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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Results for Economy and Trade
Saturday 27 June 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Friday 15 May 2020
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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.

Friday 8 May 2020
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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.

Wednesday 6 May 2020
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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.

Tuesday 5 May 2020
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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.

Monday 4 May 2020
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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.

Tuesday 28 April 2020
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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.

Friday 24 April 2020
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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.

Wednesday 15 April 2020
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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.

Thursday 2 April 2020
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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.

Wednesday 1 April 2020
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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.

Monday 23 March 2020
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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.

Wednesday 18 March 2020
Washington, USA
A $14 billion COVID-19 response package has been approved by the World Bank and IFC’s Boards of Directors, to fast-track financing to assist companies and countries efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the fast spread of the virus.
Tuesday 25 February 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s growth potential is below what it could be. The economy has been growing well below the regional average for the past two decades, says an IMF Staff report released on February 24. Growth is expected to gradually decline “unless there is a concerted effort to remove bottlenecks hampering private sector development.”
Wednesday 29 January 2020
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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.

Friday 13 December 2019
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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.

Friday 1 November 2019
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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.

Tuesday 1 October 2019
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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.

Saturday 8 June 2019
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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.

Thursday 6 June 2019
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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.
