The Fijian Government, through its business reform agenda, has implemented measures to create a conducive business environment. One such bold step included the elimination of business licence requirements in
2020. Engineered towards progression, these measures have brought about cost-saving, streamlined processes and modernisation of archaic procedures. In tangent, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that the elimination of the business licence requirement alone earned FJ$3.56 million of Direct Compliance Cost Savings (DCCS) for businesses in Fiji. The DCCS methodology measures benefits of reforms that focus on the reduction of fees, costs and procedures that lead to Labour (time) and/or monetary savings. The estimated savings identified by IFC takes a conservative approach, given they are based on administrative data on business licence and processing fees only and 80 percent of municipal council data. At a stock take meeting held on 23 June 2022, the Permanent Secretary of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport highlighted that increasing business efficiency was a key focus area for the Fijian Government. This means, identifying and streamlining processes that lead to increased investment and savings for businesses by reducing costs. “What these numbers translate to is opportunities. Opportunities to look ahead at reforms that in time will accrue greater benefit for the private sector, opportunities for cost savings and reinvestment as well as opportunities to make approval processes more accessible,” said Shaheen Ali. The IFC highlighted that the positive impact of such bold steps create a greater appetite to strengthen Fiji’s reform agenda. This includes components of legislative reforms with stronger focus on digitalisation.
Moving forward, the Ministry will continue working with the IFC, taking a risk-based approach, to identify existing and new sectors that can lead to quick wins. With the discontinuation of the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, the Ministry and the IFC will re-purpose Fiji’s Doing Business Taskforce with renewed focus on broader sectoral reforms.

ENDS.