1. Country Report to Vanuatu Cabinet ~ October 2013 Archana Singh S99000405 Maxine Valentine S97002304 Stuart Gow s11100919

2. Vanuatu Scope Country Basics Infrastructure Business Environment Foreign Trade Business Sectors Investment Promotion Sustainability Recommendations 3. Vanuatu Vanuatu 101 4. Vanuatu Location in South Pacific 5. Vanuatu Vanuatu Geography Land area 14,760 Km2 More than 80 islands Several active volcanoes Languages, over 112: English French Bislama Native languages 6. Vanuatu Population 2012 Total Population 250,000 Males 119,091 Females 114,932 Av. growth rate 2.3% Population density (per sq.km) 21 49% 51% Females Males 7. Vanuatu Structure 2012 Age Dependency Ratio 71 Structure 2012 < 15 years 90,973 15 - 24 years 45,423 25 - 59 years 83,821 60+ years 13,806 8. Vanuatu Urbanisation Urban population 57,195 Urban growth rate 3.5% Percent urban (%) 24.4 9. Vanuatu 10. Vanuatu Dual Society Have & Have nots 65% Population Subsistence Living 11. Vanuatu The Happy People Index http://www.happyplanetindex.org/ Vanuatu #1 !!!! 12. Vanuatu Political Political System Legal System Independence: July 1980 Republican system Political long term stability English common law Supreme Court Magistrates Court 13. Vanuatu Health Care Hospitals & Clinics Malaria Gov t health care system Not good enough for retirement investment Health Sector strategy 2010 2016 Comprehensive Reform Program (CRP) Marked reduction since 2000 Drop of 75% incidence (WHO 2011) 14. Vanuatu Millennium Development Goals MDGS Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Target 1: Halve between 1990 and 2015 the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day. Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger 15. Vanuatu Millennium Development Goals MDGS Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Target 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling 2012 Literacy Rate 81% 16. Vanuatu Roads Ports Airports Telecommunications Utilities 17. Vanuatu Infrastructure Roads Ports New tar sealed roads Efate Espiritu Santo Funding by Millennium Challenge Accounts (MCA) Upgraded wharf facility Port Vila 2012 2 new tug boats (ADB) 18. Vanuatu Global Connectivity Air Sea Good air connections Airlines: Air Vanuatu Fiji Airways Pacific Blue Air Calin International port: Port Vila Regular shipping from: Australia New Zealand 19. Vanuatu Infrastructure Airports Telecommunications Bauerfield (Efate) new cargo terminal extension of runway Pekoas (Santo) International flights Government priority: Improving domestic airports Mobile networks increased Internet connection New Cable to Fiji? 20. Vanuatu Infrastructure Electricity Water/Sewerage Govt Supplied to only Main islands, only 28% population No Electricity in most villages Generators Limited Alternate Power Projects to date Potential for hydropower generation geothermal sites In city of Port Vila Piped in some villages Streams & rivers Video(1.40Min) showing women carrying water 21. Vanuatu 22. Vanuatu Vanuatu GDP Currency: Vanuatu vatu ($1.00 FJD = $51.00 VUV) Nominal GDP: $580 million Real GDP Growth Rate 1.1% Inflation Rate(consumer prices): 3.1% GDP per Capita purchasing power parity - $2,900 (20011 est.) Natural Resources: Forest Marine resources Agricultural Land 23. Vanuatu Performance of Government 24. Vanuatu Public Debt & Reserves 25. Vanuatu Credit to private Sector 26. Vanuatu Ease of doing business World Bank recent report 27. Vanuatu Economy Ease of Doing Business Rank Filtered Rank Tonga 57 1 Samoa 61 2 Fiji 62 3 Vanuatu 74 4 Solomons 97 5 PNG 113 6 Kiribati 122 7 Micronesia 156 8 28. Vanuatu Ease of Doing Business Ranking 29. Vanuatu Inflation 30. Vanuatu Prices Inflationary pressures Consumer price index inflationary pressures may materialize 2014 Average inflation rate to remain within the central banks 0%-4.0% target range June Qtr 2013 increase by 0.2% over the previous quarter Reflecting slight slowdown in economic activity 31. Vanuatu Foreign exchange reserve Dec 2012 VT17.5bn 7.4 months imports 32. Vanuatu Labour Force Statistics 2009 Employed 42,295 Subsistence workers 41,877 Males 21,942 Females 19,935 Labour Force Participation rate 70.9 Unemployment rate 4.6 Males 4.1 Females 5.2 Employment-population ratio 30.3 Literacy Rate 81% 33. Vanuatu International Memberships British Commonwealth French League of Nations United Nations Agence de Co-operation Culturelle et Technique South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (SPEC) Secretariat of the Pacific Community World Bank Asian Development Bank 34. Vanuatu Current Foreign