The Papua New Guinea government has begun spruiking its sovereign bond issue with a series of meetings with investors in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and the US, led by Treasurer Charles Abel. However, while Standard and Poor’s has given the issue a ‘B’ stable rating, others say the government may have to offer a premium to attract investors.
LNG prices have jumped sharply and the cocoa price has been volatile. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly review of Papua New Guinea commodity and financial markets.
How do Papua New Guinea’s two largest super funds, Nambawan Super and NASFUND, make investment decisions on behalf of their members? Two senior executives provide their investment guidelines, which have led both funds to perform well in difficult economic conditions.
The Government’s Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) statement has indicated that it is in the ‘advanced stages’ of negotiating the country’s first sovereign bond later this year. The strategy is being adopted to solve the nation’s foreign exchange shortages, but it does carry risks.
Companies are reducing the size of the businesses, now using excess capital to acquire domestically but may be switching to starting up operations next year. They were some of the observations in a round table discussion on Papua New Guinea’s investment environment at the Business Advantage Invest Forum in Brisbane.
The two days before the APEC Leaders meeting have been declared national holidays in the National Capital District in Port Moresby, according to Chris Hawkins, the Chief Executive Officer of APEC Papua New Guinea. He told an APEC summit briefing that Papua New Guinea has advantages when it comes to hosting the big event.
Papua New Guinea has opportunities in the emerging methods of capturing carbon, climate change expert Professor Tim Flannery told the Business Advantage Papua New Guinea Investment Conference in Brisbane. He pointed to forests, soil, marine and biomass as potential commercial areas.
After the successful launches of sustainable small businesses in Vanuatu and Samoa, a donor-funded private sector initiative is preparing to expand into Papua New Guinea. Anna Moegerlein from Melbourne’s The Difference Incubator explains the initiative to Business Advantage PNG.
The Papua New Guinea economy is set to grow steadily, according to Edward Faber, Country Economist for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He told the Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference in Brisbane that the fate of the economy heavily depends on export prices.
The Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, speaking at Business Advantage Papua New Guinea Investment Conference in Brisbane, said the mid-year assessment of the economy was better than anticipated. He said the growing investment interest in the Pacific from China, Australia and the United States is ‘healthy’.