SELECT REGIONS
Pacific Region
Projects in the Pacific Region include:-
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: World Bank (IFC)
Project Description: Vinstar completed a review of the Tonga Development Bank that addressed the objectives of the Government of Tonga to expand its banking services and extend credit to the MSME sector as well as those not being banked by the foreign banks operating in the country. Recommendations were made in regard to the future direction to be taken by the bank and the necessary changes required. The assignment also included a financial evaluation of the position of the bank and an IT/MIS review.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Government of Samoa
Project Description: The Project Goal is to strengthen the capacity of the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS) to provide high quality statistics to enable the private and public sectors in Samoa to formulate evidence based policies to undertake economic, social and business planning. The Project Purpose is to ensure that the SBS, as the national centre of expertise in official statistics, is efficiently and effectively producing and disseminating high quality statistics and playing a strategic role in the coordination of official statistics in Samoa and the region.
Country: Kiribati
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: This TA addresses the issue of State Owned Enterprise reform via a review of their current status and the preparation and submission of a plan to the GOK with recommendations as to the next steps. These recommendations have taken the form of advice to undertake sales of non critical assets and steps to strengthen those SOEs facing financial problems with a view to future sale. An SOE Monitoring Department in in the process of being established while a pilot study is about to commence in relation to SOEs and their CSOs. The TA also addresses the need to work towards improving fiscal performance and reduce the fiscal deficit, ensure fiscal prudence, strengthen public financial management through long-term budget strategies.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Government of Samoa
Project Description: The program was a three-year design to help achieve sustained improvement in the core functions of the MPMC. It provided assistance to build the management and corporate governance capacity of the MPMC. It re-engineered the business process of the Cabinet Secretariat and saw the adoption of improved Cabinet management procedures that were supported by efficient information management processes and systems. It assisted with implementation of the mandate of the PIMU by building the policy coordination and implementation management capacity of the PIMU of MPMC so that they are can provide credible policy advice and effective coordination to Cabinet and the Prime Minister. It built the capacity of the MPMC to deliver effective and efficient policy coordination and implementation and Cabinet business management outputs.
Country: Tuvalu
Funding Agency: AusAID
Project Description: Provide high quality advice to the Australian Director on the Tuvalu Trust Fund Board and also as member of the Tuvalu Trust Fund Investment Committee provide quality advice to the Australian Director and other Board members to inform Directors decision on investment strategies and fund management issues based on sound analysis.
Country: Pacific Regional
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Support PNG in the design and installation of the electronic registry and assist with the roll-out of an implementation program, aimed at creating broad public awareness and developing capacity among the key users of the PPS Act and associated registry. This work on the design and installation of company registries is then to be used in other Pacific countries as required.
Country: Pacific Regional
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Assisting Private Sector Development through improved access to finance by establishing a secured transactions environment. Including design and installation of the electronic IT registry and assisting with the roll-out of an implementation program which is aimed at creating a broad public awareness and developing capacity in the key users of the PPSA and associated registry.
Country: Tuvalu
Funding Agency: NZAID
Project Description: An Independent Review of the proposed Objective Based Assets Allocation (OBAA) approach, including a cost/benefit and risk analysis of the OBAA approach, in order to provide clear information and recommendations for the TTF Board on the most beneficial investment approach for the people ofTuvalu. The secondary objective of the review was to consider the current TTF objectives, and make recommendations, if appropriate, on how the current governance structures, administration functions and drawdown policies (TTF and CIF) could potentially be improved to better meet the objectives.
Country: Solomon Islands
Funding Agency: Government of the Solomon Islands
Project Description: HR support for the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands. Review recommendations in relation to terms and conditions and work with executive management to develop a timetable to implement agreed changes to improve terms and conditions and also increase productivity.
Country: Pacific Regional
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Private Sector Development Initiative. Support for the evolution of SOEs either as privatised entities or public private partnerships (PPPs) in a number of Pacific Island states including the Solomon Islands,Tonga,Vanuatu and Samoa.
