International monetary fund
An International Monetary Fund visiting team here on a mission has concluded that Fiji’s progress towards elections has contributed to increasing confidence in the economy.
The team Chikahisa Sumi visited Fiji from July 17 to 30 to conduct Article IV consultation discussions with the Fijian authorities.
Mr Sumi further said: “Supported also by increased disposable income and credit expansion, GDP growth is projected to accelerate to 3.8 percent in 2014, well above the average growth rate over the past decade.
“Inflation has remained low partly due to low import prices but pervasive price controls cloud inflation assessment.”
But, he cautioned while good progress has been made in recent years, structural reforms need to continue for the country to achieve sustainably high growth and increase resilience to external shocks.
“There are both domestic and external risks to the outlook. Domestic risks are focused on the complex political situation,” he said.
“On the upside, successful elections and a smooth transition to reform-oriented democratic government could result in stronger confidence in the economy and higher capital inflows.
“On the external risks, Australia and New Zealand, the two most important tourism markets for Fiji, could be adversely affected by lower commodity demand from China and elsewhere.”
The IMF Executive Board is expected to discuss the 2014 Article IV consultation in October.
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