Results for Economy

A petition that was tabled into Parliament to stop the construction of a restaurant/burger bar at the ocean swimming pool on the Touliki waterfront in the capital, was deferred for government to make a final decision. From the House by Pesi Fonua.

In March 2021, Tonga's official Foreign Reserves continued a downward trend. Following the previous month’s decline, the reserves fell by $6.7m to $685.7m, equivalent to 11.7 months of import, according to the National Reserve Bank of 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.