FECAS - ECSVS Forum

‘Seychelles’ economic progress stays dynamic’

14-October-2014
President MichelSeychelles’ economic development remains dynamic and like all countries we have our ups and downs as the economy is not cast in stone.

President James Michel said depending on international and local factors, a country’s economy grows or slows down, and this is particularly true in an open economy which depends a lot on the realities of the international economic situation.

“When Europe is in recession, the Seychelles economy is badly affected as most of our tourists come from Europe. As a result there is a decrease in the number of tourists who come to Seychelles and those who do come do not have the same spending power. This is why we have to be vigilant to see what is causing the negative impact and take measures to remedy the situation and at the same time strengthen and harmonise the existing laws to stop the situation from getting out of hand,” President Michel said in the En Moman Avek Prezidan programme.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=243305

Seychelles to host first national stakeholders meeting on ‘Blue Economy’

27-November-2014
Seychelles is organising a national stakeholders dialogue on the relevance of the Blue Economy to its development.

The meeting, to be held on December 9-10, 2014 at the International Conference Centre, will be officially opened by President James Michel.

As a matter of policy the government of Seychelles is seeking to explore the full potential of its Blue Economy and bring it to the forefront of the national agenda.

“Seychelles has been at the forefront in pushing the Blue Economy concept onto the agenda of the international community as a recognition of the priorities of small island developing states (Sids). Through the Blue Economy we are large ocean nations. Seychelles has always recognised the importance of our ocean to our development and this is reflected in many of the strategic investments we have made to develop fisheries for example. But it is clear that we need further innovation and transformation to empower our people to take up these new opportunities. This conference is the opportunity for the Seychellois people to lead this Blue Economy revolution,” said President Michel.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=243777

2014: Economic growth slowed down but economy remained stable

31-December-2014


The year 2014 started on a bright note following the buoyant performance of 2013 when the economy grew by 5.3 percent in real terms supported by an upbeat performance of the tourism sector while notable results were also realised in the manufacturing sector. Such outcome was against a backdrop of a more relaxed policy environment with a focus which extended beyond the short-term and which provided for a forecasted growth of 3.7 per cent. However, based on the latest projection, growth in real GDP would be at around 2.8 per cent, representing a downward revision from the initial forecast and at a slower pace compared to 2013.

The projected lower economic growth is primarily due to a slowdown in the contribution from tourism and related activities as well as an overall decline in manufacturing output. The performance of the manufacturing sector based on the production indicators for January to September 2014 showed year-on-year declines in, for example, output of ‘beer’, ‘soft drinks’, ‘canned tuna’ and ‘blocks’ by 17 per cent, 4.4 per cent, 14 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively. As for the indicators of the performance of the tourism sector, visitor arrivals is expected to finish the year close to the same level as the previous year. Europe remained the main supply market but further diversifications were observed during the year with the Russian, Chinese, African and Middle Eastern markets recording a noteworthy increase in their respective contributions. Such outcome was mainly the result of an increase in the number of flights to these regions as well as marketing strategies geared towards increased diversification. However, the direct earnings from tourism are projected at 5.0 per cent lower than in the previous year.

Against the above backdrop, the economy experienced a strong growth in private consumption fuelled by an increase in income and an expansion in credit, all of which underpinned higher demand for foreign goods, which led to balance of payments pressures and corresponding adjustments in the external value of the domestic currency. As such, 2014 was arguably an important test of how the Seychelles’ economy adjusts to major shocks while it also gave an indication of the strength of its underlying fundamentals.

Going into the second half of the year, growth in credit to the private sector has been hovering in the double digits. Expectedly, such growth in credit translated into an increase in imports and consistently higher demand for foreign exchange. The resulting growth in demand for foreign exchange exceeded that in supply which under a floating exchange rate regime should result in a depreciation of the domestic currency until a new market-clearing equilibrium is reached. However, due to certain rigidities in the market, the exchange rate adjusted with some delays and consequently, in early August, certain demands for foreign currency were being met with a lag. Nonetheless, following the adjustment of the domestic currency, the unmet demand was cleared by the end of October. With the adjustment, the domestic currency depreciated to an average of R14.10 against the US dollar (by R2.02 or 17 per cent) towards the end of December 2014 compared to its value at the end of December 2013.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=244091

Enterprise monitoring needs to be beefed up

31-March-2015
The capacity of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission which is already being very effective has to be strengthened so that it Minister Adam speaking during the press conferencecan improve governance and oversight of state-owned enterprises and at the same time the management of these enterprises needs to be reinforced.

Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy Minister Jean-Paul Adam said this last week during a press conference organised to wrap up the visit of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by chief of the mission Marshall Mills.

Mr Mills had during the conference highlighted the “weak operating results of certain public enterprises” as a cause for concern, and stated that the government of Seychelles needs to ensure that state-owned enterprises focused on their core mandates, minimising risk to the finances from any new mandates, and preserving space for private sector development.

Minister Adam said in its talks with the IMF, the government had been focused on reinforcing the management of state-owned enterprises.

"The first element that we’ve agreed is to further strengthen the capacity of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC) which has already started its work and is already being very effective," said Minister Adam.

"Being a small country, there are certain sectors where it has been very important that state-owned enterprises can play a role of stabilisation in the economy," he said.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=244972

Enterprise monitoring needs to be beefed up

31-March-2015
The capacity of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission which is already being very effective has to be strengthened so that it Minister Adam speaking during the press conferencecan improve governance and oversight of state-owned enterprises and at the same time the management of these enterprises needs to be reinforced.

Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy Minister Jean-Paul Adam said this last week during a press conference organised to wrap up the visit of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by chief of the mission Marshall Mills.

Mr Mills had during the conference highlighted the “weak operating results of certain public enterprises” as a cause for concern, and stated that the government of Seychelles needs to ensure that state-owned enterprises focused on their core mandates, minimising risk to the finances from any new mandates, and preserving space for private sector development.

Minister Adam said in its talks with the IMF, the government had been focused on reinforcing the management of state-owned enterprises.

"The first element that we’ve agreed is to further strengthen the capacity of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC) which has already started its work and is already being very effective," said Minister Adam.

"Being a small country, there are certain sectors where it has been very important that state-owned enterprises can play a role of stabilisation in the economy," he said.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=244972

Stakeholders in food business learn more about responsible imports and marketing practices

07-April-2015
Dr Gedeon addressing the audienceImporters and businesses involved in food marketing, agencies which protect the rights of consumers to healthy and safe foods as well as the Ministry of Health which promotes healthy eating practices recently came together during a forum to discuss various issues related to food.

As part of activities to mark Consumer Rights Day on March 15 last month, the Food Control Unit of the Public Health Authority, the Nutrition Unit of the Health Care Agency of the Ministry of Health partnered with the Fair Trading Commission to organise the forum and information session at the end of last month at the Sheikh Khalifa conference room.

The aim was to promote responsible imports, and marketing of food in the country.
During the session those present learned more on regulations in the Consumer Protection Act, and the Food Act pertaining to deception and misleading information that is disseminated through food marketing.

They also learned about nutrition, healthy as well as unhealthy foods and the impact of food marketing on children and adults food choices.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=245018