During May, forums were run in Port Moresby, Lae, Mt Hagen and Kokopo to solicit public responses to the Papua New Guinea government’s new land bill. The intent of the new bill is to protect the rights of customary landowners, by extinguishing any State leases, mortgages or sub-leases held by non-citizens. But the consequences for PNG industry and the economy could be dire, some observers are saying.
Difficult economic conditions can be a time for committed companies to expand market share and establish themselves for the long term. Mikael Ruben, Managing Director of paint manufacturer AkzoNobel tells Business Advantage PNG his company sees the need to remain aggressive in Papua New Guinea.
The Bank of Papua New Guinea recently released its December 2015 Quarterly Economic Bulletin, which provides a snapshot of the nation’s economic and financial performance over 2015. Business Advantage PNG provides five key insights.
Financial institution Moni Plus is preparing to list on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Managing Director David Kelso tells Business Advantage PNG that the company intends to expand its shareholder base and move into new markets.
Moody’s recently downgraded its sovereign rating on Papua New Guinea to B2 from B1. But Christian de Guzman, a Senior Analyst in the Sovereign Risk Group for Moody’s Singapore tells Business Advantage PNG that the agency is ‘quite confident’ about the overall economy’s prospects over the medium-term.
Oil Search, Papua New Guinea’s biggest company and largest non-government employer, looks set to consolidate its position as a major player in the Asia Pacific oil and gas market with its $US2.2 billion purchase of InterOil. Chief Executive of Oil Search, Peter Botten, says it will allow the company to be ‘hugely influential in the further development of our world class PNG LNG and Papua LNG assets.’
PanAust has released its feasibility study into the Frieda River mine in Sandaun Province, claiming it is ‘one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world’, with an initial 17-year mine life. The company’s intention is to take a staged approach to development.
The Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Loi Bakani, told this week’s Australia–Papua New Guinea Business Forum in Cairns that the bank is ‘determined’ to obtain more foreign currency ‘as soon as possible’ to address the backlog in foreign exchange demand. However, he criticised claims that PNG’s foreign exchange problem could be solved by allowing a free float of the kina, reports David James.
The kina has fallen in value this year, but Papua New Guinea’s dependence on commodity exports means that it can be expected to fall further, says Rohan Fox, Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of Papua New Guinea’s Division of Economics. He tells Business Advantage PNG that the country faces a difficult task managing the impact of sharp fluctuations in commodity prices.
BSP committed to IFC foreign exchange loan facility, PNG to have its first dairy farm, and Kina Asset Management investments up in first quarter. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.