A United Nations report says private investment levels in Fiji are far too low to generate the economic growth needed to create new jobs.
The Fiji Times says this has been highlighted in the annual report of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP, launched in Suva yesterday.
The report reveals that private investment is below 5 per cent of GDP and creating a favourable climate for investment remains the government's most serious challenge.
It says Fiji's economy grew by 1 point 7 per cent in 2005, much lower than the 4 point 1 per cent in 2004.
The report notes that despite the low rate of economic growth, Fiji's tourism industry has been performing well and with new hotels under construction, the prospects for future growth are good.
The ESCAP report notes that both tourism and remittances by Fiji citizens abroad are helping to sustain the economy in the face of the sharp decline in garment exports and the long term decline in sugar production.
