Economy & Investment

The annual Business Advantage/Westpac PNG 100 CEO Survey has captured the depth of the COVID-19 crisis and the sense of uncertainty that exists among businesses in Papua New Guinea. Westpac’s Senior Economist Justin Smirk takes a closer look.

2021 promises to be a year like no other in Papua New Guinea, as business leaders look beyond the COVID-19 crisis to an economy preparing for a major transition. They share their expectations with Andrew Wilkins.

There are signs of optimism in the Papua New Guinea business community, according to a survey of market conditions by the Business Council of Papua New Guinea. It suggests that, while the pandemic has exacted a severe financial toll, businesses have now ‘settled’ and are navigating the challenges of the new environment.

Papua New Guinea’s economy will recover modestly in 2021 and 2022, but financial stresses will persist, says the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook for 2021. It also argues strongly for the reform of PNG’s  state-owned enterprises. 

The exodus of expats from Papua New Guinea due to COVID-19 has had a dramatic effect on the country’s real estate sector. Robert Upe reports.

The Governor of Bank of Papua New Guinea has forecast a recovery for the country’s economy of 2.5 per cent after the sharp contraction of 2020. But he says the national budget and PNG’s foreign exchange reserves will remain under pressure.

Now is the time to focus on restarting foreign investment in Papua New Guinea, says Clarence Hoot, Managing Director of the country’s Investment Promotion Authority. He tells Business Advantage PNG the IPA’s priorities for the year ahead, which include getting new foreign investment laws through Parliament.

The most important economic issue facing Papua New Guinea is job generation, according to Douveri Henao, Executive Director Business Council of PNG, and Paul Barker, Executive Director of the Institute of National Affairs.

Papua New Guinea has been dealing with a ’triple crisis’, according to Ilyas Sarsenov, Country Economist for the World Bank in PNG. Speaking at a Business Advantage PNG online briefing, he said that the economy has fallen well below previous growth forecasts.

Reports that a Chinese company has put forward a multibillion dollar plan to develop several areas in Western Province have highlighted the lack of investment in one of Papua New Guinea’s most neglected provinces.