Annie Are You OK?

Just like Michael Jackson (RIP), we just gotta ask Annie Reymond-Rogers the CEO of the Fiji Trade and Investment Board if she's indeed OK, or if she's buddying up with the smooth criminals aka the treasonous terrorists of Bainimarama et al.

Her latest statement certainly has us scratching our heads.

Ms Reymond-Rogers asserts that in 2008, 279 investment applications were received totalling a proposed investment level of $428.3 million.  These proposed investments should have generated 3637 job opportunities.

From those 279 applications received, only 245 foreign investment registration certificates with a total proposed investment worth $405.5 million were issued.

That however was not the crux of this media report. The "story" was embedded (perhaps compliments of the illegal censors) in another related story.

Turns out that for hoped for 3,000 or so jobs (with total proposed investment $405.5 million) only 281 projects valued at $623.8 million were realised, which apparently created 2262 jobs for locals. It would be very interesting to suss out exactly which sector these investments were made in.

The CEO finally concedes that registration for 2008 was a "a decline from the 398 projects in 2007 with proposed investment value of $495.1 million and 7302 employment".

The two winning CYA sentences however are:

1. "The decline is attributed largely to the global financial and economic crisis and its impact on global growth and Fiji's main trading partners, the latter from which a significant proportion of foreign investment is sourced for Fiji,"
   
2. "It could also be attributed to the increase in the FIRCA application fee from $14 to$2812.50, which took effect in July 2008,"

Any economist worth their salt know's that the political stability of any country soliciting international investment is paramount. Unsurprisingly there is no mention of that whatsoever.

It must be easier to pin all their investments aspirations on China.

Flogging all our products in China may help but what we are offering may not be what they really want or need.