| 9/3/2004 |
Another
new flour
mill to open soon
Punja and Sons chairman Jag Jiwan Punja
yesterday confirmed that site work has
already begun for a new flour mill in
Navutu, Lautoka. "The mill will be
the most advances state-of-art mill. Bühler
Group of Switzerland who is the worlds
leading supplier of grain milling
equipment will supply the plant and
machinery for the new mill", he
said. |
| 5/3/2004 |
New
flour mill for Fiji
Approval from the FTIB has been grated
to MillTech Australia to set up Vanua
Flour Mill Pty in Lautoka. The company
is expected to spend $2.5 million on
equipment and machinery alone to set up
the new mill. The company says they did
not want to get into a price war with
FMF (Flour Mills of Fiji), which
controls about 80% of the market. |
| 5/3/2004 |
Green
light for tower
The Suva City Council has approved a $80
million 21-story building project. MBF
Holdings, the holding company of
Carpenters Fiji, confirmed this week
that they would start construction in
June. The building will be the tallest
structure, not only in Suva, but in the
South Pacific. |
| 28/2/2004 |
Bank to
launch ATMs
With the increase of their market share
by 2% to 11% last year, Bank of Baroda
is on the move to make their products
and services more attractive. In the
pipeline is the provision of electronic
banking, introduction of ATMs, credit
cards and interconnecting its eight
branches in the country. |
| 23/2/2004 |
700 vie
for 80 call centre jobs
Affiliated Computer Services, a
Fortune 500 company with 40'000
employees word-wide, confirmed that
there was big interest in their job
advertisements. |
| 11/2/2004 |
JJ's on
the Park Hotel renovation finished by
March
Peter Mazey, managing director of
JJ's, has just completed a F$4.5m
renovation. 23 rooms in the range from
F$220 to F$700 will cater for visiting
business people. It now also includes a
piano bar where Fiji's most talented
keyboard player gives samples of his
diversity. |
| 7/11/2003 |
FVB
renews its target for online visitor
numbers
Every month there are about 1.5
million hits on the Fiji Visitors Bureau
Website, www.bulafiji.com.
Yesterday, Chief Executive Viliame
Gavoka launches the new-look site,
created with Web Enable Publisher. Hits
are expected to rise by 50% per
year. |
| 10/10/2003 |
PAFCO to
pay out extra F$2 million for wage bill
Following the end of a strike,
unskilled workers will received a new
hourly rate of $2.75 and silled workers
$3.50 hourly. Over 300 strikers returned
to work last week |
| 9/10/2003 |
Tough
times ahead for FEA
The Fiji Electricity Authority is
looking at spending F$339 million over
the next four years to ensure more
sources of renewable energy. However,
FEA is hoping that the government will
increase tariffs next year. |
| 2/10/2003 |
Pacific
Green profit rockets
For despite a somewhat disappointing
result in the United States market, the
palmwood furniture company has achieved
a 12 per cent rise in overall sales over
the last six months. The profit for the
same period is F$390,000, an increase of
47% compared to last year. |
| 1/10/2003 |
Monasavu
dam may close if dry spell continues
Fiji Electricity Authority executive
chairman Joe Mar said the Wailoa Power
Station needs at least 715 meters of
water to keep running. A F$12 million
joint venture project with Australian
company Pacific Hydro may bring relieve
after commissioning in March/April 2004. |
| 30/9/2003 |
ADB sees
growth prospects ahead for Fiji economy
According to the Asian Development
bank Outlook 2003 Update, Fiji saw a GDP
growth of 3.8 per cent last year. The
2003 estimate has been updated to 5%. |
| 29/9/2003 |
Taubmans
majority takeover complete
Asian Paints has successfully acquired
majority shares in Taubmans Paints Fiji
from Akzo Nobel Proprietory Limited.
Asian Paints now owns 65 per cent and
Fijian Holdings 35 per cent. |
| 25/9/2003 |
Kava
council starts anti-ban campaign
The Fiji Kava Council will embark on
a media campaign to counter the negative
impact of the kava ban, says council
president Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo. He
said the kava stakeholders endorsed the
findings of the scientific report by
Doctor Jörg Grünwald of Phytopharm
Consulting in Germany and agreed to use
this as a basis for further
consultations with regulators in Europe,
USA and Canada. |
| 18/9/2003 |
Punja
with new company: Waste to Energy Fiji
Ltd
Hari Punja, 67 and a shrewd and
successful businessman, revives an old pet
project. It is planned that the new
company will convert daily 200 tonnes of
rubbish into 4.6 megawatt of
electricity. The start of the project
depends on how fast the Suva rubbish
dump can be relocated to the Naboro
site. |
| 1/8/2003 |
Women in
business unite
If there was ever a need to show
"girl power", Wednesday's
launch of the Westpac Fiji Business
Woman of the Year and Fiji Executive
Woman of the Year certainly brought out
the numbers. The two Westpac awards are
open for application now and will be
decided in September. |
| 31/7/2003 |
 Soon
Mövenpick delicacies in Fiji?
The Zurich-based company advertised
their trademark logo in the newspaper.
