Dear Editor, THE French BRED Bank will open its doors in Honiara tomorrow, Friday, becoming the fourth commercial bank in the Solomon Islands. BRED Bank’s other operations in the Pacific are in Fiji, Vanuatu, Tahiti, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. Having given the go ahead to open its doors in Honiara, the governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, Denton Rarawa, has forecast that BRED Bank’s entry into the local market will improve the banking options available to businesses and individuals. BRED Bank’s venture into the Solomon IslandsRead More

Dear Editor, DURING last week, the National Referral Hospital [NRH]’s Medical Laboratory installed a new biochemistry analyser. The installation of the analyser replaced the old one which was in use for more than 10 years. The biochemistry analyser is a machine that tests for kidney, liver, heart, sugar, gout and other body chemistries. The NRH Chief Executive officer [Acting], Dr Rooney Jagilly, was reported saying he was pleased about its installation. ‘’With the current increase of life styles diseases in the country, the availability of the biochemistry analyser will enableRead More

Dear Editor, IN a series of news bulletins broadcast by Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) over the past few days, the focus has been on two logging incidents in the Solomon Islands that are reported to be of serious concern and, in one case, an investigation has been called for in respect of alleged biodiversity and environmental damage. Quoting from the RNZI bulletins:- East Are ‘Are, Malaita “A Malaysian logging company has been accused of destroying two hectares of virgin mangrove forest in Solomon Islands’ Malaita Province. “The owners of theRead More

Dear Editor, MR. Patterson Siliota, the Chief Inspecting Officer of the Solomon Islands Commodities Export Market Authority (CEMA), has confirmed that total exports of cocoa beans to the premium chocolate market for 2017 so far stands at 24 metric tonnes (worth over SBD600,000) compared with less than 2 metric tonnes exported in previous years. “This is a significant increase since Solomon Islands only began exporting cocoa to the boutique market in 2013. It also shows that international interest in the Solomon Islands cocoa is growing rapidly” has said Mr. Siliota. HeRead More