Top Exports |
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Non-fillet frozen fish |
Processed Fish |
Water |
Refined Petroleum |
Raw Sugar |
Top Imports |
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Non-fillet frozen fish |
Wheat |
Cars |
Refined Petroleum |
Planes |
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji,is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north.
Fiji is an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The farthest island is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital, Suva on Viti Levu, serves as Fiji's principal cruise port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi (tourism) or Lautoka (sugar cane industry). Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.
Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the main sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry and sugar exports.[2] The country's currency is the Fijian dollar. Fiji's local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development.
Fiji has seen continuing growth in its financial system, which has played an increasingly vital role in the economy by mobilizing financial savings and channeling these into productive investments. As of 2012, its financial system remained resilient, despite the global financial crisis, in large part thanks to the strong contribution of the banking industry. The industry is very important for the local economy – the commercial bank’s assets were around 42% of the entire financial system at the end of 2010 and the value of total assets was AUS$4.5b (US$4.7b), around 75% of GDP. Additionally, the banks are major employers on the islands. There are five commercial banks in Fiji: ANZ (Australia), Westpac (Australia), Bank of Baroda (India), BSP (Papua New Guinea), and Asset Management Bank (Fiji). ANZ and Westpac have the most extensive operations in the country sharing together some 80% market share. BSP which acquired established Fijian bank Colonial National in 2009 is also considered a major bank in the country. Alongside these banks are three licensed credit institutions, Home Finance, Credit Corporation, and Merchant Finance, all of which are Fiji owned. With these banks, there are around 30 credit unions which have over 10,000 members. The rest of the financial sector comprises of non-bank financial institutions – the Fiji National Provident Fund, the Fiji Development Bank, Housing Authority, Unit Trust of Fiji, National MBf Finance (Fiji) Limited and insurance companies.
Agriculture | Raw sugar, water, fish, cereal, potatoes, grapes, strawberries. |
Manufacture | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, fuel woods. |
Agriculture | 11.9% |
Industry | 19.6% |
Services (Including financial) | 68.4% (2015 estimate) |
Company | Industry |
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Fiji development bank | Banking |
Reserve Bank of Fiji | Banking |
Fiji Airways | Transportation |
Pacific Island | Transportation |
Chelsea sugar Refinary | Food |
Top Exports |
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Non-fillet frozen fish |
Processed Fish |
Water |
Refined Petroleum |
Raw Sugar |
Top Imports |
---|
Non-fillet frozen fish |
Wheat |
Cars |
Refined Petroleum |
Planes |
The South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) is a stock exchange based in Suva, Fiji.
On 1 July 2010, the SPSE launched an electronic trading platform (ETP). The exchange now has market phases which allow the brokers to perform tasks throughout a business day. With the electronic system of trading, the price time priority is maintained, but there are two sessions of normal trading hours. The first one is from 10.30am to 11.30am and the second normal session of trading happens from 2.30pm to 3.30pm. This is when the orders may be entered, amended or withdrawn and are matched on entry. There are “pre-open” sessions where brokers can enter, amend or withdraw orders for their clients. The platform goes into inquiry mode after 3.30pm and is only accessible for viewing purposes. Unmatched orders at the end of the day that remain unexecuted are reloaded in the trading platform for the next day.
Transactions are immediate and transparent and results of each session are reported widely to the media, regulators, members, market participants, institutional investors, and other interested parties. All the trading reports are automatically generated and updates in real-time.
The SPSE maintains the SPSE total return index (STRI) which is an aggregate market capitalization index which reflects the aggregate market value of all its components relative to their aggregate value on the base day. The index is constructed on a base of 1000 set at 4 January 2000. Components of this index include shares all of SPSE listed securities. STRI is an accumulation index which reflects the total return from the stock market including the price and dividend returns.
Trading was paper-based before the launch of ETP, conducted by a "call market" on a physical trading floor at 10:30 am each weekday. Each listed company name was called out by the "market caller" and orders were submitted by brokers and dealers and recorded by the "Chalker" and the "recorders". The market caller then matched orders on a price and time priority basis. A "chief arbitor" supervised the trading. Unmatched orders at the end of the session were carried forward to the next day.
Overall, Fiji’s financial sector is quite insulated from the financial markets abroad and the banking, insurance and other financial institutions remain sound. The crisis is affecting the financial institutions in foreign countries on two fronts Financial Institution’s ability to lend due to the liquidity shortage; and Confidence in the financial sector. In case of Fiji, both of these prominent features are absent since our banking system is flush with liquidity; and our banking institutions are sound and prudent in their management of funds, thus it provides the confidence for the depositors. Regular updates and assurances by the Reserve Bank of Fiji to this effect play a key role in maintaining confidence in Fiji’s financial system. Moreover, unlike the foreign banking system, the domestic financial system is financed from local depositors and credit is extended to domestic entities – in this respect, Fiji is immune from the global financial crisis. The insurance industry is relatively sheltered from the effects of the financial crisis.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later by Melanesians, with some Polynesian influences. Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm. A republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups d'état. In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power. When the High Court ruled in 2009 that the military leadership was unlawful, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, whom the military had retained as the nominal Head of State, formally abrogated the Constitution and reappointed Bainimarama. Later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. After years of delays, a democratic election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimarama's Fiji First party won with 59.2% of the vote, and the election was deemed credible by international observers.
George Konrote (President) | Craig Parker (Movie Star) | Owen Sheers (Poet) |
The Fijian dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.
In 1867, the government treasury issued 1 dollar notes. These were followed by notes for $1, $5, $10, $25 and $50 issued between 1871 and 1873. Also between 1871 and 1873, King Seru Epenisa Cakobau issued notes in denominations of 12½¢, 25¢, 50¢, 100¢ and $5. Levuka (on Ovalau island) issued $1 and $5 notes during the 1870s.
On 15 January 1969, the government introduced notes in denominations of 50 cents, $1, $2, $10, and $20; the $5 note was not issued until 1970. The Central Monetary Authority took over the issuance of paper money in 1974, issuing the same denominations, although the 50¢ note was replaced by a coin on 3 March 1975. In 1986, the Reserve Bank of Fiji began issuing notes. The $1 note was replaced by a coin in 1995. The $50 note was introduced in 1996, followed by a $100 note on 10 April 2007.
National Song | "Meda Dau Doka" |
Currency | Fijian dollar (FJD) |
Languages | English,Fijian |
Population | 0.895 Millions |
GDP / GDP Rank | 8.298 Billion USD |
GDP Growth Rate | 4.3 Percent |
GDP Per Captial | $9268.064 (PPP) |
Size | 18,272 km² |
Inflation | 3.865 Percent |
Time Zone | UTC+12:00 |
Interest Rate | 0.50% |
Religion | 64.4% Christians 6.3% Muslims 27.9% Hindus < 1.0% Buddhists < 1.0% Jews < 1.0% Other Religions |
Ethnic Group | Fijian 57.3% (Predominantly Melanesian With A Polynesian Admixture) Indian 37.6% Rotuman 1.2% Other 3.9% (European |
Government | Republic President – Jioji Konrote Prime Minister – Frank Bainimarama |
Website | Go to the web |
Driving Side | LEFT |
Public Debt | 49.602 Percent |
Import | $1.918 Billion |
Export | $0.7586 Billion |
Unemployment Rate | 7.935 Percent |
Labor Force | 335000 |
Labor Force (Occupation) | - |
Culture | - |