RACHNA LAL
SUVA

PS Industry and Trade, Shaheen Ali.

Untapped potential
Mr Ali revealed that a recent report for Fiji’s National Trade Policy Framework indicated there is a huge amount of untapped potential for trade in the Australian market.
“Eighty per cent of exports to Australia are currently made up of garments and gold,” he said.
“If these commodities are removed, exports to Australia would be equal to Fijian exports to New Zealand, which has an economy seven times smaller than Australia.
“Clearly, there’s lots of room for growth in our trading relationship.”
Mr Ali encouraged the investors to consider the potential of outsourcing parts of their production processes to Fiji.
“We believe that there are comparative advantages here that make sense to a company’s bottom line,” he said.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

RACHNA LAL
SUVA
Good news for Fiji Airways Business Class passengers travelling to or from Los Angeles International Airport, USA.
Our national airline has just opened its newly-designed International Lounge at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
The International Lounge features upgraded interior designs and amenities and is a shared lounge with Air Tahiti Nui, El Al and Philippine Airlines.
The lounge features wifi, complimentary food and beverages and a patio with spectacular views of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Fiji Airways managing director/chief executive, Stefan Pichler, said: “The renovated lounge provides added comfort for our business class passengers and Tabua Club members before their overnight flight to Fiji or beyond.
“It’s in line with our desire to give our premium customers the very best service for maximum convenience and relaxation.”
As has been already indicated by Fiji Airways’ half year results, the Nadi-Los Angeles route is one of the busiest Fiji Airways routes.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

SHEIK DEAN
NADI

Artistic impression of the Tropik Gimko Bioenergy plant.

Reduce import reliance
Minister for Agriculture, Inia Seruiratu, said the development of the biomass facility will help reduce Fiji’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.
He said the development will have mutual benefits for the investor and the people of Fiji.
“This investment is timely since it will contribute to our long term aspiration for energy security and sustainable development,” he said.
“Fiji is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels for producing electricity as well as energy and transportation.”
Mr Seruiratu further said that apart from creating jobs, the facility will provide access to modern, affordable, clean and reliable energy services.
GIMCO Bioenergy chairman, Sun Lee Sang, thanked the Government and the associated stakeholders who assisted in the project.
“Through this project, we want to assist FEA and Fiji achieve the renewable energy target for the country,’’ he said.
“FEA is aiming to provide clean and affordable energy solution to Fiji with at least 90 per cent of the energy requirements through renewable resources,” he said.
“The technology of renewable energy, especially biomass power plant, is already successful in Korea.
“We believe this will not only strength Fiji and Korea relations but can also make Fiji a leader in biomass energy generation in the Pacific and developing countries.”
He further mentioned the energy crop plantation which is called “short rotation coppice” will make Nabou look greater and healthy again.
Feedback: sheik.dean@fijisun.com.fj

The Managing Director andtCEO of Fiji Airways, Stefan Pichler, is the new Chair of Tourism Fiji.
Tourism Fiji is the organisation that presides over the fortunes of the local industry and markets the country as a holiday destination. Mr Pichler’s appointment – for a term of three years – was announced by the Attorney General and Minister for Tourism, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said said it signalled an exciting new era for the tourism industry and the Fijian economy as a whole.
“Stefan Pichler brings an unprecedented level of experience to this role, having held senior positions in the tourism industries of Germany and Australia.
“Coupled with his stewardship of our national airline, he is ideally placed to lead our industry and take it to new heights.
“And his strong commercial background means that not only will Tourism Fiji be placed on a stronger commercial footing but the highest standards of corporate governance will be introduced to safeguard the interests of Fijian taxpayers, who finance its $23-million a year budget”, the Minister said.
“This appointment underlines the importance the Bainimarama Government places on our biggest revenue earner and our determination to continue to grow the local tourism industry by identifying new markets and opportunities.

Good job
“Stefan Pichler has done a great job at Fiji Airways – spearheading its continued revival and return to profitability – and has a wealth of ideas about how to consolidate the work that has already been done to put our tourism industry on a better footing.
“Never before has the future looked so positive for Tourism Fiji, the health of the industry and the jobs on which the wellbeing of so many Fijians depends”, the Minister added.

