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SamoaLive! 14 Oct) Samoa mo
Samoa in Business
The new Foreign Investment Act which came into effect on 15 June
2000 has reserved businesses in buses,taxis,vehicle hires, retailing
and sawmilling to only those of Samoan citizens.The Act also
requires that every existing and future foreign investment in Samoa
has to hold a foreign investment certificate, a requirement which
has to be complied with within 12 months ie by 14 June 2001.This Act
is expected to rationalise and control foreign invesments into the
country.Click here for text
of Act
SamoaLive! 6 Oct) Polynesian Has
Business Lounge
Polynesian airlines is officially opening its business lounge at
Faleolo Airport when the new airport extension is officially opened
by the Government today.This is the first time that Faleolo airport
will have an airline lounge.This will be welcomed by the business
class passengers as before they did not have any special treatment.
The Faleolo airport has become one of the most modern airports in
the Pacific after its recent upgrading by the World Bank.This
development is timely for arrival next month of the new
Polynesian Airlines aircraft.
SamoaLive! 27 September)
T1 or E1 lines?
For those who think that E1 and T1 lines can only be in the USA
will have a pleasant surprise if the latest move by the Governments
of Samoa and American Samoa is actioned.
The current bandwidth in Samoa is only 256,000 binary bits per
second.By installing a T1 line Samoa could increase its bandwith to
1,500,000 binary bits per second.With a T1 line the days of video
conferencing will be practical.
The main goal of the project is to use the T1 line for educational
and health purposes.This move enables Samoa to access a large
badwidth thru the American Samoan facilities.The project could
become a turning poit in the inter-Samoa cooperation.
SamoaLive! 26 September)
Notebook Power on PAL
The latest PAL magazine features its new aircarft specs.
For those who take their computer notebooks on the plane but worry
about the batteries running out before you finish your
documents,there will be no more worries when the new aircraft of
Polynesian Airlines operates in November this year.
The latest aircraft will have a power point to plug your computer
notebook to in the business class section.This feature will make PAL
one of the few airlines offering this power feature in the Pacific.
The new 737 aircraft will allow PAL to fly direct the Apia/Hawaii
and Apia/Australia sectors.
SamoaLive! 24 September 2AP Going
Places
Despite the increase in the number of FM radio, TV stations ans
cable tv services, 2AP still has alot of potential in the future as
shown by the recent interSamoa talks.
2AP with its with its ranging coverage of Samoa and the neighbouring
countries has been identified as a potential radio service beyond
Samoa. American Samoa wants the 2AP to also cater for the Manua
Islands.The coverage of Tokelau and Niue could also make the 2AP a
regional station for these islands.
Samoalive 22 Sept)Dot WS Goes Worldsite
The .ws domain name for Samoa has now been promoted as a domain name
for worldsite which is a creative way to fill the need for sites
which need to be labelled as having a world coverage.
For those using the samoalive e-mail addresses they would have seen
the active promotion of the .ws worldsite domain name in the last
few months.CSL which has been given the right to manage the .ws
domain name is working hard to make the .ws domain name as one of
the most successful domain names in the Pacific following the
publicity on the .tv for Tuvalu and the .nu for Niue.Samoalive will
be helping out with the promotion of the .ws domain name by having
its visitors click thru to the site set up for managing the .ws
domain name
Samoalive
13 August
Elan
Trading consisting of Australian and Samoan partners has won the bid
to run the Vaitele oil mill after the mill shut down
operations earlier this year. The Samoan association of coconut
planters had also competed in the bidding process but could not
match the price and arrangements proposed by Elan Trading. Elan
Trading is also involved in Vanuatu. The coconut planters will now
have a wider choice for sale of their coconuts. The coconut cream
factory of Samoa Tropical Products and the Dessico dessicated
coconut factory are the other buyers of coconuts.
Samoalive 6
August
To persuade foreign investments
in Samoa, the department of Trade Commerce and Industry has
stepped up its performance. Director; Tuala Frank Chan Tung
has urged everyone to " work together to ensure that we accommodate
these investors" and " do everything possible which
we can do to meet their needs" A major project going
under way is the new albacore freezing where Asau will
be used as a station for transshipment to feed the Star Kist
Samoa plant.Samoalive,16
June) If you are planning to set up business for
yourself or for your relatives, you need to know the
costs of labour, leases, utilities, transport,
taxes and duties in Samoa. The business menu on
Samoalive has all this information so that you the exact
costs you will be funding. Click
here for more details
Samoalive,20
May) The position of Attorney General for the government
of Samoa is being advertised (click
here) with the expiration of the present contract of
Ms Brenda Heather-Latu. All positions of the government
have to be advertised. Brenda Heather Latu has been the
first female to occupy the position of Attorney General
in Samoa. Click here for a
recent interview with her for the Mothers Day special
Samoalive,20 May) Asian Development
Bank and IMF missions were in Apia earlier this week for
consultations with the Government. As the model Pacific
economy for economic reforms, Samoa has come under a lot
of attention of the international community. These
missions have come at a time when the government is busy
putting together its 2000/2001 budget for the June 2000
Parliamentary Session.
