The Asian Development Bank’s recent Pacific Economic Monitor highlights ongoing concerns regarding Fiji’s limited fiscal capacity to manage potential future economic disturbances. To promote sustained robust economic growth and improve resilience, the government is encouraged to focus on increasing expenditure efficiency, enhancing budget execution, and advancing key private investment initiatives.
Key measures include simplifying immigration and business application processes, which are vital for stimulating new economic activities and enabling the private sector to expand hotel capacity. While it is essential to emphasize fiscal consolidation to mitigate public debt trends, it is equally important to strengthen fiscal buffers and maintain macroeconomic stability due to Fiji’s vulnerability to economic shocks.
The report points out that improving expenditure efficiency is critical, and prioritizing growth-oriented spending along with strengthening implementation capacity is necessary for fostering inclusive and resilient growth while lowering debt levels. Additionally, because state-owned enterprises play a significant role in the economy, broadening regulatory and governance standards, enhancing their capabilities, and establishing limits on state-owned enterprise guarantees can provide more fiscal flexibility for productive investments.