Background
Aside from holding senior executive positions in several airlines, Mr Pichler is a former CEO of Thomas Cook AG, the world’s second largest leisure travel group, with 35,000 staff and an annual turnover of $US 20-billion.
For four years, he chaired the peak German tourism body, Bundesverband der Deutschen Tourismuswirtschaft (BTW), and has also been a member of the board of Tourism Australia and the global tourism body, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
He also chaired the Tourism Working Group of the World Economic Forum, the prestigious Swiss-based non profit organisation that brings governments and the private sector together to promote global economic growth.
Mr Pichler said: “ I have developed a deep love of Fiji and its people and am fully committed to making our industry the best in the world for a nation of our size.
“We already have tremendous branding with our slogan “Fiji: Where Happiness Finds You” but there are parts of the world which our marketing effort has yet to reach and where there are great opportunities for expansion.
“I intend to begin work immediately with the great team around me at Tourism Fiji and all of the stakeholders in our industry to step up our efforts to seize those opportunities.”
Minfo news

MARAIA VULA
SUVA

The Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority have signed an agreement enabling information sharing and co-operation between the two agencies.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by BAF executive chairman, Xavier Riyaz Khan and FRCA chief executive, Jitoko Tikolevu, yesterday in Suva.
This would also allow them to better collaborate in enhancing border security and safety in Fiji.
Mr Khan said FRCA has always been a significant partner for BAF in border control.
He said even without an agreement in place, both organisations have been working closely together in sharing information and collaborating in various integrated activities.
“We have seen how BAF and FRCA have been collaborating together on the border in intercepting illegal and unregulated transactions and drug smuggling,” he said.
“The MOU will formalise the collaboration between the two agencies and help further enhance border protection in Fiji.”
Mr Tikolevu said under the MOU, FRCA will train Biosecurity officers on customs issues that are relevant to the effective implementation of this MOU.
“Upon request, FRCA will also submit all inward and outward documents like manifests, bill of lading, and waybill on goods that has a biosecurity interest or concern,” he said.
“These documents also include electronic documents that are required for the arrival and departure of foreign vessels, aircrafts, passengers and crew.
“A committee will also be formed to monitor the effective implementation of the MOU.”
Mr Khan said under the MOU, the two agencies will be able to share facilities, resources and common information as well as present a unified approach to compliance and enforcement of Biosecurity and FRCA laws.
Feedback: Maraia.vula@fijisun.com.fj

RANOBA BAOA
SUVA

Interim FRA chairman Parmesh Chand, FRA NSRUP Programme Engineer Zaina Khan, FRA CEO Neil Cook, Higgins (Fiji) Limited manager Dave Jaques, Higgins Business Development manager Grant Higgins and Neil O’Hara yesterday at MINFO Media Room. Photo: JONA KONATACI.

SHEIK DEAN
SUVA

Despite the numerous warnings to stop cane fires from the Fiji Police Force, a number of cane fires are still being reported.
This is now an ongoing issue which is a loss to the farmers and the industry said Sugar Cane Growers Council chief executive Sundresh Chetty.
“We have seen an increase in intentional and indiscriminate cane fires in the Lautoka sugar cane belt area,’’ Mr Chetty said.
“This is not only a loss to the growers but also leads to a decrease in the revenue generated.

Hardship
“Growers face more hardship and income lost if they fail to deliver burnt sugar cane to the mill within seven days.
“The council is urging the growers and the general public to refrain from setting cane fires during the prevailing dry season. Approximately 200,000 Fijians livelihoods are dependent on the sugar industry.”
Meanwhile, the council is working closely with police on the Anti Burnt Cane Campaign.
Feedback: sheik.dean@fijisun.com.fj

A tuna fishing association is opposing the United States’ proposal to extend the largest marine protected areas in the world.
The proposal would expand the Pacific remote islands Marine National Monument and ocean preserve that lies between Hawai’i and American Samoa.
But the Californian based American Tunaboat Association says the expansion could eliminate fishing in traditional Pacific fishing areas for vessels that operate out of American Samoa and Hawai’i.
The association’s executive director, Brian Hallman, says US fishermen were not consulted and the proposal would have a negative impact on American Samoa’s tuna canneries.
Source: RNZI

Fishing vessel

Migratory tuna
The record-setting price reflects the easterly movement of migratory tuna as the weather phenomenon known as El Niño begins to build in the western Pacific. The changing ocean temperature during El Niño conditions pushes fish from the normally lucrative fishing grounds of PNG and Solomon Islands east to Kiribati and the Marshall Islands.
These countries are members of the eight-nation PNA group which controls waters where over 50 percent of the global supply of skipjack tuna is caught.
The PNA manages the purse seine fishery through a vessel day scheme that caps the annual number of days available to distant water fishing nations at about 44,000 across its region.
RNZI

