan guarantee allowing the building of a three-story, 105-room hotel, located two miles from Pago Pago International Airport. Tradewinds West Hotel will be built by Ottoville Investment One, Inc., said company Pres. Avamua Dave Haleck. He added that the federal loan guarantee “is the first of its kind to be approved for American Samoa.” The original design has been revised to reconfigure the hotel into one building, which includes a conference center. The company has obtained all the necessary building permits. “Now that we have the finances in place, we are ready to get underway with the construction,” Haleck said.
Guam
Guam residents and business owners hoping to hear good news have a bit longer to wait, according to a Guam-based financial analyst who believes Guam’s economy has moved beyond recession to depression. “I know people don’t like the ‘D’ word, but I am using that (word) today,” Joseph Stoll, a vice president and senior financial consultant with Merrill Lynch, told the Guam Visitors Bureau’s quarterly general membership meeting in October. Stoll says economists gave Guam little warning that downturns in Guam’s tourism, jobs and real estate valuations would last for years.
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Guam’s economy was hard-hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Guam’s 15.3 percent unemployment rate — which continues to inch upward — is far above Hawaii’s 4.3 percent and the U.S. national average of 4.2 percent. Although tourist arrival numbers have been increasing, tourists aren’t spending as much money as they used to. Stoll said that Japan, which supplies the bulk of Guam’s tourists, still has a long way to go on the road to economic recovery. While saying the economy isn’t expected to recover for up to 18 months, Stoll pointed to a few bright spots, including an emerging trust industry and Guam’s attractiveness to global telecommunications companies as they build new fiber-optic networks.
Guam shoppers turned out in droves for the grand opening of the island’s new Ross Dress for Less store in October at the Guam Premium Outlets in Tamuning. The store, Ross’ 400th location, features an expanded home department, fine jewelry and watches in addition to wide varieties of name brand fashions, said District Manager Jim Radtke.
Northern Marianas
Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas and his line of food products waved Saipan goodbye last October 30. It is yet another indication that the island’s economy remains weak. Saipan franchise owner Chuck Jordan said the closure displaced at least 26 restaurant employees, seven of who are overseas contract workers. He said sales tumbled at the Saipan restaurant, resulting in substantial losses.
Samoa
Tourism earnings in Samoa rose significantly mainly as a spill-over effect of the crisis in Fiji and Solomon Islands, says an economic report released in mid October by the government-owned Central Bank of Samoa. Tourist arrivals jumped 34 percent in July 2000, following a 15 percent increase in June and earnings expanded $4.1 million to $15.8 million from $11.6 million in June. Several major events such as ruby matches, regional conferences and the International Camel Trophy were switched from Fiji. German visitors increased the most, up 125 percent. British visitor arrivals increased 47 percent. American Samoa had hoped to similarly attract added visitors but failed to reach a co-promotion effort with the Samoa Visitors Bureau.
Pacific
Four South Pacific countries—Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga—sent groups to London in mid-November to promote tourism at the World Travel Market. The Pacific exhibits were a joint South Pacific Trade Organization/Air New Zealand initiative that targeted the visitor industry from England and Europe. The Pacific group hosted a cocktail event with entertainment and a training day for travel agents.
From Port Moresby to Majuro, the copra industry in the Pacific is reeling from plunging world market prices for coconut oil. A glut on the market caused by bumper crops in the Philippines and Indonesia has seen world market prices plummet from a high of more than 35 cents per pound for oil 18 months ago to under 16 cents. In Papua New Guinea, the government’s modest price subsidy ran out in November, reducing the price paid to copra makers to $82 per ton (about 4 cents a pound).
In the Marshall Islands, the copra price was recently cut from 15 to 12 cents a pound, which still requires a heavy subsidy. A $400,000 government subsidy was exhausted in October alone by the Majuro-based Tobolar Copra Processing Authority just retiring debts for copra bought earlier in the year. Copra officials in the Marshalls are pushing for a further price reduction to 9 cents per pound, an amount that would still require a large subsidy to maintain, but would reduce the pressure on government.