Country: Kiribati
Funding Agency: AusAID
Project Description: The Government of Kiribati has to have a sound policy and regulatory framework that guides and facilitates informed decisions on the management of the Revenue Equalisation Reserve Fund (RERF). Supporting the International consultants engaged to review the Kiribati RERF, liaising directly with the RERF committee members and staff of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MFED).
Country: Marshall Islands
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Land Reform and Private Sector Development. Create an environment conducive to private investment and productive employment by addressing the following key areas: promoting understanding of the economic use of land; improving the land registry system and its operation; improving the process of business registration and the associated national investment program; and progressing a legislative environment to support the operation of secured transactions.
Country: Vanuatu
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Financial Services Commission on Institutional and Legal Reforms - assisted the government to strengthen the framework for business transactions to support Private Sector Development by, i) reforming the laws and regulations constituting the companies, bankruptcy and insolvency framework; ii) developing companies’ registry reform roadmap; and iii) conducting an assessment of the VFSC to ensure high corporate governance standards and strong supervisory capabilities.
Country: Kiribati
Funding Agency: Development Bank of Kiribati
Project Description: Expanding Range of Financial Services in DBK. Assistance to the Development Bank of Kiribati to increase its range of financial services to individuals and SMEs.
Country: Solomon Islands
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Supporting Business Law Reform. Providing a team consisting of a Commercial Lawyer, a Private Sector Development Expert, a Registry Specialist and 2 international Legal Peer Reviewers to develop a new Company Law for the Solomon Islands and make recommendations for changes to other related business laws. Also make recommendations concerning the establishment of a registry and supporting systems for company registration information.
Country: Marshall Islands
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: HR Reform in the Ministry of Education. Design and prioritise a phased pilot project plan to increase Government employee productivity, disaggregating the project into design and delivery components. Developed a pilot project strategic plan to implement personnel performance audits.
Country: Pacific Regional
Funding Agency: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Project Description: Harmonisation of Financial Supervision. Undertake a review of the supervision operations of central banks and finance ministries in the pacific Forum countries with a view to identifying the potential for harmonisation of operations with a view to improving banking supervision in the region.
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Company Law Reform. Undertake a review of the existing company law and make the necessary amendments to both the law and the supporting regulations to underpin the economic reforms being undertaken by the Government of Tonga.
Country: Fiji
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Supporting the Policy and Legal Framework for Electronic Transactions in Fiji. A subproject of a Pacific Regional TA programme for Improving the Legal Business Environment in the Pacific, this e-commerce project assisted the Government of Fiji to establish a safe and secure online trading environment regulated under an efficient electronic commerce infrastructure. Vinstar provided an Electronic Commerce Policy Specialist to review the e-commerce policy framework and give support to the drafting of an Electronic Transactions Act.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Strengthening SOE Corporate Governance. Improve SOE contributions to economic growth and social development inSamoa through creation of a conducive environment for sound corporate governance of 24 Samoan SOEs. The project supports development of an Institute of Directors, effective SOE board structure and composition, and a strengthened SOE Monitoring Division promoting SOE compliance with legislation.
Country: Vanuatu
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Development of a Medium Term Strategic Framework. Develop a Medium Term Strategic Framework for Vanuatu by reviewing and updating the Priorities and Action Agenda for the development of Vanuatu; revising the Government Investment Programme and improving project costing and appraisal capacities; and reviewing and recommending improvements to aid coordination & management processes.
Country: Vanuatu
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Secured Transactions Reform. Increase and broaden access to credit in Vanuatu by assisting the Government to establish a well-functioning secured transactions framework tailor-made for the Vanuatu context. Develop a legal and regulatory framework that supports secured transactions; an operational internet-based notice filing archive for secured transactions; and capacity in relation to the economic and legal application of the secured transactions framework, as well as public awareness with respect to credit based on the expanded use of collateral.
