Economic growth

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said, “while Samoa and most of the Pacific have been spared from the virus so far, we are already feeling the impacts on our small economies.”

He made the statement at the International Labour Organisation Global Leaders Day Virtual Summit, yesterday (Tuesday).

PM Tuilaepa said the COVID-19 situation also came as Samoa was still responding and recovering from another health crisis – the 2019 measles epidemic that took 83 lives and affected over 5,000 people.

The proceeds from sovereign bond issue and concessional drawdowns have increased the international reserves to around US$2.5bn at the end of 2018. 

Rohan George, Group General Manager Treasury, stated: “Much needed relief was given to the market through the conversion of sovereign bond and concessional loan drawdowns. The number of outstanding foreign currency orders significantly reduced by 50 percent in the second half of 2018, and have declined by 70 percent over the past 12 months.”

ADB’s flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook 2016, projects that Pacific economies will grow by an average 3.8% in 2016, down from 7.0% last year, mainly due to pressures faced by Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji—the region’s largest economies. 

However, the report warns that growth in the Pacific is expected to fall to about 5% in 2016, as the one-off boost from the first full-year of PNG’s natural gas exports dissipates.

“Cyclone Pam and Typhoon Maysak again highlight the vulnerability of Pacific economies to disaster risks, which are the highest in the world,’ said Xianbin Yao, Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department.