Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says government is taking bold action to uplift the business sector and work closely with their partners to improve Fiji's ease of doing business ranking with the World Bank.
Bainimarama told the people present at the Prime Minister's International Business Awards while the methodology of this ranking has shown its flaws, and certainly has not reflected how businesses like those present at the awards on Saturday have thrived in Fiji, it is important we fight any perception that Fiji is nothing less than fully open for business.
The Prime Minister says just this month, Fiji held a workshop on digital identification which paves the way towards cashless transactions and new market opportunities for new and existing Fijian businesses.
He further says earlier this year, the Reserve Bank of Fiji launched an online Personal Property Securities Registry, which makes it easier for our people to use their assets as collateral to secure loans.
He adds that means access to finance has gotten easier, allowing our people and our businesses, particularly our small and medium sized enterprises, to make more efficient, lower-cost investments.
Bainimarama says the new bizFIJI portal has already brought unprecedented transparency to the processes of starting a business and obtaining a construction permit.
The Prime Minister says budding entrepreneurs and longstanding businesses alike are already feeling these improvements.
He adds these progressive steps have all come past the World Bank’s April 30th deadline for consideration in the 2020 Ease of Doing Business Rankings and they fully expect these achievements and others currently in the pipeline, to be considered in the 2021 Ease of Doing Business index and in later years.
