Briefs
Business
Guam
Carina Rose Fejerang, owner of the Salon Paradis beauty salon, won first place in the Shell LiveWIRE Guam Business Start-Up program. The competition was open to people aged 18 to 30 with a business idea or who own a business operating for less than a year. Contestants were paired with Guam Rotarians as mentors and submitted business plans for evaluation. The plans were judged on the robustness and sustainability of their business plans—factors included economic viability, amount of employment generated and the contestant’s role in the enterprise. Second place was awarded to Angie Sharma for her vision for Affordable Cleaning, a janitorial service, and the third place award went to John Anderson and William Calori of Digital Concepts, which generates and sells souvenir photos to tourists. In addition to Shell Guam, the contest was run by the Guam Small Business Development Center.
—FW
The initial meeting of the Asia Pacific Association for Fiduciary Studies was held November 15 in conjunction with the Third Annual Pacific Region Investment Conference in Guam. The organization’s goal is to raise “the level of understanding and standards of practice among fiduciaries in the region, so that they can provide the most prudent stewardship of the funds entrusted to their care.” Newly-elected officers of the organization are: Gerald S.A. Perez, chairman; Daniel Roland of Salomon Smith Barney, vice chairman; Mark Heath of Metropolitan West Capital Management, secretary; and Mathias Lawrence of FSM Telecommunications Corporation, treasurer. Elected as board members were: Patrick Tellei, Palau Community College; Minister Sadang, ROP Civil Service Pension Plan; Carlos Bordallo, Government of Guam Retirement Fund; Paul Callaghan, Callaghan Family Trust; Marlo L. Sarmiento, NMI Retirement Fund; Phillip Mendiola-Long, Marianas Public Land Trust; Masa-Aki Emesiochl, College of Micronesia; Wilfred Kendall, College of the Marshall Islands; and Ron Cenicola, Marshall Islands National Telecommunications Authority.
—FW
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CNMI
A company that produces drinking water by desalinizing sea water opened in the CNMI in mid-November. Saipan, Tinian and Rota Marianas Inc. has 20 employees and represents a $1 million investment. The president of the company is former legislature Representative Dino M. Jones.
—FW
Vanuatu
Vanuatu’s Reserve Bank reports that expenditures by the country’s financial center have risen 13 per cent from the same quarter in 2001. This has been largely the result of increases in wages and government fees. The financial center, one of the most successful in the Pacific Islands, now employs 522 people, 90 percent of whom are citizens of Vanuatu. The number of companies presently on the register of the center is almost 6,000.
—ND
The Vanuatu government has approved the construction of a new oil refinery, which is intended to supply all the country’s needs in petrol, diesel, kerosene, LP gas and aviation gas. The project is applying technology claimed to be environmentally friendly, and is expected to be the largest single investment made in Vanuatu. If successful it will result in vast savings in foreign exchange, as all oil products are at present imported from Australia.
—FW
FSM
The Bank of Hawaii shut down four branches in this region on November 29. The Majuro, Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap banks closed when Bank of Hawaii could not find a buyer for the four branches. The FSM government announced in November that in response to the closure it was withdrawing all of its investment funds from Bank of Hawaii. With Bank of Hawaii’s operation closed in Majuro, the two remaining banks —Bank of Marshall Islands and Bank of Guam—are seeing significant growth in customers and in lines at the banks.
—GJ
The Long Island Hotel opened in Majuro in November, adding 32 rooms to Majuro’s accommodations. The hotel is situated on one of Majuro’s most pristine beaches 10 minutes away from downtown. It includes a tennis court and a classy restaurant overlooking the lagoon. At a different level of accommodation, Majuro’s Backpacker hostel is expanding to add eight separate rooms with shared shower and bathroom and is expected to charge $15 per night. It currently has 13 rooms with private bath that range from $25-$35, making it Majuro’s lowest-cost hotel accommodation.
—GJ
Fiji
Fiji’s tourism industry, anticipating more than half a billion Australian dollars in revenue in 2003, is worried that a decision to increase the value added tax will hurt the industry, preventing it from reaching the $1 billion level in net revenues by 2007. Radio Australia reported that industry representatives at a recent tourism forum expressed concern about the VAT increase, asked the government to waive the industry’s $5.2 million marketing investment to the Fiji Visitors Bureau, and called on the government take steps to improve the worsening crime problem in the country.
—GJ
New Zealand
Air New Zealand is hoping to quell public fears about its safety by having another aviation body check its engineering systems, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The “peer review” was announced after a December scare when an engine on a Boeing 767-200 failed at 3000 metres after the aircraft took off from Brisbane on a flight to Auckland. The airline said the incident, which forced the jet to make an emergency landing, appeared to be a “rare uncontained engine failure.” It led to metal punching a hole in the engine casing.
It was the third time in four months that Air New Zealand has lost parts from an aircraft in mid-air and the incident has raised questions about the aircraft’s General Electric engines, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Officials are concerned that it happened without the usual warning signs, such as vibration or over-heating. The airline’s chief executive, Ralph Norris, said the safety scares were “random and unrelated.” A “comprehensive independent external review” would take place, he told the Herald.
—PINA/NZH
Contributors: Frank Whitman, Norman Douglas, Fili Sagapolutele, Giff Johnson, PINA Nius Online, New Zealand Herald