Can we soon see food items like their
famous ice cream in Fiji? |
| 31/7/2003 |
Telecom
Fiji in the spotlight due to billing
irregularities
Fiji's only telephone company attacks
flak from individuals and companies
about alleged overbilling in their
monthly statements. |
| 29/7/2003 |
Fijian
living in Switzerland opens second
boutique
Daisy Rafoi, an investment banker
working in Zurich, has opened her new
shop in Suva (old NBF building). It
offers a wide selection of fashion
clothes, shoes and lingerie. Her other
boutique is located in the Cultural
Centre, Pacific Harbour. |
| 23/7/2003 |
EU warns
that days of preferential prices for
sugar are numbered
During a convention of sugar producing
ACP countries at the Fijian Resort, a
delegate of the European Union hints out
that the current fixed price of sugar
may be terminated. Sugar is one of
Fiji's main exports. |
| 15/7/2003 |
'Grand
old lady' purchased
One of Suva's landmarks, the Grand
Pacific Hotel (GPH), has been acquired
by the Fiji Investment Corporation (FIC)
from the Fiji Government for F$4.7
million. The GPH was formerly owned by
the Government of Nauru. Now, that the
deal has been finalised, FIC would soon
be inviting expressions of interest for
a joint venture development of the
site. |
| 9/7/2003 |
$5m
expansion for Fiji
Water
Fiji's top mineral water company has
committed $5 million to expand its
factory and plant to meet the increasing
demand for its products overseas. Fiji
water is ranked as number two bottled
water in the USA. New markets in United
Kingdom, Samoa, Tonga, Australia,
Dominican Republic, Mexico, the
Caribbean area and the Bahamas have been
opened. Other markets are under active
investigation, including several
European countries as well as South East
Asia. |
| 24/6/2003 |
Khan ready
for FTIB challenge
Lailun Khan is the new Chief Executive
of the Fiji
Trade and Investment Board. Backed
with years of international experience
in foreign affairs and trade, she will
be responsible for ensuring that more
investors feel comfortable working out
of Fiji. |
| 18/6/2003 |
Swiss-Fiji
Business Association launched
The SFBA was launched by the Swiss
Ambassador to Fiji, H.E. Mrs. Sylvie
Matteucci |
| 22/5/2003 |
SARS
increases kura demand
Fiji's kura extract or Noni could be the
right medicine for the country's rural
economies as Asian countries rush for
herbal medicine in the rush to battle
SARS. "Royal Noni and Herbex
Limited had large orders from Taiwan,
Korea and China", reports Liz
Baledrokadroka from the Fiji Trade &
Investment Board. |
| 11/4/2003 |
CMDA Act
to be reviewed
The Capital Markets Development
Authority has announced that a review of
its legislation has begun. Once the CDMA
Bill has been drafted the public can
review and comment on it. It is hoped
that legislation will be completed
before the end of the year. |
| 10/4/2003 |
FEA
targets green solution
With diesel costs at around $700 per
tonne, the Fiji Electricity Authority is
on the prowl for energy solutions that
are greener and, in the long term,
cheaper for the country, including
hydro-electric generation and wind
farms. |
| 9/4/2003 |
Airports
Fiji Limited gears for multimillion
dollal spend
After the $23m invested on the Nadi
Airport renovation, AFL plans $15m for
apron and parking, $10m for runway
lengthening, and $12m for upgrade of the
Nausori Aiport. |
| 4/4/2003 |
Newworld
puts $2.2m more into capital
With competition heating up in the
supermarket industry, Newworld is taking
a long-term perspective. Yesterday the
company opened its 14th store - in the
busiest store of Suva City. |
| 22/3/2003 |
Official
opening of new factory in Ba
The Prime Minister, Ho. Laisenia Qarase
opens Roofing & Profiles (Fiji)
Limited. The roofing and sheetmetal
manufacturing company is part of the RC
Manubhai Group of Companies. |
| 1/3/2003 |
Niche
the way to go in Japanese market
It's all very well making big plans to
export to the lucrative Japanese market
but, say market experts, Fiji's
exporters have to get the basics right
in order to be able to first get in and
then to sustain a fraction of the
market. |
| 19/2/2003 |
Fijian
Holdings invests in New World
The flagship indigenous investment
company will take up 3,187,500 shares in
the New World supermarket chain. One of
the conditions of the new deal is that
New World lists on the South Pacific
Stock Exchange (SPSE). |
| 7/2/2003 |
A
success story amongst the many failures
of indigenous businesses
The Hot
Bread Kitchen chain with 25 stores
around the country celebrates its 21st
birthday. It is Fiji's first successful
franchise enterprise and now fully owned
by the indigenous Samisoni family. |
| 4/2/2003 |
ISDN now
available in Fiji
Telecom
Fiji announces the availability of ISDN
(Integrated Switched Digital
Network). |
| 16/1/2003 |
Pierre
Gavidi to set up interior design
business
The son of a well-known career
diplomat and high-ranking civil servant
is hopeful that the rise in construction
activity over the next years will
provide a good stamping ground for his
brand of design. |
| 16/1/2003 |
Virgin
blocks Air Pacific
Virgin Blue has attacked an
application by Fiji-based Air Pacific to
join the Qantas alliance as an attempt
to "completely stitch up" the
South Pacific market. |
| 15/1/2003 |
Indigenous
business directory kicks off
A database of Fijian and Rotuman-owned
businesses is being compiled in the
latest bid to ensure that there is more
indigenous participation in private
sector activity and public
contracts. |
| 2/1//2003 |
2002
inflation drops to 0.8% (2001: 4.3%)
measured by change in consumer price
index (CPI) |
| 2/1/2003 |
Ghim Li
Fashion (Fiji) Limited takes over
Kalacraft
Kalacraft ceased operations on
20/12/2002 after successfully running
their garment factory for a decade. It
once employed about 300 people. |
| 17/12/2002 |
Interview
with Eric Gan
Mr. Gan, CEO of Nestlé Pacific,
explains why the largest food producer
in the world has invested millions of
dollars in a new factory in Fiji. |
