THE central bank has forecasted that Government and investment initiatives announced in the FY2018-2019 National Budget are likely to spur investment and construction related activities in the medium term.
In its Economic Review for the month ended July, the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) forecasted this after domestic cement sales recorded an annual decline of 20.6 per cent.
In the year to June, annual declines were also recorded for commercial banks’ lending for investment purposes which went down by 8 per cent.
However, on a positive note, increases were noted in the number (+2.2 per cent) and value (+26.9 per cent) of building permits in the year to March, which provides some indication of expected improvement in construction activity in the coming months.
The central bank also forecasts that post disaster rehabilitation works and increased capital spending by Government is likely to also add to the spur in investment and construction related activities in the medium term.