Samoalive,18
May) Although the civilian coup in Fiji today is seen by
most observers as negative for the Pacific, there could
be some gains for Samoa in the export markets in kava
and taro. The tourists could also be diverted to Samoa.
In the maentime, the main concern now will be the
security of Samoans in Fiji, particularly the students
at USP.Click here for
more on the Fijian coup
Samoalive,5
May) It is fitting with Mothers day a week away, that a
Samoan woman,, Ms Jacinta Folasa Titialii , has
been appointed into one of the most important US
Commissions on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The Whitehouse release to the media yesterday, had the
following to say " Ms. Jacinta Folasa Titialii, of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who has been involved in the
health care industry for fifteen years and is
currently Vice President and Assistant General Counsel
for Tenet
Healthcare Corporation, the second largest
investor-owned health care
management company in the United States. She has been
very active in
the Samoan and Pacific Island communities in the
continental U.S.,
Hawaii, and in American Samoa. Ms. Titialii has also
served as Chair
of the Seattle Arts Commission and Director of
Employment Opportunity
Centers, Inc., a non-profit organization aiding AAPIs
with employment
opportunities. Ms. Titialii received a B.A. degree from
the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the
University of Washington School of Law".
Samoalive, 4 May)
Starkist has announced its decision to set up a fish
purchasing depot at the Asau wharf which will later
be expanded into a fish processing facility.This is
the best thing that has happenned to Asau since the
Potlatch moved into that area some 30 years ago. The
scaling down of the saw milling operations of Samoa
Forestry Corp has led to the Asau area being
depressed in the last few years.
Samoalive,3
May )The PM and his delegation has flown into Manilla
this week to attend the annual meetings of the Asian
Development Bank. Samoa which has been referred to by
the ADB as a "model economy" in the Pacific
receives both technical assistance grants and soft-term
loans from ADB.Samoa is a founding member of ADB
Samoalive,3 May) After a lull in
the TV telecasts in the last 12 months, GBN has become a
24 hour channel with its menu of Christian based
programmes. Two cable tv companies are now planning to
operate within the next month. One of these cable tv
companies which also operates in Pago was officially
opened last week by the PM, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.
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Samoalive,29 Apr)
Polynesian airlines is making money and planning to
have direct flights to Australia and NZ.PAL made
SAT$4.1 miilion for the year ending June 1999.The
proposed expansion of the PAL operations is based on
the addition of 737s later this year. This move will
place PAL on a stronger competitive regional
airline operator. The Samoalive poll however has
shown that PAL has still alot to do to get its act
togther. The poll of 117 respondents show 20 % voted
for PAL as the airline with the best service for
Samoans.
(Samoalive,12Apr)
Media organisations in Samoa are upbeat on their future
prospects. After Maposua Keil announced expansion plans
last week to have an additional two FM stations
operating later this year, it has been reported that 2AP
is also planning to set up a branch in Pago.the 50
to 100 mile band for their long line fishing. The sale
price of the new alias have yet to be finalised. It is
also not clear whether the insurance companies could
insure the boats. Commercial fish exports are still the
leading the export item for the country.
(Samoalive,10
Apr) Its always the nightmare most overseas based
Samoans dread when they buy a paper or magazine, to read
of a criminal being identified as a Samoan. March 2000
will be remembered for the Samoan name being plastered
across the papers in the USA as Salamasina Ottley and
then Mekeli Ieremia were arrested in two separate and
independent multi-million scams. Both have been in Samoa
and talked multi-million schemes which were rejected.
One Government official in Samoa has said that its sad
to see an increasing number of overseas Samoans coming
to Apia with scams thinking the locals do not know how
international financial markets work.
(Samoalive
8 Apr) Since the beginning of the year web surfers have
enjoyed reduced internet costs as the ISP market in
Samoa becomes competitive. Everyone is hoping that the
3 ISPs will survive at the current rates. The
Samoalive team has made a survey of the internet costs
and will be updating them regularly Click
here for the comparisons
Annual
meetings of the Chamber and Manufacturers organisations
have led to new faces in the executive. Apete Meredith
has become the President of the Chamber with Eddie
Wilson retaining the Presidency of the manufacturers.
Both organisations have new faces at the Vice Presidency
level. Merita Wendt in the Manufacturers and Norman
Wetzell in the Chamber.See the details in the section on
new appointments and promotions in this site.