HFC Bank chief executive Isikeli Tikoduadua (left) and chairman Tom Rickettts. Photo:JONA KONATACI

Corporate customers, government, non-government organisations and government entities will now have more options as far as lease financing is concerned.
This after HFC Bank launched what it said was a flexible and competitive leasing product. It has been designed for business customers who need finance especially for acquiring equipment and new technology for operations here.
The Lease Finance product was launched yesterday at the locally-owned bank’s head office on Victoria Parade by HFC chairman Tom Ricketts.

Target market
Mr Ricketts said the product, available from yesterday, was developed so the bank would continually match to existing products and are tailor made to specific markets.
“The product is targeted for the business and the public sector as well as state-owned entities,” Mr Ricketts said.
“An additional edge for our leasing products is that insurance cover can be arranged in-house.”
Mr Ricketts added there were also other insurance covers for other lending products which could be negotiated at competitive premiums.
“Our deposit, transactional and lending have been within our expectation. This has happened because of the positive response of our customers.”
HFC Bank chief executive, Isikeli Tikoduadua underlined the various options and flexibility payments of Finance Lease.
“The lessee can insure the property because they’ll be insuring the equipment or if they prefer we can also finance the insurance and can be added onto the loan or lease,” Mr Tikoduadua said.
“And we’ve got our in-house insurance unit that can look after that. We are agents for insurance companies so we can carry out those services.

How competitive?
Mr Tikoduadua believed the product was tailor-made for the market.
“We have compared their (other banks) pricing and the term and we have placed ourselves in a segments which we believe is really tailor- made in terms of flexibility.”

Interest rates
In terms of interest rates and minimum requirement, a business can apply, he depending on cash flow and how well the business is established.
“It (interest rate) can be negotiated also depending on the equipment required and flexibility they will need. It’s on a case by case basis depending on the client.
“Leasing is more geared to an organisation that already established. We’ll look at the track record and how profitable the company has been as well as cash flow.”
Feedback: ranobab@fijisun.com.fj

Medium enterprises included to expand the scope of those applying

MARAIA VULA
SUVA

The Fiji Development Bank has repositioned its Small Business Awards and come up with the Small and Medium Enterprises Awards.
With the growing emphasis and focus on SMEs, FDB decided to upgrade its award to include medium enterprises.
Since 2004, FDB has been hosting the Small Business Awards focusing on encouraging small business entrepreneurs.
Acting chief executive, Nafitalai Cakacaka, said the award was an elevation to another level by increasing the turnover criteria from $100,000 to now $500,000.
“By lifting the ceiling to $500,000 which is the national definition of SME’s, we are expanding the scope of people or businesses who can apply under the awards,” he said.
“We found that in the past, when we had the small business awards, a lot of entrepreneurs were left out because they didn’t qualify.
“That is why we want to include as many entrepreneurs as possible. By increasing the limit to $500,000, even then a lot more small businesses don’t qualify.”

The theme
The theme for this year’s awards is “SMEs the Drivers of Our Future Growth”.
Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation chief executive, Mereia Volavola, who officially launched the awards at the Grand Pacific Hotel yesterday, said the theme was fitting.
“These awards have been created as recognition for SMEs who face many challenges when running their businesses,” Ms Volavola said.
“It is intended to highlight the outstanding achievement of SMEs and encourage and appreciate them in their capacities.
“And also to enhance and develop the national economy in line with Government efforts to increase economic diversification activities.”
She noted the awards was very inclusive and demonstrated in true spirit its intention because it would be open to all SMEs and was not restricted to FDB’s clients only.
Feedback: maraia.vula@fijisun.com.fj

RACHNA LAL
SUVA
Hollywood has the Golden Globes before the Oscars. For the Tanoa Hotel Group here, it is the Tanoa Salon Culinaire before the National Moffat Salon Culinaire.
This is Tanoa Hotel Group’s premiere culinary event in celebration of a journey dating back 2008.
The locally-originated hotel group uses this event as a platform to select its participants/competitors what it says is a “most transparent and fair process” for the national competition.
The Tanoa Salon Culinaire 2014 begins today and continues till tomorrow at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi.
Tanoa Hotel Group director, Kalpana Reddy, described the event as a unique situation where all teams at Tanoa Hotels compete in skills which they perform daily at work.
“There will be competition both amongst fellow colleagues and members from sister properties,” she said.
“One must not let down their guard but draw on your knowledge, strength, confidence and ability to perform second to none.”

