Despite 2016 being ‘a relatively quiet time’, Steamships Managing Director Peter Langslow, in the first of a two part series, says his diversified company is becoming more efficient and continuing to invest in its operations in PNG in preparation for the next upturn.
Papua New Guinea’s forestry faces fierce competition and pricing challenges, Chief Executive of the Forest Industries Association, Bob Tate, tells Business Advantage PNG. He says developments in China are troubling for the sector.
The Chief Executive of Papua New Guinea’s Ok Tedi mine, Peter Graham, tells Business Advantage PNG that the company is now in the top quartile of global copper producers. He says revised company estimates indicate the mine—for many years one of PNG’s major sources of foreign exchange—should have a longer life.
The IMF’s report on Papua New Guinea has suggested that the PNG Government has responded to pressures on the budget and foreign exchange shortages. But it says that more attention should be given to the deals offered to foreign mining companies.
Changes in ANZ’s Asia-Pacific strategy could provide benefits to Papua New Guinea, ANZ’s Managing Director in PNG, Mark Baker. He also tells Business Advantage PNG he sees growth potential from PNG’s rising middle class, while mobile phone banking has moved past traditional PC based internet banking services.
Barrick Niugini’s Mining and Petroleum Industry Investment Fund provides relocated landowners with a superior financial outcome, according to Chris Trainor, Manager of Commercial Services. He believes it is a model for other Papua New Guinea mining companies to follow.
The Papua New Guinea government is being ‘prudent’ in its approach to the Budget, according to the Asian Development Bank’s PNG Country Director Marcelo Minc and Country Economist Yurendra Basnett. They tell Business Advantage International that investment in non-resource sectors is required for the economy to progress.
Bank South Pacific has adjusted well to the slowing economy, Chief Executive Robin Fleming tells Business Advantage PNG. He says the bank is looking to lend to the growing middle class in Papua New Guinea, especially for housing.
World demand for energy will double by 2050 according to Professor Peter McCabe, Head of the Australian School of Petroleum at the University of Adelaide. But he believes more efficient recovery methods and the increasing role of renewables will keep a lid on prices.
Commodities markets appear to have entered a holding pattern, with stability evident in the oil market and metals. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly overview of Papua New Guinea’s commodity and financial markets.