The American Samoa
Economic Advisory Committee established by the US
Secretary of the Interior has had consultations with
Government and Business leaders in Samoa. Whilst there
have been a lot of potential areas for collaboration
there has been relatively little coordination or
harmonisation of investment strategies between Samoa and
American Samoa to date.
(Samoalive, 7 Apr) The Samoa
National Provident Fund has reported that since the 1998
Amendment Act 325 contributors have opted for a lump-sum
withdrawal, with only 3 for a fortnightly pension
on reaching 55 years old. Whilst the Fund did not
identify why there has very few cases taking
the fortnightly pension option , some contributors
interviewed cited the immediate financial pressures for
family commitments for the need to take the lump sum
option.
Garments
exports could reach at least $10 million annually if the
current trend of exports by Cashmere continues.The
Cashmere factory at Vaiala is expected to export
at $1 million per month.
Polynesian Airlines prepares for take
off as it builds up its financial and marketing
management team in time for the new aircraft expected
later this year. The strategic link with Qantas
will give Polynesian Airlines a solid platform to
compete at the international level as it expands its
fleet and regional routes.
The recent
controversies over the behavior modification camps like
Paradise Cove and Better Ways have in a positive way
inspired some to script a film for MGM. The script, has
a touch of "Romeo and Juliet" in the story of
a high school girl who is sent to a camp by her father
after he disapproves of her relationship with a young
man. Her boyfriend then plots to have himself kidnapped
so he can rescue his love. Look out Samoa could end up
as a location for the film.
After the introduction
of the ATM and the EFTPOS in Apia early this year, there
seems to have been a general lack of public enthusiasm
for the new services. The ATM at the ANZ front at
Matafele does not have any long queues as seen in other
countries after hours or in the weekends. The are also
number of different versions on whether there are
additional charges by the shops if one uses her
EFTPOS card for settlement.
Relatively poor performances of its
Sth Pacific stores in the last quarter of 1999 has led
to CostULess downsizing its purchasing office in NZ.Slow
economy in American Samoa has also been reported
adversely affecting the American Samoan store.
Some have suggested
that the registry arrangements for .ws may be a
good area in which Samoa could share with the American
Samoa counterparts on how to effect control and still
have a commercial vehicle for managing the registry. The
.as domain name on the other hand has given the American
Samoa head aches as the ICANA ruling has
favoured an individual, Joseph Matua resding in the USA
(he has traced his ancestry on the internet to Upolu and
Savaii) with the control and earnings from the .as
domain name.
Before the
revelation in the current trial of Leafa and Toi, most
people would have guessed the initials ETTU or TTU as
something to do with telecommunications or teacher
training. However, Leafa's evidence in court this week
has given the public a glimpse of a party which was
planned to contest the general elections to be
called the "E Taua Tagata Uma". With
proposed backing from Taiwan, ETTU was going to
"buy' votes on a formula of $20,000 per MP. Mention
of well known names of Jack, Gafa and Leatifale in the
court proceedings has given the issue an interesting
twist running up to the General elections in early 2001.
A public
lecture by the Japanese advisor to the Pacific Island
Nations (PIN) committee will be held at the National
University of Samoa (NUS) this Thursday 23 March at
midday.
The lecture is part of a fact-finding mission which will
give Samoa the
chance to have input into a G7 meeting later in the
year. The visit is a build up to the Pacific Island
Summit planned for April 2000 in Tokyo. The NUS has
taken an active role in encouraging open discussions of
the public issues in Samoa.
Habitat for Humanity Samoa has been
formed as part of the international organisation which
usually reminds people around the world of the
Former US President Carter in overalls and hammer
helping out with the community housing projects. The
president of the Samoan chapter of the organisation is
Ms Kilali Alailima. The organisation is keen to recruit
and canvass financial support to kick start its
programmes in Samoa.
Following the rapid increase in the
number of fishermen who have lost their lives in the
last 5 years, a new design of the popular alia fishing
boat has been completed with a model built for
launching in April 2000.This alia will allow the
fishermen to have more safety as they go out to
The
controversy over the top level domain name for American
Samoa dot-as has been brewing. Joseph Matua who has been
developing web sites out the US mainland is alleged to
have the exclusive right to sell and control the domain
name. At a time in which the American Samoa government
is keen to find new revenue sources, the outcome of the
probe by the American Samoa Economic Development
Committee is being closely watched.
Register
.ws domain name
Click above
and register a Samoan domain name
The long awaited
trade and business directory by the Trade Commerce
and industry Dept has been released. Whilst it has
tried to be comprehensive in its coverage, the
directory is popular for the a number of major
omissions and misclassifications.
