Pacific business

Key databases | Journals | Theses and dissertations | Business directories

Economic overviews | Country information | Market intelligence | Trade and investment

Economic overviews

• Business Source Premier 
  Contains Pacific Islands country reports from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in London, examining and explaining the issues shaping countries: the political scene, economic policy, domestic economy, sectoral trends, and foreign trade and payments.
• EIU Viewswire 
  Part of ABI/Inform, provides brief overviews for countries. General topics covered include business, economy, politics, finance, regulations and risk wire.
• Factiva 
  Contains company profiles and news articles from the Asia Pacific region. Tip: change the search interface from the default Free Text Search to Search Form to build searches and limit to the Pacific Islands region if desired.

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Country information

• CIA World Factbook 
  Current basic information on social, economic and political indicators.
• The Pacific 
  From the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), includes Pacific Islands country factsheets and country profiles.
• Country Information topic guide 
  Developed by the Business Librarians, this resource provides an extensive range of sources for country information.

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Market intelligence

• Passport  
  Provides basic details about the geography, political situation and current business trends in each country. Tip: select the option Countries & Consumers in the Find Analysis box on the landing page.
• OFFSTATS
  Official statistics on the web, with links to government statistics for Pacific Island countries.
• Business Monitor International
  Use a keyword search for Pacific Islands or individual countries.

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Trade and investment

General 

• Trade and Investment
  From the Australian Government's DFAT, includes information on foreign affairs and trade relationships with Pacific Island nations.
• Pacific Islands Trade and Invest
  Part of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, this agency aims to develop and promote industry and business in 14 Pacific Island countries, focusing on export facilitation, investment and tourism promotion.
• Pacific Islands Trade and Investment reports
• Globalisation, trade and investment subject guide
  Provides information on trading agreements and blocs, and includes a section on Asia Pacific.

Development banks and finance ministries

Development banks of each Pacific Island country contain substantial trade and investment information. 

• Development Bank of Samoa 
• Fiji Development Bank

Ministries of Finance are also primary sources of business and economic information on Pacific Island countries (e.g., Western Samoa).

American Samoa

• Investment Guide 2014

Cook Islands 

• Cook Islands Government structure
• Cook Islands Business Trade Investment Board

Fiji 

• Investment Fiji

Samoa 

• Government of Samoa
• Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour
• Ministry of Finance
• A guide to investment
  Western Samoa. Deparment of Trade, Commerce and Industry (1997).
• Samoa investment treasure islands
  Western Samoa. Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry (2000-01).
• Western Samoa: a nation in transition
  Hong Kong: Asiamoney (1995).

Solomon Islands

• Invest in Solomon Islands
  Foreign Investment Division, Department of Commerce, Trade and Industries.

Tonga

• Tongan Government

Vanuatu

• Invest in Vanuatu
  Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority.

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Search tips | Company reports and profiles | Setting up a business in the Pacific | Financial information | Investment | Ownership | Taxation | Pacific law

Search tips

• Company information can be sourced from a variety of places so you may need to look at a number of resources.
• Confidentiality or commercial sensitivity are the most likely reasons for some information being unavailable.
• For small and most unlisted companies in the Pacific Islands information is very limited, particularly financial information.
• Also check databases which index journals and newspapers, such as Factiva, ABI Inform or Business Source Premier.
  You can often piece together information about a company by analysing information from journal and newspaper articles.
• Try a Google search.

Company reports and company profiles

• Mergent
  Includes annual reports in PDF from 1990 onwards. Also provides company synopsis, history, joint ventures, subsidiaries, long term debt, executives, and news.
• Business Source Premier
  Visit Company Profiles to view a list of company names listed alphabetically, with complete reports available in PDF.

Setting up a business in the Pacific

• Doing Business from the World Bank contains useful guides including Starting a business in Samoa and in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, and the Solomon Islands. Information includes registration and set up time needed to establish a company in a Pacific Island economy. The Law Library section covers legislative requirements. A current list of contact people and organisations is available with each guide.
• Pacific Island Trade & Invest, an agency of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, develops, grows and promotes industry and business in all 14 Pacific Island countries in export, investment, tourism and creative arts across international markets.