Event for its people
Group Training and Development manager, Alamgeer Shah, said: “This event is about our people and for our people.
“As part of our Tanoa Way culture and service philosophy, it is about our people having fun, helping each other success, being passionate, embracing the Tanoa family and eventually celebrating success.”
“At Tanoa, our people are our main assets, hence, we continuously seek to train, develop and empower them.
“It is about recognising the talent we have, acknowledging it and reinforcing their abilities by providing them the appropriate platform to display their skills and flair.”
Who says a little competition internally is a bad thing.
Mr Shan stressed fun and games apart, this event is a true test of skills and competency.
“It provides the opportunity to test our employees hence a win-win situation for all,” he said.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

Reason for this major decline attributed to a number of one-off expenses. Shareholders, however, are disappointed.
RACHNA LAL
SUVA
Fiji Television Limited Group has posted a net loss after income tax of $1.5 million for the year ended June 30, 2014 against a $3.6 million profit for the previous financial year.
Meanwhile, the holding company reported a profit after tax of $1.3 million compared to $2.2 million the previous year.
Whilst the profits had dropped, the revenue for the holding company increased by 14 per cent to $25.7 million compared to $22.5 the previous year.
But the revenue for the group dropped by six per cent to $37.2 million compared to $39.5 million the previous year.
These audited financial figures were released yesterday by the South Pacific Stock Exchange.
Fiji TV chairman, Padam Lala, said the operating results for the Group are adequate given the challenges and economic conditions faced in its different areas of operations in the Pacific during the year.
In additional, he said the depreciation of the Kina during the year ahead had a significant impact on the Group results.
“The economic environment and the stringent regulatory requirements continue to provide operating challenges for our business in the Pacific,” he said.
“However, moving forward, the board is undertaking more aggressive actions to ensure that Fiji TV Group delivers the financial result that is more equitable to its shareholders.”

Reason for decline
Fijian Holdings Limited Group, which is the major shareholder of Fiji TV, has indicated it is not happy with the financial performance.
Fijian Holdings Group chief executive, Nouzab Fareed, said one of the reasons for this decline was there is a lot of one-off expenses.
This, he said was from writing off of some of the old equipment as well as some termination of contracts with previous companies.
“There were other one-off expenses. If you remove that, there is obviously break-even situation but we decided to go off and clear all these things,” he said.
When asked about $2.75 million being paid as tax, Mr Fareed agreed this was a big amount.
He explained the amount was high mainly because of dividends paid by its PNG subsidiary, Media Niugini Limited, to Fiji.
This was rather a result of the withholding tax related to dividends paid by Media Niugini.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

Viliame Leqa elected new president of Fiji Australia Business Council
RACHNA LAL
SUVA
Viliame Leqa, the managing director of Pacific Manufacturing Limited, is the newly-elected president of the Fiji Australia Business Council.
He was elected at the council’s annual general meeting on Wednesday night held at the Australian High Commission.
Immediate past president, Kalpesh Solanki’s term ended after two years as council president.
Mr Leqa was previously the vice-president of the association.
Details of Mr Leqa’s plans for the council in our Business Liftout tomorrow where we interview him in his new role.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

JYOTI PRATIBHA
SUVA
Gen Y getting into workforce is a global phenomenon and Fiji is not isolated from it.
With new generation seeking employment, they bring with them new ideas, new attitude and different work ethics, says the Vice President of India’s one of the most renowned companies- Tata Steel Limited, Suresh Dutt Tripathi.
Mr Tripathi is in the country as keynote speaker at the CPA Congress which starts today at Sheraton Fiji Resort on Denarau Island in Nadi.
With decades of experience, Mr Tripathi’s focus during his presentation will be on how to reconcile differences that Gen Y bring into the workforce and how to best make use of them.
“The expectations of Gen Y, the new generation and what are the challenges of the management in regards to this generation is what I will be talking about,” he said.
“This is a global issue. Gen Y is getting into organisations all across and the number of Gen Y getting into workforce is a large number and they are a very different set of people.
“So, what are the differences and secondly, because of these differences, what and how the orgnisations have to change themselves.
“They are a large number, their expectations are different, their ambitions are different, aspirations are different and their persona is very different.
“They are a global set of people. They are globally connected. There isn’t a regionality about this group, they are global now- they are so well-connected. So in the process there is a need to understand them.”
Mr Tripathi said there was a need to see how the workplace can be aligned to get the best out of this generation of people.
“They can do wonders. My topic is about this,” he said.

