30 Aug 2014

Solomons growth estimate revised down

11:33 am on 30 August 2014

Solomon Islands Finance Minister Rick Hou says the country's GDP growth estimate for 2014 has been revised down substantially to around zero percent.

That's compared with the 2014 budget original forecast of four percent.

The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation says Mr Hou made the statement when he introduced the government's second Supplementary Appropriation Bill for 2014 in Parliament yesterday.

The bill is to appropriate an additional US$25 million to government services for the year ending 31st December 2014.

The minister said the combined impact of the April flash floods in Honiara and the suspension of mining operations at the Gold Ridge Mine in Central Guadalcanal, caused the revision.

Rick Hou says the expected impact on Solomon Islands' GDP growth could be similar to that caused by the Global Financial Crisis in 2009 when growth also fell to zero.