The Chairman and founder of telecommunications company Digicel, Denis O’Brien, describes Papua New Guinea as a vibrant country that is a ‘fantastic location’ for investors. But he says the physical terrain also made it his company’s most challenging market.
Papua New Guinea will have to dramatically expand its small and medium enterprise (SME) sector if it is to achieve middle income status by 2030, according to Steven Maken, Managing Director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Corporation of Papua New Guinea. That will involve dealing with some key constraints.
Offshore investment by Papua New Guinea companies remains comparatively small, but there are opportunities. One banking executive suggests it as an important way local financial institutions can diversify.
Oil and gas prices are rising but cocoa and silver are weaker. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly review of Papua New Guinea commodities and financial markets.
The Managing Director of ANZ Papua New Guinea, Mark Baker, has said the foreign exchange restrictions are not likely to ease until a major new resources investment comes in. But in the interim he believes the Government is connecting well with business.
Papua New Guinea is on the verge of a resources boom, according to Kishti Sen, International Economist for the ANZ Banking Group. He told the recent Australia–Papua New Guinea Business Forum that the challenge is to manage the economic cycles.
The Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has criticised external commentators for ‘bias’ when assessing the PNG economy. Speaking at the 34th Australia Papua New Guinea Business Forum in Brisbane, he expressed optimism about the proposed Papua LNG project but said the economy has to be diversified to avoid boom and bust cycles.
In a move that will reassure Papua New Guinea exporters to the United Kingdom, the UK government has confirmed it will maintain the European Union’s current trading arrangements with PNG after ‘Brexit’. Meanwhile, Prime Minister O’Neill has flagged ‘huge incentives’ for investments in agriculture and tourism, Business Advantage PNG reports from London.
Kina Bank is working with the Australian government and other donors to set up a credit fund for small and medium sized business. CEO Greg Pawson has told business leaders in Port Moresby the scheme is part of the bank’s corporate responsibility.
S&P Global Ratings has lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Papua New Guinea (PNG) to ‘B’ from ‘B+’, but it believes the outlook is ‘stable’. The agency points to bigger than expected fiscal deficits because of ‘a loss of revenue and reconstruction costs after a recent earthqu