Computer Works Samoa
Ltd today announced that effective 16 January 2000,
Junior Sinclair has been promoted to head the
computer division, Advanced Computer Solutions (ACS)
. Junior Sinclair and Dominic Chan Mow have formed a
strong technical team which the company is confident
will improve their servicing of clients.
New IT opportunities will be generated with the
finalisation of the cooperative agreements between the two Samoas to
share their IT infrastructure. Major improvements are now expected
in the educational and health areas.
The Samoa companies legislation is
now a top priority for redrafting by the Government following a
recent study undertaken by KVAConsult and David Goddard to review
the legal and regulatory environment of the corporate sector in
Samoa.
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Nonu juice
production has picked up in Samoa involving a number
"garage" labs. After a rush in 1997 when the
nonu first became a possible income earner for the
villagers, the industry almost came to a standstill in
recent years when the exporters had payment problems
with the overseas buyers. The trend now is to produce
the juice locally and sell them locally and export some.
Faamati has
as usual led to the Apia businesses enjoying brisk
sales this month. The faamati provides an opportunity
for the congregation to repair, furnish and upgrade the
residence of pastor in the EFKS church. Since first
introduced by the missionaries, this faamati tradition
has become a major event over the years with the
congregations of the EFKS. In keeping with modernisation
the faamati has now expanded to include the
supply of modern house amenities and in some
cases, vehicles for the pastors.
Samoa will be linked to
Wall Street if ADB has its way An Asian Development
Bank team is Apia to look at the possibility of
promoting a regional stock exchange market If
established the stock exchange will make it easier
for Samoans overseas to buy and sell shares of
companies in Samoa and other neighboring countries.
Fiji and PNG are the only Pacific Island countries
with small stock exchanges. The regional stock
exchange idea which has been around for sometime
could become a reality if the ADB decides to play a
supportive role to the private sector players
already in the market.
The funeral of
former Chief Immigration Officer, Suisala Tuipoloa took
place yesterday at Lalovaea. Suisala Tuipoloa was a
prominent Government Official of the Prime Minister's
Department, before he was charged for an alleged
irregularity relating to the sale of passports. Suisala
Tuipoloa in his quiet and friendly manner was
active in a number of community organisations. As an enthusiastic
person at the local gyms he became one of the pioneers
the bodybuilding association in Samoa..
Samoa now has a range
of training
courses to keep up with the latest
computer and cyberspace software. An announcement
was made today by the ACS-St
Joseph's computer school of their 2000 programme.
Starting from March, the ACS-St Joseph's Computer
School at Alafua will offer classes for children on
Saturdays which will teach children how the
computers could be used to help them in their
research for their school projects. For adults, ACS
is also planning to launch a Business Management
course targeting CEO assistants and secretaries by
focusing on the practical application of computers
to business planning and management. ACS will also
continue to offer an NZQA Computer level 2
Certificate which is popular with those wanting a
recognised qualification to help them secure jobs in
NZ. The overseas based Samoans will be
targeted to support the sponsorship of their
relatives for ACS-St Josephs courses in Samoa to
acquire recognised special skills before they seek
work overseas. ACS could be contacted by e-mail
ANZ has purchased the Amerika Samoa Bank which
will further consolidate its position as the main banker in the
Pacific region. This will further facilitate trade between the two
Samoas where ANZ is active
A Samoan translation service on
the internet has now been opened by Noumea Simi out
of Apia. Noumea Simi currently does this translation
service part-time in the evenings after her busy
work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Noumea Simi
said that the translation service started when she
asked by various people and organisations to
translate documents from English to Samoan and vice
versa. The internet connections have now allowed her
to cater for a wider market.
Samoa Communications Ltd
showed the
benefits of having a commercially oriented organisation when it
introduced for the first time discounted international call rates
during Xmas and New Year
Samoa Communications Ltd is finalising its arrangements for the
appointment of its first CEO.The interviews were undertaken in NZ
during December 1999.
CP Training a specialised trainig
and consultancy firm led by Maiava Visekota Peteru is leading the
preparations for a training workshop[ on Strategic Planning For
Women NGOs during February 2000. The training workshop is being
sponsored by NZODA
Intellectual property rights are likely to be
increasingly debated in the Samoan business community as the level
of awareness is raised by the high profile case on the Millennium
logo continues in Apia.
The Samoan Manufacturing Assoc. is still
looking for recruitment of a CEO to implement its strategic
plan completed in early 1999.
Hinauri Petana has been appointed as the
Financial Secretary. Miss Petana has had extensive experience in the
domestic and international financial work. She becomes the first woman
to hold this highest financial advisory post in Government.
In another area, Samau Etuale Sefo has
been reappointed as the CEO for the Samoan Airport Authority
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