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Hawaii 2001: ADB 34th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors
  9 to 11 May 2001, Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, USA
Annual Meeting Home : Seminars: Papers and Presentations : Seminar

HIGHLIGHTS »

Pacific Day Seminar: Private Sector Development in the Pacific
7 May 2001 (2:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.)

Organized by the Asian Development Bank with the Japan Program of the Inter-American Development Bank

Progress Made in Promoting Private Sector Development

The Pacific Island states have implemented public sector reform and private sector development programs since the mid-1990s. Much has been achieved to improve the environment for private sector investments at the macro level including:

    Implementation of economic policies designed to attract foreign direct investment

  • Reduction in size and scope of public sector in a number of Pacific countries to create space for private investment.

However, private sector response to these initiatives remains limited. This indicates the need to complement these macro policies with micro level interventions to address the constraints.

Discussion Topics - Remaining Challenges

Red tape: Regulations intended to facilitate are actually constraining business activities. Little has been done to remove "red tape".

Limited availability of finance for small and medium enterprises: Commercial banks restrict their lending activities to well-secured loans. The few equity finance providers start at $200,000, which is too large for small enterprises, the majority of the private sector.

PROGRAM/SPEAKERS
Time SpeakerPresentation
Session I: Removing "Red Tape"
2:00 - 2:10 Gerard Finin (Moderator)
Pacific Island Development Program, East-West Center, Hawaii		Introduction
2:10 - 2:20 Andrew Proctor
Regional Manager, Asia Pacific Regional Office, 		| View Abstract |
2:20 - 2:30 Sebastian Anefal
Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Federal States of Micronesia
2:30 - 2:40 Bhoendradatt Tewarie
Director, Institute of Business, University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
2:40 - 3:20 Open Discussion
3:20 - 3:35 Coffee Break
Session II: Alternatives for SME Finance
3:35 - 4:00 Aivu Tauvasa
Trade Commissioner, South Pacific Trade Commission, Australia		Launching of Pacific Islands Business Information Guide and the Director of Business Support Services
4:00 - 4:10 Mark Wenner (Moderator)
Financial Specialist, Sustainable Development Department, Inter-American Development Bank 		Introduction
4:10 - 4:20 Ken McArthur
Managing Director, National Bank of Vanuatu		| View Abstract |
4:20 - 4:30 Hinauri Petana
Financial Secretary, Treasury Department, Samoa
4:30 - 4:40 Gerard Pemberton
Managing Director, Development Finance Ltd., Trinidad and Tobago		| View Abstract |
4:40 - 5:20 Open Discussion
4:40 - 5:20 Open Discussion
5:20 - 5:25 Robert Siy Jr.
Manager, Office of Pacific Operations, Asian Development Bank 		Rapporteur's Summary
5:25 - 5:30 Basudev Dahal
Director, Office of Pacific Operations, Asian Development Bank		Closing Remarks

Contact Us

For further information, contact Ms. Andrea Iffland, ADB, Manila, tel. (63-2) 632-6126, fax: (63-2) 636-2446, e-mail: aiffland@adb.org.
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