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Results for Economy and Trade

Saturday 24 April 2021

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A “worse-than-expected outcome” for Tonga's GDP in the fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 was forecast by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, following its first board meeting for the year. During the COVID-19 international crisis Tonga's annual inflation has increased and agricultural exports have fallen. Bank lending decreased, while deposits increased.
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Monday 22 February 2021

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan Pa’anga fell to its lowest exchange rate against the New Zealand Dollar since 2014, with one pa'anga buying less than .58 cents today, and possibly its lowest rate ever against the NZD.
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Wednesday 17 February 2021

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s $15.2 million pa'anga loan repayment due to the EXIM Bank of China, during the 2020-21 financial year, has been deferred to 2021-22, the Minister of Finance, Hon. Tevita Lavemaau, confirmed yesterday 16 February.
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Thursday 4 February 2021

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s first Labour Mobility Policy was launched by Prime Minister Hon Dr Tu’i’onetoa today, 4 February. Thousands of Tongans are employed in labour mobility schemes in New Zealand and Australia in horticulture, meat processing, construction, tourism and hospitality. The policy, which was endorsed by cabinet in 2020, aims to maximize the development impact of circular labour mobility in Tonga.
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Tuesday 26 January 2021

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The IMF has approved US$9.95 million under its Rapid Credit Facility, to help meet Tonga’s “urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Cyclone Harold.” Tonga's early closure of external borders had helped avoid a worse economic outcome. “Nevertheless, an economic contraction is expected in FY2021.”
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Friday 4 December 2020

Auckland, New Zealand
Tongans can now ship watermelons to New Zealand after temporary permits were issued to exporters under special conditions, according to Radio New Zealand.
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Friday 14 August 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga still faces challenges with digital adoption, particularly in business operations and even more so in the informal sector, which will need to be addressed for Tonga to fully realise the benefit of digital revolution, the Minister of Trade and Economic Development, Hon Samiu Vaipulu said this week, at the launching of a Tonga Trade Policy Framework and an eCommerce Readiness Assessment report.
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Tuesday 7 July 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s National Reserve Bank on July 1 2020 declared that Tonga’s economy would remain contracted during the current Fiscal Year due to the negative impacts of Cyclone Harold and the continuing COVID-19 restriction.
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Saturday 27 June 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga can boost its foreign earnings significantly if we are able to export quality Tongan kava, the Prime Minister, Hon. Pohiva Tu‘i‘onetoa announced at the launching of the Tonga Kava Quality Standard on 25 June at the Ancient Tonga Centre, Fangaloto, Nuku'alofa. The two main suppliers of Tongan kava, Vava’u and ‘Eua Island, have already heavily invested in planting.
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Friday 15 May 2020

Washington DC, USA
Tonga will receive US$8.4m from the World Bank with US$5.5m allocated to improve management of its public finances, boost resilience to the effects of climate change, and provide better access to skills training for labor opportunities domestically and internationally, and US$2.9m will go towards Tonga's CoViD-19 response.
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Friday 8 May 2020

Suva, Fiji
A Pacific tourism report on the CoViD-19 impact and recovery in the region projected NZD$3.1 billion losses if there were no tourists visiting seven Pacific Island countries, including Tonga, over a 12-month period.
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Wednesday 6 May 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
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.
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Tuesday 5 May 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga needs to grow its small private sector in order to find a lasting solution for the country's fiscal and development challenges, reports the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Tonga will need to address the structural constraints and main deterrents to investment.
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Monday 4 May 2020

Manila, Philippines
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.
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Tuesday 28 April 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s Official Foreign Reserve held by the National Reserve Bank was $457.5 million at the end of March, equivalent to 6.8 months of imports.
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Friday 24 April 2020

Washington, USA
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.
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Wednesday 15 April 2020

Manila, Philippines
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.
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Thursday 2 April 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A $60 million pa'anga economic and social stimulus package to counter the impact of CoViD-19 was announced by the Tongan government today, 2 April. The package will provide short-term financial assistance for all sectors of the Tongan economy. Tonga expects fiscal deficits of $35m 2020 and $54m in 2021.
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Wednesday 1 April 2020

Geneva, Switzerland
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.
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Monday 23 March 2020

Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Many of Tonga's businesses are already facing a cash crunch and looking to scale back their operations, as the impact of the CoViD-19 pandemic bites, the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industries (TCCI) stated today. While the National Reserve Bank of Tonga has reassured Tongans that our banking system is strong enough to withstand the impact of CoViD-19, but economic growth will be lower for the year.
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