THE Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) expects economic growth for the rest of this year to be driven by significant post-Cyclone Winston reconstruction work and continuing strong activity in the retail and tourism sectors. It is predicting buoyant consumption and investment spending supported by higher aid inflows and personal remittances together with cyclone-related withdrawals from the Fiji National Provident Fund and relaxed credit facilities provided by local banks and financial institutions.
In its March 2016 Economic Review, the RBF says recent partial indicators reveal mixed performances across all sectors. For the timber industry, mahogany production increased (19.9%) while production of woodchips declined (-47.0%) in the year to February. In the same period, electricity generated by the Fiji Electricity Authority was higher by an annual 3.8 per cent and visitor arrivals cumulative to February also rose by 10.5 per cent led by higher tourist numbers from New Zealand, Australia, China and the United States.
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