The successful completion of the PNG LNG project has turned the focus onto where new investment opportunities lie. Senior representatives from the IFC, Austrade and Nambawan Super got together at the recent Papua New Guinea Advantage Investment Summit to share their thoughts.
Papua New Guinea’s largest cocoa grower, trader and exporter, Agmark, says cocoa yields in East New Britain could double, as a result of new technology arising from the battle to recover from the impact of the cocoa pod borer.
Restricting the margins at which the kina can be traded against the US dollar has had little positive effect, with some companies struggling to pay bills, as the central bank reportedly restricts the purchase of US currency, Manufacturers Council of Papua New Guinea CEO Chey Scovell tells Business Advantage PNG.
Scheduled road projects in Papua New Guinea will cost around K7 billion over the next five years, according to David Wereh, Secretary of the Department of Works and Implementation, with almost K2.6 billion of works currently under way. But PNG’s poorly-maintained existing roads represent a ‘time bomb’ for the country.
New Britain Palm Oil Limited and the West New Britain provincial government have held preliminary talks which could see electricity generated from the company’s waste products provided across the entire province.
The Papua New Guinea economy is facing significant challenges, as growth reaches 20-22% next year, ANZ Asia-Pacific Chief Economist Glenn Maguire told this month’s Papua New Guinea Advantage Investment and Infrastructure Summit in Port Moresby.
Puma Energy is starting to show its colours in Papua New Guinea, with the rebranding of its first service station following the acquisition of InterOil’s downstream assets in PNG earlier this year. It’s part of a regional investment strategy, PNG General Manager Peter Diezmann tells Business Advantage PNG.
First Air Niugini, then PNG Power … then PNG Ports and the National Airports Corporation? The Papua New Guinea government is embarking on a grand plan to reinvigorate state-owned enterprises. But privatisation is not the only option to ensure SOEs function as viable entities.
Coffee is recognised as one of Papua New Guinea’s most important commodities. So it was only a matter of time before locally manufactured ‘Nespresso compatible’ coffee capsules entered the PNG market. Business Advantage PNG talks to Cool Stuf, the company behind PNG’s first locally manufactured coffee capsules.
There is enough gas capacity in PNG for at least three more LNG trains over the next five-to-seven years, according to Oil Search CEO, Peter Botten, who’s called for gas developers to co-operate and share facilities.