Investment indicators showed mixed outcomes in the year to July, according to the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s latest economic review for the month ending August.
The busy rebuilding phase following Tropical Cyclone Winston has seen an increasing growth for domestic cement sales, which has risen by 9.3 percent in the review period.
“However, new credit for investment purposes declined (-16.6 percent) led by annual contractions in new lending to the real estate (-24.2 percent) and building and construction (-8.2 percent).
The RBF’s job advertisement survey noted an 8.8 percent increase in advertised vacancies, carminative to July. This was attributed to higher worker demand in construction, wholesale & retail trade, real estates & business services, restaurants & hotels, finance, insurance, community, social & personal services and transport, storage & communication sectors.
Lower wood chip production was also noted by Tropik Wood Industries Limited, partly due to the closure of its Drasa mill for the first four months of the year, as well as a mahogany production decline attributed to bad weather conditions.