The minimum wage in PNG will rise to K3.50 an hour from 1 July, from the current rate of K3.36.
Economy & Investment
The Bank of Papua New Guinea recently released its December 2015 Quarterly Economic Bulletin, which provides a snapshot of the nation’s economic and financial performance over 2015. Business Advantage PNG provides five key insights.
Moody’s recently downgraded its sovereign rating on Papua New Guinea to B2 from B1. But Christian de Guzman, a Senior Analyst in the Sovereign Risk Group for Moody’s Singapore tells Business Advantage PNG that the agency is ‘quite confident’ about the overall economy’s prospects over the medium-term.
The Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Loi Bakani, told this week’s Australia–Papua New Guinea Business Forum in Cairns that the bank is ‘determined’ to obtain more foreign currency ‘as soon as possible’ to address the backlog in foreign exchange demand. However, he criticised claims that PNG’s foreign exchange problem could be solved by allowing a free float of the kina, reports David James.
The kina has fallen in value this year, but Papua New Guinea’s dependence on commodity exports means that it can be expected to fall further, says Rohan Fox, Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of Papua New Guinea’s Division of Economics. He tells Business Advantage PNG that the country faces a difficult task managing the impact of sharp fluctuations in commodity prices.
In an environment of plummeting interest rates, long term infrastructure investment is a sound option for both investors and governments. Financial and business commentator Michael Pascoe, speaking in Port Moresby last week, noted that the difficult global financial environment throws up opportunities for countries like Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea’s first LNG project has transformed the country’s exporting landscape, with Japan overtaking Australia as its number one trading partner. China will also become a major source of funds, taking over from Australia and global lending agencies. But don’t expect the broader bilateral relationships to change quickly.
Global and domestic factors have combined to slow Papua New Guinea’s economy. However, as Andrew Wilkins discovers, the Pacific nation’s business leaders are still confident about its future prospects.
Papua New Guinea’s currency, the kina, has fallen over the last year; many are predicting it will go lower. Business Advantage PNG talks exclusively to two analysts about where the currency is headed and how it will affect business conditions.
Recently released results of some of Papua New Guinea’s major companies indicate that the economic downturn in 2015 put significant pressure on earnings. However, while energy companies suffered most, PNG’s finance sector proved resilient.