Financial Outlook
The Cook Islands economy was the only South Pacific economy to exceed the Asian Development Bank’s Asian development outlook forecast of 3.0% GDP growth for fiscal year 2013 (which ended June 30, 2013), with a reported growth rate of 3.2%. Tourist arrivals from Australia grew by 6.7%, with total tourist arrivals up by 3.6%. The Cook Islands government passed the Captive Insurance Bill in June 2013, which is expected to help the local financial services industry to expand, with strong interest being shown in captive insurance vehicles by overseas insurance firms. The 2013/14 budget stands at NZ$196.5 million, with an operating surplus of NZ$46 million despite a record NZ$60 million allocated to capital spending (NZ$1 = US$0.85). The Islands could be in line for a windfall if deep-sea mining plans go ahead. A survey by marine geochemists from Imperial College London shows that the Islands’ territorial waters contain 10 billion tons of manganese nodules, which are also rich in nickel, copper, cobalt, and rare earth minerals essential for electronics manufacturing.
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