By RACHNA LAL
The acting Prime Minister and acting Minister for Finance, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum tabled the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s 2012 Annual Report in Cabinet last week.
The report includes the audited accounts and the operations of the Reserve Bank for the year ended December 31, 2012.
The annual report highlighted that our domestic financial system remained sound in spite of the challenges that exist in many advanced countries at the moment in terms of financial stability.
The Reserve Bank recorded a profit of $25.4 million in 2012 and transferred a total of $35.4 million to the Fijian Government.
This includes a $10 million transfer from the Revaluation Reserve Account in accordance with the Reserve Bank of Fiji Act (1983).
The profit was despite the volatile international financial markets and historically low interest rates in our major trading partner countries.
Mr Whiteside said the Reserve Bank will remain fixed towards the maintenance of low and stable inflation and a comfortable level of foreign reserves.
“In this regard, foreign reserves rose to $1.6 billion and consumer price inflation eased to a 10-year low of 1.5 per cent in December 2012,” he said.