Total Govt debt projected to reach $10.9B by July 2025

The total government debt is projected to reach $10.9 billion by July 2025 compared to $10.2 billion dollars at the end of July this year.

Based on the figures in the 2024/2025 National Budget, the debt to GDP ratio is expected to be 78 percent at the end of next month and projected to be 77.8 percent by July 2025.

The Ministry of Finance says with a net financing requirement of less than $600 million in the next financial year, deficit financing is not expected to be an issue given the appetite of local financial institutions such as FNPF and the availability of concessional financing from multilateral banks and development partners.

The Gross Domestic Product or the total value of goods and services produced by the country is expected to be $13.17 billion this year and rise to $14.02 billion next year.

The 2024-2025 Budget is set with a total expenditure of $4.552 billion and a total revenue of $3.917 billion.

The fiscal deficit is set at $635.5 million, or 4.5 percent of GDP.

Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Biman Prasad says Fiji Revenue and Customs Service is expected to exceed the $3 billion mark in tax collections for the first time this year.

For the 2024-2025 Budget, tax collections are estimated at $3.3 billion while non-tax revenue collections are budgeted at $618 million.

Meanwhile inward personal remittances increased by 21.3 percent to $1.26 billion, amidst continued emigration in 2023.

The Ministry says the use of mobile money channels has grown quite rapidly over the years and is now the most common channel to transfer funds given the accessibility and lower cost.

Cumulative to March this year, inward personal remittances expanded by 14.3 percent to $310.5 million, driven by higher personal transfers.

Inward remittances are projected to grow by 10.1 percent to $1.39 billion by year end.

For 2025 and 2026, remittances are forecast to rise moderately to $1.43 billion and $1.48 billion, respectively.