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Financial information

• Datastream
  Listed companies in the Pacific region back to 1973.

Investment

• South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE)
  Currently the only licensed securities exchange in the Fiji Islands. Includes Stock Exchange Listing Rules and announcements.

Ownership

• Who owns whom. Australasia, Asia, Middle East & Africa

Taxation

• Paying taxes
  Reports produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Bank, investigating and comparing tax regimes across 189 economies worldwide, including Pacific countries. Uses company case studies, and ranks them according to the ease of paying taxes.

Pacific law

• Ahmadu, M. L. & Hughes, R. A. (2006). Commercial law and practice in the South Pacific. London: Cavendish.
• Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute (PacLII)
  Collection of statutes, judgments, and secondary legal materials from Pacific Islands countries.
• Law of the Pacific Islands: A Guide to Web Based Resources
  By Ruth Bird (2002).
• Samoa Parliament
  Contains Acts and legal documents.
• Journal of South Pacific law

Send Money Pacific
Compares money transfer fees and rates, created through a joint Australian and New Zealand Government-led initiative.

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Microfinance

Searching for information on microfinance? Try these keywords in the Catalogue:

• Economic assistance Oceania
• Microfinance Pacific
• Microfinance Oceania

Microfinance initiatives

• Ngā Tangata Microfinance Trust
• Auckland Microfinance Initiative

Women in business

• South Pacific Business Development
  A network of microfinance organizations working in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga dedicated to eradicating poverty by empowering women in poor rural villages with the opportunity to start, grow and maintain sustainable, income generating micro-enterprises.
• Pacific Women's Bureau
  Part of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), focuses on women's issues including business and employment opportunities.
• Pacific Women in Business
  Supported by the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) members of the 14 Forum Pacific Island countries.
• Women in Business Development Incorporated (WIBDI)
  Works in partnership with Oxfam. Includes reports on women's business activities in Pacific Island countries.

Education and training

• A review of technical and vocational training policy and planning in the Pacific Islands
  PDF report from the Pacific Association of Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
• Pacific Archive of digital data for learning and education (PADDLE)
  University of the South Pacific.
• Pacific Business Trust coaching
• Pacific Entrepreneurship Literature Review
  Prepared for the Research and Evaluation Unit (RIMU) of the Auckland Council by Dr Claire Gooder.
• Pacific Perspectives
  Pasifika learner success in workplace settings – thematic literature review.
• Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL)
  An independent, nonprofit serving the educational community in the United States-affiliated Pacific Islands, the continental United States, and countries throughout the world.
• Chambers of Commerce around the world
  Includes Pacific Island countries.

• OFFSTATS: Official statistics on the web
  Links to government statistics for Pacific Island countries.
• World Development Indicators
  Compiled by the World Bank, provides a listing of economic, social and employment related data for countries including Pacific Island nations.
• Asian Development Bank
  Includes the ADB's Statistical Database System Online.
• ESCAP Statistical Database
  Provides statistical information regarding development issues at a regional level. Produced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
• PRISM
  National data from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
• National Summary Data Page (NSDP)-Samoa
  A one-stop statistics shop for publishing essential macroeconomic data, critical for monitoring economic conditions and policies.

New Zealand | Pacific | Universities

New Zealand

• Pacific Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
  Manages New Zealand's bilateral and multilateral relationships in the South Pacific region. This includes political and economic relations, trade relations, defence and regional security, environment and fisheries management, and disaster relief assistance. Reports and guides like the Exporting fruit and vegetables to New Zealand: A guide for Pacific Island producers are part of this assistance.
• New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE)
  Includes Pacific export markets.
• New Zealand Pacific Business Council (NZPBC)
  Articles and news available, however, some content is members only.
• Pacific Business Trust
  Annual report, community news and events.
• Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
  Promotes the development of Pacific peoples in New Zealand.

Pacific

• Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  Contains economic and statistical information, and details of ongoing ADB development projects in the Pacific Islands.
• Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
  Comprises 16 independent and self-governing states in the Pacific. The Forum is established by a treaty between its members as the region’s premier political and economic policy organisation.
• Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
  Works in partnership with its members, other organisations and donors to deliver priority work programmes to member countries and territories.
• South Pacific Tourism Organisation
  Information on Pacific tourist markets and investment.
• Where we give aid - Australian Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
  Links to overviews of aid programmes for individual Pacific Island countries, and to a general overview of Australia's pacific regional aid programme.

