Results for Business

Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala launched a pilot agricultural development project at the Royal Estate, the Villa, today Tuesday 2 February. The Thai supported project aims to demonstrate sustainable agriculture to Tongans. Photos by Linny Folau

Tonga’s own life-saving helicopter service is expected to start in early 2016. The new helicopter service will also enable visitors to enjoy the beauty of Tonga from the air and to drop into remote island resorts. The first 7-seater Eurocopter AS350 helicopter is expected to arrive by ship in Nuku’alofa on 31 January.

The wholesale and retail prices for Liquefied Petroleum Gas in Tongatapu and Vava’u have dropped today, Wednesday 16 December.

Meeting business women in Tonga and learning about their entrepreneurial journeys, was Christine Forster from the Asian Development Bank Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), who was in Nuku’alofa from November 23-17 as part of a review across six Pacific countries.

Wind power energy may be the next big source of renewable energy, after solar energy, to help reduce Tonga’s heavy reliance on diesel for power generation. Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is preparing to carry out a six-months feasibility study on wind power.

The price of petrol, diesel and kerosene for Tonga will decrease for November-December starting today, Monday 16 November.

A two-days workshop on Emerging Global and Regional Trade Issues for the Commonwealth Pacific Region began at the Scenic Hotel, Pelehake, Tongatapu this morning 12 November.

Tonga has accumulated a Foreign Reserve of $311.7 million pa’anga at the end of September, while its domestic inflation rate was 3.2% for September, according to the latest figures on the National Reserve Bank of Tonga website.

Tonga’s initiative to open up a new export market for Tongan squash in China could lead to first shipments as early as next season (2016) – if the Chinese government is satisfied that Tonga’s produce does not present a “high risk” for food safety and biosecurity - and that means that Tonga's produce has to be clean to a high standard, throughout the growing, packing and export process.