Results for Economy and Trade

With domestic inflation easing since June and headline inflation well below the reference range of 6-8% there are no inflationary pressures on the monetary policy stance in the near term, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga reported on December 17.

Tonga's economy is set to receive a boost after the World Bank today approved a second USD$5 million operation to support growth through the government's national development strategy.

The inflation rate for the month of August this year 2014 was almost three times higher than the inflation rate for the month of August last year 2013.

The Tongan currency (Pa’anga) has shown a continuing decline against the New Zealand and Australian dollars over the last 15 years, and the pa'anga is, arguably, in its worst year ever against its major trading partners.

A need to continue to improve the business environment in Tonga and to bolster confidence is stressed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its 2014 country report for Tonga released today, which also notes that the Tongan economy is rebounding supported by agricultural exports and post-cyclone reconstruction activity.

Tonga has two accumulating government debts that the Minister of Finance, Dr 'Aisake Eke plans to address during the 2014-15 Financial year.

The revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement GPA entered into force on 6 April 2014. The parties to the revised GPA will see gains in market access of an estimated US$80 billion to US$100 billion annually for their businesses. – WTO 7 April 2014.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is weeding out corruption from its development projects, barring any firm or individual it believes is cheating development projects.

An important review of Tonga's trade policy by the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, from February 11-13, found that the Pacific island nation faces a backlog of reforms that are required to modernize and streamline its legal and regulatory frameworks for economic development. Tonga's imports continue to outstrip its exports by a factor of at least 10:1 annually and over 50% of its imports are for fuel and food.