Fiji relevance
Mr Tripathi noted that Fiji has a wide range of unexplored industries.
“How do we bring in from the best of the world to Fiji and I believe there is a lot of opportunities not explored, for example, agriculture,” he said.
“If there could be better farming methods, more scientific way, Fiji could lead the way in agriculture.”
“In terms of its location, although it’s not very easy to reach here, tourism is still the top industry here and it is visible all across as you enter.
“There is this air of extreme exhilaration, you feel very, very happy just being here. Tourism industry has been looked into well.
“However, there can be a lot of tie ups that can happen. Aggregation can be a point here meaning getting in raw materials from the world for manufacturing here.”
Although this is his first visit to Fiji, Mr Tripathi said he feels right at home.
The CPA Congress will be officially opened by the Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum today.
Feedback: sheik.dean@fijisun.com.fj

MARAIA VULA
SUVA
Good news for staff and management of the Fiji Electricity Authority as they will receive a bonus totalling $1.3 million in their next pay.
The announcement was made by the Attorney-General and Minister for Public Enterprises, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, yesterday. The bonus payout will be for the 737 salary/wage earners, 27 unit leaders and also the nine executive team members.
In announcing this, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum acknowledged the contribution, hard work and dedication of all the staff of the authority.
“We value your contribution. We want you to stay in the organisation. We want you to have international standards,” he said.
“We are looking at some private sector participation in FEA and it will be very exciting to have that level of investment but without the human resources, that won’t be achievable.”
Meanwhile, the authority’s financial performance was also announced yesterday. FEA made a profit of $32.5 million in 2013 compared to $75.3 million in 2012.
The profit recorded has been largely attributed to the commissioning of the Nadarivatu Hydro Project which produced some 98.6 million units of energy for 2013.
Also, stringent measures are expected to have been implemented to control operational expenditure.
FEA chairman, Nizam-ud-Dean, said had the Nadarivatu Scheme not performed well and produced 98.6 million units of energy, FEA would have recorded a loss of around $2.1 million after tax.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum acknowledged that the overall net profit compared to the previous year had dropped.
But, he said nonetheless, on the year to year comparable basis, it was still an increase.
“The reality is that FEA like any state owned enterprises or statutory bodies must maintain a level of profitability to be able to reinvest in its assets,” he stressed.
“Because if you don’t do that, than for example infrastructure like Monasavu, Nadarivatu even your lines etc, cannot be maintained.
“And then we will be playing an enormous catch-up game which means enormous amount of capital investments after a period of time.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said having certain level of profitability allows to invest back into assets.
“With assets, I don’t just mean physical assets, but also means human resources,” he said.
“Whether it’s training or exposure to new technology new methodologies of running an organisation, administering sections or technical section or engineering section all of that needs upgrades continuously.”
Feedback: maraia.vula@fijisun.com.fj

RACHNA LAL
SUVA

Elections are not only important for the general public, but also equally important for the business community.
We are less than a month away from elections on September 17.
So in preparation for this major event, whilst all the political parties are campaigning on what they will do, we decided to talk to some of the younger generation businesspeople and see what their expectations are.
The Damodar Group has been diversifying and expanding. Div Damodar has taken over the responsibility of running the business from his father, Dayanand Damodar, as the group chief executive.
Their most recent investment, Damodar City, is the hive of activities not only in the weekends, but also the weekdays.
The 200 plus car park spaces, which was thought to have been sufficient, seems to be not enough now.
So let’s see what Mr Damodar feels should be the focus for any political party which wins and what he feels of some of the current policies in place.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