Country: Solomon Islands
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: SOE Reforms and Private Sector Participation. Support the Government in its efforts to improve the environment for the private sector by assisting the Government to improve SOE ownership arrangements, accountability, and performance.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Capacity Building of Financial and Business Advisory Intermediaries. Assist the Government in strengthening the financial and business advisory intermediaries involved in implementation of the Small Business Development Project, particularly the Small Business Enterprise Centre, the Development Bank of Samoa, and the Women in Business Development Institute. Assist the Government with ongoing efforts to improve the legal and regulatory framework for the corporate sector generally, in particular those areas that impact the micro- and small-enterprise sector. Develop options for improving the economic use of customary land through extensive local consultation and a regional study tour. This project also required Vinstar to assess the need for a credit bureau, itemise the benefits to the Samoan economy, review the legal environment, estimate costs, identify possible providers and prepare a roadmap for implementation.
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: AusAID
Project Description: Budget Reform and Capacity Building. Working with the Ministry of Finance and line ministries to undertake reform of the National Budget Process and capacity building.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Institutional Strengthening of Government Financial Institutions – Phase 1. Review of the financial sector including working with the Western Samoa Treasury, Central Bank of Samoa, National Provident Fund and Development Bank of Western Samoa.
Country: Marshall Islands
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Personnel Performance Auditing. Provided the services of a Performance Audit Specialist to work with the Chief Secretary to the Cabinet and the Ministry of Education to design a monitoring framework (with appropriate progress indicators) to increase government employee productivity. Also, to collect data to measure the quantity, quality and effectiveness of current employee productivity.
Country: Kiribati
Funding Agency: NZAID
Project Description: Assistance to Development Bank of Kiribati. A management services contract, which was renewed on three separate occasions, to manage the daily operations of the Development Bank of Kiribati, assisting with the resolution of its bad loans portfolio, improvement of its operational procedures, establishment as a profitable operation and assisting with the identification of new business development opportunities for Kiribati.
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: NZAID and directly from GOT
Project Description: Assistance to the Tongan Minister of Finance. Retained by the Government of Tonga to manage the New Zealand Government’s aid assistance to the reform process of the Ministry of Finance and public enterprises. Projects cover the spectrum of reform and cover assistance in developing a 5 year strategic plan for improving the effectiveness of Public Enterprise Boards, action on the liquidation of the state airline, assistance in the completion of national accounts, assistance in evaluation of the financial impact of an inter-island ferry purchase, and the facilitation of a strategic workshop for the Minister of Finance, addressing the need for indirect taxation and reform of postal services.
Country: Tuvalu
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Improving Public Expenditure Management and Accountability. Providing assistance to the Government to improve public expenditure management and accountability. Working closely with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to finalise national accounts and build capacity within the departments to ensure long-term sustainability. Undertook a review of financial management at selected SOEs and prepared guidelines for reporting.
Country: Pacific Regional
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Developing and Implementing the Pacific Plan for Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Integration. Provision of services in the area of cost-benefit analysis of regional integration. The TA project aimed at improving the capacity of PICs and the Pacific Plan Task Force to assess and take successful action on enhancing regional cooperation and integration in the Pacific. Tasks undertaken included analysing the qualitative and quantitative regional costs and benefits of a number of regional entities and programmes, in areas of good governance, economic growth, sustainable development and security.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Strengthening of Economic Sectors Planning and Management. Provision of the services to the Economic Policy and Planning Department (EPPD) by a team of international consultants in the fields of strategic planning/economic sector policy formulation, economic statistics, economic modelling, financial and economic analysis, and social development. The project sought to broaden and deepen the reform process and build capacity for strategic planning in line departments, and aided in the production of the Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS).
Country: Fiji
Funding Agency: World Bank - FIAS
Project Description: Improving Business Name and Company Registration Process. Provided legal inputs in association with a Norwegian company on a FIAS funded assignment with the Fiji Ministry of Justice aimed at increasing the level of private investment in the country. The team were required to review the current company registration process and make recommendations concerning improvements to the process and the establishment of a registry.
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Rationalisation of SOEs. Provision of the services of a team of international consultants in the fields of Public Sector Reform, Public Financial Management, Legal Advice and Policy Communications, to assist the Government of Tonga in the process of reform and rationalization of state-owned enterprises.
