This project analyses the drivers and barriers for private investment in the Pacific, exploring the possibilities and benefits of private investment, as well as the challenges it presents.
This report examines the drivers of, and barriers to, private sector investment (both foreign and local), drawing on in-depth case-based interviews with 24 investors from Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue. The sectors covered are tourism, agriculture, renewable energy and telecommunications. The findings reveal a complex and diverse array of issues that constrain and facilitate investment in the Pacific and which shape its eventual success and broader impacts on sustainable development outcomes.
Professor Simon Milne and his research team presented recent research funded by NZIPR that examined the drivers of, and barriers to, private sector investment (both foreign and local) in selected countries in the Pacific. The research sought to understand the benefits and costs associated with different forms of private sector investment – ranging from large scale foreign through to small scale local/Pasifika and ex(re)patriate. The seminar included recommendations to enhance the growth/development impact of investment (both foreign and local).
The presentation was recorded and will be hosted on this website once it is available.
A number of case studies from the research project are available below. These have all been reviewed and approved by the businesses concerned and represent a very important practical legacy from the work that others can benefit from in the future.
Professor Simon Milne is Director of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute and Associate Head of School at AUT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism.
Simon’s expertise is also relevant to research on labour markets in the Pacific. In 2013, he completed the Pacific Regional Tourism and Hospitality HRD Strategy for the EU. Simon is also actively involved in private-sector investment analysis and attraction through his work with the IFC/World Bank and the EU Proinvest programme.
Simon has worked in every SID nation in the region with the exception of the French Territories and Tokelau.