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FHB report: Saipan sales volume up almost 18 pct.
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Posted on Jan 30 2014
[B]GUALO RAI, Saipan[/B]—First Hawaiian Bank’s 2013 Business Activity Report for Saipan showed a 17.68 percent increase for “same store sales” over 2012, according to Laura Dacanay, First Hawaiian Bank senior vice president and CNMI Region Manager. The 2013 fourth quarter 12.43 percent increase over prior fourth quarter 2012 marked the ninth consecutive quarter of positive growth since 2011.
“We have seen overall double-digit increases for nine straight quarters beginning with fourth quarter 2011 and in fourth quarter 2013, seven of the 11 sectors posted double digit increases,” said Dacanay. “This reflects a stronger tourism industry that has been working to attract more visitors, especially those from Russia who stay for extended periods compared to other tourists. The top three sectors for the year of travel activities 31.59 percent, hotels 27.64 percent, and retail 21.69 percent, were all helped by this resurgence in tourism. We are very encouraged by the increased economic activities in the market.”
The BAR monitors tracks card sales activity in 11 different economic sectors including retail, hotels, home improvement, restaurants, shipping and travel activities, among others.
First Hawaiian is a major card processor of debit and credit sales transactions. In 2013, the bank processed over $4.4 billion worth of credit and debit sales transactions. The bank provides merchant services to nearly 7,000 First Hawaiian Bank merchant locations throughout Hawaii, Guam, CNMI and the U.S. Mainland.
First Hawaiian Bank (fhb.com) with assets of $17.1 billion was founded in 1858 and has been serving the CNMI region for over 16 years. The bank processes all major U.S. credit cards as well as JCB, China Union Pay, and BC Global Card. [B][I](FHB)[/I][/B]