Country: Kiribati
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Institutional Strengthening for the Ministry of Finance. Provided institutional strengthening of the National Economic Planning Office within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. Tasks included assisting in rolling over 3 year departmental strategic plans; establishing a training programme for government staff on national and sectoral policy formulation; establishing a public education program in building awareness of the government development strategy; and assisting in improvement of annual budgets/strategic investment program, including consolidation of outputs, integration of recurrent and developmental budgets, and project processing within budget system.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Strengthening Capacity for Macroeconomic Analysis, Planning and Policy Formulation. Provided technical assistance to the Economic Planning and Policy Department of Treasury to build institutional capacity for macroeconomic policy formulation and analysis; complete sector/strategic plans for tourism, agriculture & transport sectors; develop and make operational the input/output model; and ensure sustainability through skills transfer. Established the updating process for SDS.
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Public Sector Reform. Assistance in reform of the public sector and overall economic review as part of the Government of Tonga’s ongoing reform program. Included recommendations to changes to compensation structure relating to salaries and pensions. Also recommended changes related to performance oriented salaries and benefits.
Country: Cook Islands
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Cook Islands Development and Savings Bank. Assist the Government to develop a restructuring and business development plan for a new bank that would assume the functions of a development bank and a savings bank. In addition, initiated the processes required for implementation of the plan through setting up of a capital structure for the new bank, and developing its board of directors’ structure and composition. Identified the bank’s new mandate, products and services, reviewed existing policies and information systems, restructured systems and processes, prepared a human resource development program to address the critical shortage of technical skills particularly in credit appraisal, credit supervision, monitoring and debt recovery; and identified suitable office premises.
Country: Tonga
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Civil Service Reform. Assisted in the provision of policy advice to the Prime Minister’s office, working closely with the Chief Establishment Officer to design and implement a comprehensive civil service survey, review of the Civil Service regulations and recommendations for appropriate restructuring of the PM’s office.
Country: Solomon Islands
Funding Agency: NZAID
Project Description: Private Sector Development. Management Services Contract to stimulate the private sector in Solomon Islands through provision of business advisory services, establishing the Small Business Enterprise Centre, and providing associated training
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Institutional Strengthening of Government Financial Institutions – Phase 2. The TA aimed at assisting the Government in the management of the financial sector reform program by strengthening the institutional capacity of the Central Bank of Samoa, the National Provident Fund and the Development Bank of Samoa.
Country: Samoa
Funding Agency: IFC / SPPF
Project Description: Institutional Strengthening of the National Bank of Samoa. The project was set up as the first stage in an ongoing project to move the National Bank of Samoa towards international best practices in credit risk management. The main focus was on loan portfolio management, credit policy and procedures, and credit training, and the findings of the consultancy were to be used to determine the nature and extent of the subsequent technical assistance.
Country: Palau
Funding Agency: World Bank / IFC
Project Description: Review of National Development Bank of Palau. The project entailed an overall review of the operations of the National Development Bank ofPalau to determine future requirements, and recommendations for future actions. Specific areas of the Bank's operations to be reviewed included current portfolio, credit and lending operations and IT systems requirements.
Country: Fiji
Funding Agency: NZAID
Project Description: Private Sector Development. Assistance in the area of financial analysis in relation to a project to evaluate the costs and benefits of developing a new product for the non-traditional export sector.
Country: Vanuatu
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: National Bank of Vanuatu Business Development Plan. The objectives of the TA were to assist the Government of Vanuatu to develop a restructuring and business development plan for the National Bank of Vanuatu (NBV), taking into account the mandate to service the banking needs of the ni-Vanuatu, especially in rural and remote areas and the need to be commercially viable on a sustained basis.
Country: PNG
Funding Agency: NZAID
Project Description: Private Sector Development. Assistance in the development of a business plan to support the establishment of an export focussed start-up SME.
Country: Vanuatu
Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank
Project Description: Financial Sector Analysis and TA Design. Financial analysis of key national financial institutions, leading to the design of an advisory and operational technical assistance project for funding by the ADB.