Trade 2012 35. Vanuatu Imports Food & live animals beverages & tobacco machinery & transport equipment mineral fuels, lubricants & related 36. Vanuatu Exports Copra Agriculture (beans) Beef Cocoa Fisheries 37. Vanuatu 2012 Balance of Payments Growth Rate of Merchandise Exports (%) 24.6 Growth Rate of Merchandise Imports (%) 1.0 Trade Balance (% of GDP) -24.4 Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -6.0 ADB Economics and Research Department Development Indicators 38. Vanuatu 39. Vanuatu Private Sector Structure and Growth 40. Vanuatu Tourism Tourism >40% GDP Concentrated on Efate Large growth in Cruise Sector Increase in tourist arrivals in 2012-13 41. Vanuatu Fisheries Tuna fisheries 2nd largest export 42. Vanuatu Agriculture Coffee Beef Tanna Coffee (premium) High quality organic beef 43. Vanuatu Agriculture cont. Copra Cocoa & Kava Latrge tracts of Plantations Volatile global prices Possible biodiesel Cocoa specialty 44. Vanuatu Forestry Sustainable promoted Timbers? Teak sandal wood High grade high price specialties Agro-forectry 45. Vanuatu Offshore financial services Currency: Vanuatu vatu NO TAXES! Major Banks present: ANZ WestPac Bred BSP 46. Vanuatu Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority 47. Vanuatu Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority Formed byVFIP Act Promoted Sectors Agriculture Fisheries Forestry Tourism Manufacturing 48. Vanuatu UN WAIPA Website Clear & smooth Up to date All info given Languages : French Chinese Japanese Korean 49. Vanuatu Forward for a Green Economy... 50. Vanuatu Green tourism Tourism Development Plan Possible Solutions Currently no Dev. Plan! Encourage sustainability Energy efficiency Low impact Building Codes Tax incentives Tax allowance Tax Holidays Eco-tourism Low footprint tourism 51. Vanuatu Energy Efficiency Policies & Regulations Framework Solutions No National Energy Policy Framework Chance to develop a renewable energy policy No indigenous sources of fossil fuels mini grid diesel generation coconut oil conversions Geothermal Solar PV systems Hydropower Wind Hybrid with mixed renewable energy 52. Vanuatu 53. Vanuatu Strengths Strong financial centre Tax Benefits Reasonable labor cost Duty exemptions in imports in Tourism Manufacturing/ Processing Mineral Exploration & Extraction Diesel fuel for generation of certain electric power Fishing Industry Equipment for village and rural fishing projects No income tax No withholding tax No capital gain tax No death duties No foreign exchange controls Easy repatriation of profits 54. Vanuatu Weaknesses Bad infrastructure Uneducated workforce Limited international flights Bad health levels and care Malaria Primitive culture Medical & Dental Costs highj 55. Vanuatu Opportunities Agriculture Tourism Investing in agriculture Export market Tanna Coffee Skin Care products (copycat ) Infrastructural development Income Tax (tax on consumption) Green Tourism 56. Vanuatu Threats Agriculture Tourism Global coffee prices (commodity) Copra volatile Tourism: small player Fiji Gold Coast PNG 57. Vanuatu 58. Vanuatu Sustainability Implement some form of Environmental Protection Laws Use ADB and AUSAid to assist with this (like Fiji did) Implement renewable energy in a National Energy Policy Framework Promote Green Tourism businesses 59. Vanuatu Improve Airports High cost economy Cost of infrastructure Spread tourism dollar Link outer islands 60. Vanuatu SME Support and Microfinancing Make microfinance available Encourage MSME development Sustainable businesses Possible ADB or AusAid assistance 61. Vanuatu Agricultural Business Incubator Start-up a agri-incubator Get banking/ microfinance support for SME agri-projects Tourism suppliers Export Organic? 62. Vanuatu Tourism Cruising Sector Green tourism P&O very heavily invested Further encourage by continuing support Large Govt income from Port Fees New Tourism Development Plan Focus on Green Tourism Development 63. Vanuatu 64. Vanuatu References Australia Broadcasting Cooperation Vanuatu Economic Report 2009 Vanuatu Economic Report 2012 Australian High Commission in Port Vila website. Updated April 2011 2011 Index of Economic Freedom Doing Business 2012 Vanuatu Government of Vanuatu website: governmentofvanuatu.gov.vu http://www.heritage.org/ www.investvanuatu.org/vanuatu/facts.html www.dfat.gov.au/geo/vanuatu/vanuatu_brief.html AusAid Website : www.ausaid.gov.au/country/country.cfm?CountryId=17 http://gcr.weforum.org/gcr2011/ 65. Country Report to Vanuatu Cabinet ~ October 2013 Archana Singh S99000405 Maxine Valentine S97002304 Stuart Gow s11100919