Exclusive: Fiji’s Reserve Bank Governor on what will drive the country’s next phase of growth
In an exclusive video interview for the forthcoming Business Advantage Fiji annual, Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Ariff Ali considers which sectors will drive Fiji’s growth in coming years, and what investments will be required to support them.
In this exclusive video interview conducted for the forthcoming Business Advantage Fiji annual publication, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Ariff Ali, says that the current global fuel crisis presents an opportunity for Fiji, if “coupled with the right incentives” for investors.
He also provides his thoughts on which sectors of Fiji’s economy offer the most growth opportunities and how the country can diversify its economy beyond its highly successful tourism sector.
This wide-ranging discussion with Business Advantage International’s Publishing Director Andrew Wilkins also focuses on Fiji’s infrastructure needs across energy, ports and roads – and where the priorities should be.
Finally, Ali discusses the current state of Fiji’s highly competitive banking sector and outlines the Reserve Bank’s progress with improving the payments system and particularly the inter-operability between banks and the mobile wallets offered by Fiji’s telcos.
Mobile wallets accounted for some F$7.3 billion in transactions last year.
“Given that Fiji is a small country, dispersed, not everyone is going to have a bank account. That doesn’t worry me anymore if people have a [mobile] wallet,” he tells Business Advantage Fiji.
