THE Reserve Bank of Fiji has reported slow recovery in partial indicators for investment amid a high-cost environment.
In its economic review for the August month-end, the RBF said movements in forward looking indicators such as new investment loans, excluding refinancing, in the year to July were positive at 1.4 per cent.
That was led by higher lending to the real estate sector and households for investment homes, it said.
On the other hand, the RBF stated cement sales fell 14.4 per cent in the first half of the year owing to the mill closure by Pacific Cement Limited between March and June early this year.
Pacific Cement Ltd suspended cement production in mid-March following a mill breakdown, and it resumed operations after three months in mid-June.
Also in the first quarter, new building permits issued rose by 11.3 per cent while the value of permits fell -21.5 per cent.
“The decline in the value of private dwellings off set the growth in the value for commercial building permits,” the RBF stated.
“Price effects, as proxied by the building material prices index, strengthened further (4.0 per cent) in the first half of the year, and remain a constraint on investment
activity.
“Nonetheless, the reduction in the VAT rate could improve investor sentiments,” it stated.
The RBF also noted that credit activity remained upbeat
amid conducive financial conditions in July.
It stated the pickup in broad money was driven by net domestic credit, particularly private sector credit (9.5 per cent).
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Note: This article was first published under the headline: Slow recovery for partial indicators in investments – RBF in Page14 of the print version of The Fiji Times dated Wednesday September 3, 2025