Abbas Ali’s dream now reality at Wailoaloa

JOHN ROSS
NADI

One of Fiji’s most successful integrated residential and tourism developments nears completion.
The Fantasy Development at Wailoaloa, on Nadi Bay, has announced that all sales of both residential lots and lots in the commercial marina have been suspended.
There have been an unprecedented number of sales in the last eight weeks, the company is debt free and has strong operating capital levels so the decision was taken to suspend all sales from August 18.
Work is continuing on both the residential stages, including the beachfront lots, and the commercial and industrial marina and the proposed completion date is December of this year.
Once the work is completed and the final survey done, titles will be available and sales will recommence, with the remaining lot prices increased.
The project started as a dream, the vision of one man, developer Abbas Ali, who has pursued his vision until today, fifteen years later and the dream is a reality.
Mr Ali says: “There have been times when we struggled, times when we faced serious issues, times when we thought that we had taken on too big a project, but now the end is clearly in sight.
“We have had great support from the government over the last eight years, help with overcoming obstacles and encouragement to keep moving forward.
“The investor confidence generated by this government and the coming general election has been the driver for the incredible sales over the last eight weeks.”
This development is one of the most commercially successfully in Fiji in the last ten years.
The prices of all lots in the development increased fifteen per cent in June and a further increase twenty percent increase was put in place in August.
The developer is considering a further increase of fifteen percent once all work is complete, bringing prices for some lots to over half a million dollars.
The developer is holding a significant number of indications of interest and these will be offered the lots first, once they are released for sale.
All offers from interested buyers will be accepted by the company and these will have priority, subject to final prices.
The development is a fully-integrated residential, tourism and marina complex, with most lots having deep water canal frontages.
There is access to Nadi Bay via an eighty metre wide main canal with a low tide depth of over 3.5m.
A large number of houses have already been built and a number of others are in various stages of construction.
Also planned is a multi-purpose sports complex and a multi-purpose convention centre, five individual hotel/resort sites and a world class yacht club, already accredited with Fiji Yachting Association.
Fantasy Island is a vibrant, well designed and serviced development, with close access to the international airport, Nadi Town and Denarau.
A new express road being developed from Wailoaloa Junction to Denarau passes the main entrance road to Fantasy.
Through the commercial marina, Port Fantasy will make the resorts of the Yasawas and Mamanucas more readily accessible.
A world standard common user terminal will commence construction by December.
This is a unique concept with tourist transport delivering passengers under cover to the marina, with all the necessary support businesses such as restaurant, bars, coffee shops and boutiques as well as a large supermarket facility.
A well known Australian based company with wide experience in design and leading edge terminal planning in Australia and South East Asia has been commissioned to undertake all the structural and architectural designs for the terminal.
What will Abbas Ali do after December?
“We still have a number of other projects in the area, including an industrial estate, other residential land and farming,” Mr Ali said.
“There are a wide variety of different needs in the area. With the current project developing over fifteen years, we have learned a lot about people’s needs and we will continue with other developments to provide unique properties.
“Fantasy island has many things to offer that are not available in other property developments and has raised investor expectations in Fiji to new levels, which demand a better quality of lifestyle of the kind available in other parts of the world.”
But first he will concentrate on completing the work at Fantasy Island before the New Year.
Feedback: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

RAchna lal
suva

Neil Underhill, a locally-born Fijian Chartered Accountant speacialising in the tourism sector, started his life as an accountant 34 years back in 1980. After graduating from the University of New South Wales, he worked in the oil industry both in Australia and New Zealand for 10 years before returning to Fiji to start what is known as “Fiji Coffee”.
After that was reasonably established, Mr Underhill started working for a small Chartered Accounting practice, which he now owns.
His firm provides accounting services and business advice. “I have worked on lots of tourism projects from greenfield planning to intensive care intervention work,” he says.
In 1995, he obtained a Certificate of Public Practice. Mr Underhill is also the founder of CPA Australia-Fiji branch and its treasurer.
His interest in the field started in high school where his passion for bookkeeping started at Suva Grammar.
“I was fortunate enough to have a very good and patient teacher, Mrs Westren,” he said.
“So I had a good grounding and this made the decision to become a chartered accountant much easier.”

To have reached where Mr Underhill has, may seem an easy journey, but it was surely not.

Mr Underhill said the main challenge was obtaining quality continuing professional development at an affordable price.
“This is not so much an issue now that this has been rectified, however, earlier on it was difficult,” he said.
“A second challenge has been to change the stigma of accountants as being ‘bean counters’ only, and not capable of being able to contribute to the growth in economic value.
“The third is meeting reporting deadlines, especially when a year ends on December 31; some stock takes on New Year’s Day have been very interesting indeed.”

