Niue’s fish processing plant up for sale?

New Zealand’s Reef Group has been hunting in earnest for a buyer of its fish processing plant in Niue.
The company’s business development manager Michael Greer told ISLANDS BUSINESS in Shanghai that the business was not making money. And it has reached a stage where it would need a fresh injection of capital or be shut down.
While the company has been searching for possible opportunities, a window of opportunity opened when Greer was amongst those invited by the Pacific Islands Forum Trade Office (PIFTO) to attend a seminar in Shanghai from July 9-15.
Greer confirmed that two Chinese companies involved in fishing had shown interest and “I will be following them up when I get back to New Zealand.”
Greer told the magazine the processing plant, built in 2004, was not operating sustainably and required more investment.
The New Zealand businessman was also trying to look for markets for his noni juice.
“We are producing 100% certified organic product as opposed to the Tahitian noni which is 30% noni.
“Our strategy is to supply noni juice in bulk, perhaps to a Chinese company involved in the health industry.”
Greer was one of the Pacific businesspeople invited to attend a workshop designed to help islands businesspeople get into the Chinese market. One aspect of the symposium he found disconcerting was the fact that some of the Pacific islands countries did not come when they were invited.
“They certainly missed out on significant opportunities in terms of networking and gaining an understanding of doing business in China,” Greer said.

CNMI’s worsening financial crisis

An independent audit has confirmed the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas is in a worsening financial crisis.
It says the government’s unreserved fund deficit jumped from $256.3 million in 2008 to $300.8 million in 2009—amid unsuccessful attempts to curb expenses through legislation.
This marks a 17.4 percent or $44.5 million increase in just one year as expenses continued to exceed revenue collection.
These figures are contained in a Deloitte & Touche LLC independent auditors report on the CNMI government’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending Sept 30, 2009.
The June 2010 report, obtained by Saipan Tribune also contains financial highlights from the CNMI Department of Finance, such as $275.4 million in expenses for government activities.
These include expenses recorded for payments made or due autonomous agencies and were funded in part by program revenues of $117.4 million, as well as by taxes and other general revenues of $112.8 million.
“The difference between total revenues of $230.2 million and total expenses of $275.4 million is what resulted in the $45.2 million increase in net deficiency,” Finance Secretary Robert Schrack said.
Schrack said this net deficiency represents a 38-percent increase from the prior year.
“The results indicate the CNMI’s financial `condition`, as a whole, continued to decline in the current year,” he said.
The CNMI completely lost its garment industry early in 2009, leaving the local economy with just one major industry-tourism-itself also in a state of decline.
The Finance secretary said economic factors continue to play a large role in developing the tax and other revenue budgets for the general fund of the CNMI.
“The local economy, still slowed by the effects of a drop in tourism and the decline of the garment industry, has continued to follow a trend of decreasing revenues. The prospects for fiscal year 2010 appear similar, with not much recovery in sight,” Schrack said.
He added that this financial report is designed to provide citizens, taxpayers, customers, and creditors with a general overview of the CNMI’s finances and to show the CNMI’s accountability for the money it receives.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial revised the projected revenue for FY 2010 to $137 million, from $148 million.
His FY 2011 budget submission further brings the projected revenue down to $132 million, and this hinges on cost-cutting measures such as work hour and salary cuts.
The 17th Legislature, however, has yet to pass any austerity bill to cut spending. —Mariana Variety

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Tusitala back In business

- Merita Huch

On the anniversary of the fire that destroyed the nearly completed Tanoa fales in Apia, many changes have taken place.
Tourists are already filling up the corridors of the accommodation buildings.
The bar by the pool which provides a haven for the many thirsty locals and tourists is back to its former glory days where many would share a Vailima or cocktails anytime of the day. 
The features of the former bar remain but more space has been added by the poolside to allow a bigger number of visitors to enjoy this part of the hotel.
Facing the pool on the other side is one of the major fales built for Tanoa. There, the restaurant is picking up momentum as word gets around that the Tanoa Tusitala is now open for business.
It has been a long journey for the Tanoa Hotel Group after the inferno last year destroyed what had become the iconic features of the Tusitala (Kitano) Hotel for decades.
The Samoan designed constructions were the replica of the original Tusitala hotel fales and the new Fijian based management wanted to maintain the look and had rebuild to the same design.
All that literally went up in smoke in what had been suspected to be the result of an electrical fault started the fire.
Many stood in shock just watching the buildings burn and nothing was left of that accident except concrete.
What is now opened to the public are the Restaurant, the accommodation area and the swimming pools with the new poolside bar.
Efforts have doubled up in the past months to ensure quick recovery of the losses to this major project. 
There hasn’t been any word as to the costs of damage from the fire—the focus says Tanoa Hotel group Chief Executive Officer Kevin Wilson is on completing the Samoan branch of the hotel group.
The group bought the hotel for 20 million Samoan tala.
What’s opened to the public now is the first achievement of the three-phase project. Work continues on the second phase with a huge conference fale built at the front of the Sogi complex.
An addition to this multi-million tala hotel is a Kids Club where entertainment areas are built for the younger visitors.
There are also plans in the pipeline for more accommodation units. This is for the last phase of the Tanoa Tusitala project with landscaping the latest addition to the hotel industry in the country.
With the doors now opened to visitors, the management is happy.
“There are more than 70 staff members already working at the hotel,” Wilson explains.
“The expansion will also include more personnel and most of them are from Samoa with a few from Fiji”.
The Tanoa Tusitala in Apia targets international conferences, hence the major constructions now under way.
Samoa’s reputation as one of the more preferred venues for conferences and seminars in the region fits in well with the hotel’s plans.
The Tanoa Hotel group already has hotels in Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Tanoa Tusitala is its latest addition.
The group has also announced plans to build hotels in Tonga and Vanuatu.
When the former management of Tusitala—the Kitano Hotel Group from Japan—released ownership of this once government-run entity, new investors announced their interest in the new purchase.
Controversy surrounded the sale of Kitano to a consortium of businessmen from the United States. It was a deal that fell flat and the Kitano management had to prolong their departure until a confirmed investor took over.