The Papua New Guinea Government has tabled in Parliament its proposed changes to the country’s constitution, reflecting the state’s ownership of hydrocarbons and minerals. Vaughan Mills and Sarah Kuman analyse the implications of these amendments.
Industry sectors
The Bank of Papua New Guinea this week made a surprising move to support a weakening currency, at the same time acting to restrict the margins being made by the country’s foreign exchange dealers.
Coffee farmers in the Papua New Guinea’s Western Highlands and Jiwaka provinces are planning to capitalise on the growing global demand for sustainable Arabica coffee. With the help of a young entrepreneur who grew up on plantations in the region, they have an ambitious plan to double annual production within two years.
Commercial real estate activity in Port Moresby and Lae remains strong despite a fall in demand for executive rentals associated with the winding down of the six-year construction phase of the ExxonMobil-led LNG PNG project.
Australia’s ROC Oil is pushing ahead with its move into Papua New Guinea through a merger with Horizon Oil, one of the companies behind the Stanley gas project in Western Province.
The first shipment of gas from Papua New Guinea’s PNG LNG project has left for Japan this week, highlighting the potential billions of dollars of income for the project’s partners. Business Advantage PNG looks at where that income will go.
With shipments of gas from the PNG LNG project under way, Business Advantage PNG talks exclusively to Peter Botten, CEO of venture partner Oil Search Limited, about the future of Papua New Guinea’s largest company and hydrocarbons in PNG.
As the PNG LNG project enters its operational phase, Frank Kramer, Chairman of the National Petroleum Company of Papua New Guinea (which will hold and manage the government’s 16.8% stake) outlines his vision for managing the country’s hydrocarbon assets.
Port Moresby International airport is undergoing an expansion, ahead of an influx of passengers for the 2015 South Pacific Games, the 2018 APEC summit and projected increases in traffic as the economy grows. The Acting Managing Director of the National Airports Corporation, Joseph Tupiri, outlines the plans to Business Advantage PNG.
Despite cuts to foreign aid spending in this year’s Australian Federal budget, released this week, Papua New Guinea will gain an extra A$59 million (K155 million) and regional programmes also stand out as the beneficiaries from this year’s budget, according to analysts.