Shashank Paranjape’s Paranjape Schemes
nShashank Paranjape’s Paranjape Chemicals started operations with nine people on board. However, six months into the business, his luck ran out and he was duped by his friend.
nIn 1987, Paranjape came to know of someone who owned a vacant plot in Pune measuring 10,000 sq ft. He expressed his wish to construct a multi-storey building and the person readily agreed. Paranjape paid him Rs 100,000 (FJ$3000) and got into an agreement to give him two flats on completion of the project. Paranjape the new company Paranjape Schemes (Construction).
nParanjape’s approach was simple. He would reinvest every bit of the profit back into the business to expand operations. Last financial year his company registered a turnover of Rs Rs 15 billion and made Rs 2.25 billion in net profit (2013-14). This year he has a target of Rs 20 billion.

Dinesh Agarwal’s IndiaMart
nAfter acquiring a B.Tech degree in computer science from the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur, Dinesh Agarwal took up a job as systems analyst at HCL Technologies.
nFinally, he settled on building a platform for businesses to display products via dedicated Web pages. He named the venture, IndiaMart InterMesh.
nThe idea was to help the small and medium enterprises in the country market their products and services. Convincing customers to first buy computers, which, in turn, would help in the promotion of their business was quite a task.
nAs business started growing, he had to deal with several issues and the most irksome among these was looking for bigger office space.
nIn 2007, he invested Rs 70 million to purchase a two acre plot in Noida and build a new office. He has around 1 million products and almost 1.5 million suppliers. In 2013-14, the company generated a turnover of around Rs 2 billion.

Dheeraj Gupta’s vada pav chain Jumbo King
nAfter Dheeraj Gupta completed his MBA in hotel management in 1998, he decided to start his own venture. The idea was to establish a sweets manufacturing and distribution business. Within two years, he lost around Rs 5 million.
nWhat caught his attention, in particular, was how successful food chains such as McDonalds, Dominos and Subway primarily focused on one product — burger, pizza, sandwiches — and, yet, had a huge customer base.
nVada pav is a spicy Maharashtrian snack. He found that there were hundreds of vendors selling the snack on the city streets. The market was huge but unorganised. he decided to get into the vada pav snacks business.
nGupta somehow managed to raise around Rs 200,000 to start the business. He leased space for an outlet just outside Malad railway station.
nThe idea was to outsource the manufacturing of the patties to a vendor for a small fee. We would fry them in the store and concentrate on sales. Last year, Jumbo King crossed a turnover of Rs 250 million and Gupta is hopeful of revenues of Rs 450 million in 2014-15.

Ajjay Agarwal’s Maxx Mobile
nWhen Agarwal was 15 years old, he dropped out of school to join his father’s electronic trading business in Mumbai. He launched his own company in January 2002.
nAgarwal began with a seed capital of Rs 1 million, which came from his savings. The first step was to have his proprietorship firm registered in the name of Max Mobiles and Phone Accessories; it was only in 2004 that he set up Maxx Mobile as a company. Initially, he would stamp my brand name on imported mobile phone batteries and sell them to dealers in Mumbai.
nAt the beginning of 2004, he figured that he should set up his own manufacturing unit for mobile phone batteries. The next obvious move was to expand the operations.
nThe next crucial year was 2008, when he started importing mobile phones and selling them under the brand name Maxx Mobile. In 2009, he signed on M S Dhoni as the brand ambassador and the advertising campaign during the T20 World Cup helped get eyeballs. Next on the cards is the manufacturing of Android mobile phones. In the meantime, he is looking forward to a turnover of Rs 15 billion by end-2017.

Pardeep Jain’s Karbonn
nIn the mid-1990s, mobile phones were just beginning to make a foray in the country, so Pardeep Jain decided to make the most of it.
nIn April 1996, he opened a small showroom at Kailash Colony and started dealing in mobile phones from top companies, such as Nokia and Samsung. Two years later, he went into an expansion mode by opting for national distributorship. By 2005, he had a team of 150 spread across the country and became the India distributors for players like HTC, LG and Motorola.
nHaving a huge dealer network in place, he was able to keep track of the market pulse and this is how he realised that the time was ripe to introduce his own brand. He joined hands with Bangalore-based United Telecoms Limited (UTL) to launch his own brand of cell phones, Karbonn.