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Universities

• School of Economics at the University of the South Pacific
  Working papers, articles, and refereed publications. See the two-part report Economic Impact of Natural Disasters on Development in the Pacific: Research Report (Vol. 1) and Economic Assessment Tools (Vol. 2).
• Center for Pacific Island Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa
  The University of Hawai'i's Shidler College of Business also hosts the Family Business Center and the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship.
• Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP)
  Part of the East-Wester Center in Hawaii, PIDP conducts activities to advance and enhance the social and economic development in the Pacific. Of particular note for Pacific business resarchers is:
  • Pacific islands report - routinely reports on political events, economic developments, and social issues in the Pacific.
  • Pacific Islands report news and information links - a comprehensive list of Pacific media (news, journals, radio and tv) and useful organisations.
• Pasifika project
  A series of Pasifika papers commissioned by the Chief Executives of the New Zealand Public Service and hosted by the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington. Topics include  the Pacific Island economy in New Zealand, the economies of the islands themselves, trades, borders, and migration.
• Centre for Maori and Pacific Development Research (CMPDR)
  Part of the University of Waikato's Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao - School of Māori and Pacific Development. Includes the online journal He Puna Kōrero: Journal of Maori and Pacific Development.
• College of Asia and the Pacific
  Australian National University.

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Search strategy | Where to search? | Building on your research

Search strategy

• Analyse your research question. Identify the important concepts within the topic.
• Choose keywords that describe the concepts and/or terms.
• Determine whether there are synonyms and related terms that should be included in your search.
• Search using various combinations of the keywords/concepts, synonyms and related terms.

Subject headings

These are standard terms for particular topics or subject matter you can use to search the Catalogue.
To locate items tagged with a subject heading:

1. Try a keyword search and click on the Details tab of a relevant item. To view other items with similar subject matter, click on any terms listed as Subjects.
2. If you know a specific subject heading for a topic, use an Advanced Search for the exact phrase in the subject field.

Subject headings relevant to Pacific business research:

• Oceania economic conditions
• Oceania commerce
• Pacific small business, Pacific entrepreneurship, Businessmen Oceania
• Pacific Islanders Commerce New Zealand
• Oceania Social Life and Customs
• Pacific Area
• Pacific Islanders New Zealand Social Life and Customs
• Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia
• Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea

Tips:

• Use Islands of the Pacific rather than Pacific Islands. Also try searching for Islands of the Pacific commerce.
• Use Oceania for an overview of the region, or try Oceania economic conditions.

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Where to search?

• The Catalogue finds books, journal titles, theses, multimedia and images.
• To search for journal, magazine and newspaper articles, use Articles and more. For a more targeted search, try searching within subject databases.
• To find out whether an item is held elsewhere in New Zealand search Te Puna, the National Union Catalogue.
• For detailed information on searching see the Business Information Skills Online tutorial and access other tutorials and guides via Study skills.

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Building on your research

Additional strategies you can use to build on information you already have. Start with a book or article that is relevant to your research topic:

• Look at the list of references to find further relevant research.
• Words used in the text of your book or article provide useful new terms to use when searching for more literature.
• Search the Library databases for more publications by a particular author.
• Search for citations to your original book or article. You can do citation searching on:
  • Google Scholar
  • Scopus
  • Business Source Premier
  • Web of Science

Some databases, such as Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar, also link to related articles.

Sage Research Methods offers information on getting started with your research including various methodologies which can be applied in Business and Economics studies.

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APA 6th

• APA Referencing: A guide for business students
• APA style guide to electronic references (6th ed.)
• APA style blog
• APA style FAQs

Journal of the Polynesian Society referencing style

For authors publishing in the Journal of the Polynesian Society (JPS), the style is a modified version of Harvard:

• JPS style and formatting instructions to authors
• JPS homepage

Support

• Referencing
  Access a range of tools and support material to assist your referencing work.

Examples

• Quick©ite
  Use this interactive tool to view examples of references.
  Covers a range of styles used at the University of Auckland.