Results for Business

The negative impacts of CoViD-19 will lead to a contraction in economic growth for the current fiscal year, the Governor of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, Dr Sione Ngongo Kioa stated on 5 May, as domestic activities have already shown a slowdown.

A $460,000 pa’anga grant to the Government of Tonga was approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday, 1 May and will go towards restoring life-sustaining services following the damage from Tropical Cyclone Harold.

The Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industries (TCCI) is calling on the Tongan Government to ease restrictions and provide financial support urgently, to help struggling businesses continue operating. Some businesses have shut down completely. “Currently it’s very sad out there,” said one.

Overseas remittances are predicted to fall by 13 percent in the East Asia and Pacific region this year affecting countries such as Tonga, due to the economic crisis caused by CoViD-19, according to the World Bank. Migrant remittances to Tonga in 2019 made up 37.6 percent as a share of GDP.

Tonga's tourist industry hit hard by Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold and CoViD-19 lockdowns this month will soon be allowed new duty free and CT free imports of building materials, along with other incentives, while all businesses are allowed an extension of time for filing some tax returns, Tonga's Revenue and Customs Services told the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industries yesterday.

Additional solar generation and battery storage systems are to be designed and delivered to Vava’u and ‘Eua by mid 2021, assuming there are no long term restrictions due to the CoViD-19 pandemic.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased its response to the novel coronavirus disease pandemic by $13.5 billion, increasing its response package from $6.5 billion to $20 billion on Monday, 13 April.

Tonga’s commercial banks will close tomorrow, April 9, due to severe Tropical Cyclone Harold, which is expected to close in on Tonga tonight. Meanwhile, the economic downturn is becoming more acute for Tonga due to CoViD-19, states a bank manager.

The United Nations is calling for a $2.5 Trillion support package for developing countries to deal with the coronavirus shock. UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said the economic fallout from the shock is ongoing and increasingly difficult to predict but there are clear indications that things will get much worse for developing economies before they get better.