In his latest Monetary Policy Statement, the Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Loi Bakani, forecasts GDP will decline by four per cent in 2020 but rebound slightly next year. He also expressed concerns about changes to the Central Banking Act.
The Business Council of Papua New Guinea’s second Market Conditions Survey has found almost eight out of ten respondents did not meet their projected revenue and profit results for the first half of 2020.
The Marape government’s proposed introduction of a new Organic Law for mining, and oil and gas projects will do away with Papua New Guinea’s ‘robust’ legal regime, according to Vaughan Mills, Head of PNG Practice for Corrs, Chambers Westgarth.
Two new World Bank reports outline the challenges facing Papua New Guinea in the wake of the COVID-19 economic shutdowns in the Asia-Pacific region.
LNG prices surged, clawing back most of this year’s losses, but oil prices fell. Silver also lost some of its recent spectacular price gains. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly overview of commodity and financial markets.
Renegotiating terms or refinancing are proving to be the best way to deal with the shock caused by COVID-19 according to Mark Baker, Managing Director of ANZ Bank Papua New Guinea. In an exclusive interview he tells Business Advantage PNG that improving confidence is the big challenge.
The Asian Development Bank is looking to provide as much as US$800 million (K2.8 billion) in new funding to support Papua New Guinea’s budget, according to its Country Director, David Hill.
Papua New Guinea’s agriculture sector has been adversely affected by the impact of COVID-19. But according to a report by ANZ Research, exports of agricultural commodities may rebound sharply next year.
The Papua New Guinea government’s proposal to move to production sharing agreements in resource projects may not solve the government’s financial problems and there is a risk it will harm the country’s reputation for being a good place to invest, according to the industry itself.
With Papua New Guinea’s Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook predicting government debt will rise to 55 per cent of GDP, its government has announced a supplementary budget to address numerous fiscal challenges. There are also moves for the central bank to print money to fund budget shortfalls.