With Papua New Guinea’s government debt set to rise to over 40 per cent of GDP due of the COVID-19 crisis, the International Monetary Fund’s PNG Mission Chief, Scott Roger, explains how the IMF is helping the country get back on a sustainable financial course.
Presenting the latest World Bank economic update for Papua New Guinea, PNG country economist Ilyas Sarsenov says its government has responded well to the challenges of COVID-19 but hard choices lie ahead.
Oil and LNG prices have recovered to some extent and copper has also bounced back. Palm oil prices have strengthened but cocoa is weaker. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly overview of commodity and financial markets.
Oil Search, Papua New Guinea’s biggest company, has been suspended from trading on PNGX, the country’s stock exchange, amidst claims that it did not follow proper procedure in its recent capital raising – claims the company is refuting.
The oil price has been extremely weak but the fall in LNG prices has stabilised and palm oil is up: a monthly review of Papua New Guinea’s commodities and financial markets. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly overview of commodity and financial markets.
Papua New Guinea’s trade is likely to be sharply affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the closure of international borders, according to a report by the National Research Institute. It makes suggestions about how PNG’s traded sector can be supported.
The Bank of Papua New Guinea in its latest Monetary Policy Statement is predicting that the Papua New Guinea economy will not go into recession this year and there will be a strong recovery next year. But it says that the COVID-19 pandemic has badly affected many of the key sectors in the economy.
As the government seeks to start disbursing the funds raised by its COVID-19 bond, the presidents of Papua New Guinea’s two largest business chambers tell Business Advantage PNG they are looking for a stimulus package ‘with teeth’.
Economists are forecasting a recession in PNG in 2020 as the country struggles to deal with the global crisis caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has also downgraded the country’s debt.
The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Papua New Guinea’s financial markets has been muted so far. However, the crisis provides an opportunity to create new investment opportunities so that local entrepreneurs can raise capital more easily.