The latest business news from Papua New Guinea and the region
Declining oil prices have prompted a review of Oil Search’s activities, even as production hit record levels in 2015. Nevertheless, Papua New Guinea’s largest company says it is generating positive cash-flows and will be making a priority of future investment in the PNG LNG and Papua LNG gas projects.
In spite of a ‘challenging’ 2015 and tough market conditions, the latest Bank South Pacific analysis suggests that the ‘worst period may be over’ in Papua New Guinea. However, it is cautious about the prospects for the government’s planned US$1 billion ‘circuit breaker’ sovereign bond issue.
The current rise in the US dollar is likely to flatten in 2016, offering respite to Pacific curencies, according to ANZ economists, Glenn Maguire and Eugin Lee.
The creation of a registry of personal assets to be used as loan security will boost the small business sector, according to Moses Liu, the Managing Director of the National Development Bank.
The Ok Tedi mine expected to start again in March, the US formally withdraws from fishing treaty, and unions call on government to honour superannuation commitments. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.
An analysis of Papua New Guinea’s three main power grids has revealed that inadequate maintenance of plants and the transmission lines is the primary cause of frequent power outages, according to a review conducting by London-based consultants, Economic Consulting Associates. The review also comes with some recommendations.
O’Neill not interested in buying Rio Tinto’s 53% of Bougainville Copper Limited, central bank governor warns government to restrain spending, and kina falls against most currencies in September quarter. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.
A new ‘Bougainville Bar’ has gone on sale in New Zealand this month, marking an increased awareness by international chocolate makers of Papua New Guinea’s high quality cocoa. As Business Advantage PNG discovers, the project was made possible through a very modern form of capital raising: crowdfunding.
The Ramu 2 Hydro Power Project is expected to increase total electricity generation capacity in Papua New Guinea by 36%, according to the Managing Director of Kumul Consolidated Holdings, Garry Hersey. It’s one of five new energy projects launched recently.
Hopes are high that an action plan to resolve the problems facing Papua New Guinea’s three main power grids will be endorsed at a key stakeholders’ meeting in Port Moresby this week, according to Gavin Murray, the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Country Manager for the Pacific region.