Nauru - Economic development

Government policy is to exploit the phosphate deposits to the fullest extent for the highest returns. The government has diversified into aviation and shipping and plans to develop fishing and tourism. It acquired the Grand Pacific Hotel on the Fijian Island of Suva and, in 1993, undertook a F $18 million renovation of the facility. In 1993, Australia agreed to provide US $73 million in compensation for pre-independence mining of phosphate to aid in restoring the extensive areas damaged by it.

In December 1998 Nauru won approval for a $5 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to aid in implementing structural reforms, including privatization. A National Economic Summit was held in 1999, but the proceedings were not made public. The true state of the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Fund (NPRTF) is not known, nor are the reasons for its apparent substantial decline. In 2002 and 2003 the economy received a small boost from money paid by Australia for housing asylum seekers. Nauru remains on the OECD's list of uncooperative tax havens.