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Results for Economy and Trade

Wednesday 29 January 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s official Foreign Reserves had risen slightly by $0.2m to $489.5m (equivalent to 7.8 months of imports cover), while annually, Foreign Reserves increased by $20.90m due to higher receipts of budget support, grants, and project funds from development partners, the Reserve Bank of Tonga stated on 21 January.
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Friday 13 December 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
An invention by a Tongan-Australian called “The Reviver”, an exercising apparatus that enables a person to straighten his or her spine, ease the pain in the hips, and helps an aged person to walk without pain, arrived in Tonga this week and was put through its paces at the Royal Palace. By Pesi Fonua.
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Friday 1 November 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The National Reserve Bank made a record profit of $6 million in 2018/2019, and presented government with $4.2 million share of earnings.
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Tuesday 1 October 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Asian Development Bank Outlook 2019 this month has forecasted that the Pacific region economy will grow by 4.2% in 2019.
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Saturday 8 June 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A cheque for $7.5 million pa'anga was paid to the Tonga Development Bank from the Public Service Retirement Fund Board (PSRFB) for its purchase of a 15% shareholding in the government-owned bank, increasing the number of shareholders to three.
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Thursday 6 June 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A $5 million grant has been approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue helping Tonga strengthen its fiscal position on June 6. The funds will be released after Tonga adopts prudent policies and better public financial management, aiming to improve Tonga’s business climate with policy, regulator and public enterprise reforms.
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Tuesday 30 April 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Although Tonga’s inflation rate dropped last year to 5.3% it remains the highest inflation rate of the 14 Pacific Islands members of the Asian Development Bank. By Pesi Fonua.
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Monday 29 April 2019

Geneva, Switzerland
The use of new technology to facilitate trade and address food safety was discussed at the International Forum on Food Safety and Trade held on 23-24 April, by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Addis Ababa.
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Wednesday 17 April 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A three days workshop on the World Trade Organization Notification Requirements began in Nuku’alofa on 15 April, with the aim of assisting Tongan officials to understand necessary notification processes. “I think Tonga should be able to fulfil its obligation, and we hope that after this workshop, Tonga clears the backlog that it has got,” said Dr Edwini Kessie, a WTO official.
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Monday 28 January 2019

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga is currently playing an active role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Lopeti Senituli, a personal adviser to the Prime Minister, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva, told Matangi Tonga.
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Thursday 20 December 2018

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga is in a high-risk exposure position “to weather disturbances and sea-level rise as well, as weak disaster management” according to the December 2018 issue of the Pacific Economic Monitor PEM of the Asian Development Bank.
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Tuesday 11 December 2018
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The National Reserve Bank of Tonga aims at securing Tonga’s Foreign Reserves at a level of about $457.3 million, equivalent to more than seven months of imports, with the enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Control Act 2018 on 1 November. The Act requires Tongan exporters to repatriate at least 60% of their export proceeds. And, if the economy fails and the foreign reserves drop below the threshold, - then the Act gives the government the right to try and force Tongans who have invested overseas to repatriate their funds to Tonga. The Act was passed at the time Tonga expected to start repaying its loans to China.
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Monday 19 November 2018

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s repayment of its $119 million pa'anga concessional loan from China that was scheduled to start this year, has been deferred for another five years.
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Monday 22 October 2018

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tonga Government will start paying $TOP10.8 million a year during the next ten years, (principal only) of its $TOP119m loan from the Exim Bank of China that was used to fund reconstruction projects after the 2006 riots in Nuku'alofa. The start of the principal repayments has already contributed to a $22.8m decline in Tonga’s foreign reserves in September. Now Tonga is confronting the real cost of the riots.
Wednesday 3 October 2018

Manilla, Philippines
Forecasts for economic growth in 2018 for Tonga remain negative at -0.3% a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows.
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Monday 10 September 2018

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new Foreign Exchange Control Act 2018 that gives the National Reserve Bank of Tonga sweeping powers to selectively stop Tongan residents from investing offshore and from holding overseas bank accounts, property and other offshore assets, is not currently being enforced. The Governor of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, Dr Ngongo Kioa, said today that the new Act awaits regulations and directives from Crown Law.
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Friday 7 September 2018

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's National Retirement Benefit Fund Board has taken up a 15% shareholding of the government-owned Tonga Development Bank, under a current restructuring of its capital base. The Minister of Finance said that the legislative amendments will not only remove the TDB from being under the Public Enterprises Act, but also change the ministerial responsibility.
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Thursday 2 August 2018
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s official foreign reserve continued to grow as the National Reserve Bank of Tonga recorded an increase of $26.8 million for the month of June. The reserves rose to $468.7 million, equivalent to 8.1 months of imports.
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Tuesday 24 July 2018

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A consignment of Tongan squash to be shipped to China this year is targeted to be around 600-700 metric tonnes (mt), an increase from 248mt last year due to export demand.
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Wednesday 23 May 2018

Geneva, Switzerland
Trade challenges in the Pacific region, including Tonga, will be looked at by the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting this week, in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 25-26 May. WTO Director General, Roberto Azevedo, expresses an opinion that more can be done to support economic growth and development in Tonga and across the Pacific. UPDATED.

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