Results for Business

The Tongatapu end of Tonga’s international fibre optic cable was being pulled up today for splicing and is expected to come online by late tomorrow, Tuesday, 38 days after a large section was blown to bits by a volcanic eruption on Jan. 15.

Canned pork, gifted to Tonga as part of Chinese emergency food aid delivery, became the source of a diplomatic incident between the development partners, after Tongan officials stopped the distribution of swine products. The Tonga government expressed “profound regrets”.

Progress has been slow today, Monday, in the search for the Fiji end of Tonga's submarine telecommunications cable - suspected to be broken in several places. Bad weather and rough seas persist in the area. The cable repair ship Reliance recovered the Tonga end of the international cable over the weekend, and secured it at 7:00am Saturday. The ship also recovered a 1.2km long piece of separated submarine cable.

Tonga's broken submarine telecommunications cable is not where it is supposed to be. A search last night by an ROV from the cable boat Reliance, could not locate the break, after it arrived in the area yesterday. By Linny Folau.

When Tongatapu’s small business community met on Thursday Jan. 27, to discuss their concerns, amid an unfolding national catastrophe, following volcanic eruptions and devastating tsunamis, they slumped in chairs and their faces showed how seriously concerned, worried, exhausted and frustrated they are. But after all of that, what's really destroying them is the total failure of Tonga's international communications two weeks ago. Tonga's telecommunications authorities have put spectrum licensing roadblocks around the local private sector's ability to find relief in a commercial satellite broadband service solution. By Mary Lyn Fonua.

Vulnerable rural farmers in Tonga will receive a range of services and support to improve farm productivity and their livelihoods under the Pacific Islands Rural & Agricultural Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) project, launched at Falemasiva Hall, Tailulu College on December 2. By Eleanor Gee.

Higher imported and domestic prices have driven increasing inflation in Tonga. In the year to August 2021 inflation rose by 7.0%, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga reported. Annually, foreign reserves increased, resulting from more receipts of budget support, project funds, and remittances.

$50,000 worth of cash grants are available for community projects around Tonga under Digicel's One Tonga Kiai initiative, and a Christmas grand prize of $30,000 is also up for grabs, announced Digicel Tonga today.

After the Prime Minister's Office announced yesterday the Government's approval for a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the Lupepau'u Airport, Vava'u, citing a private proposal involving Tongan nationals and foreign investment, they have further clarified today that a full proposal has not been received. Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet, Edgar Cocker told Matangi Tonga this morning that their press release did not mean that Government had granted approval for a recently formed company Raw Mana Ltd. to undertake the project.