The Coral Sea Cable has landed and the pandemic has forced more businesses to go online, so has ecommerce’s time finally come in PNG? Business Advantage PNG’s latest business briefing asks some of the experts.
Industry sectors
Readership of businessadvantagepng.com has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic and State of Emergency in Papua New Guinea.
Amendments to the Mining Act 1992 have been passed in parliament, with Mining Minister Johnson Tuke explaining it is a step towards ‘taking back’ Papua New Guinea. Meanwhile, industry representatives have expressed some deep concerns.
Prime Minister James Marape has introduced changes to Papua New Guinea’s oil and gas law, claiming it will benefit the country’s ‘national interest’. The changes may well represent a major shift in the way projects are developed in the future.
Pacific Towing is a leader in training and diversity. Neil Papenfus, General Manager of Pacific Towing, talks about the company’s cadetship program for women.
Papua New Guinea’s National Court has granted Barrick Niugini leave for a review of the decision not to extend the Special Mining Lease for the Porgera gold mine. Related disputes have also arisen, and the Prime Minister has flagged ‘minor amendments’ to PNG’s Mining Act.
Oil Search, Papua New Guinea’s biggest company, has been suspended from trading on PNGX, the country’s stock exchange, amidst claims that it did not follow proper procedure in its recent capital raising – claims the company is refuting.
Papua New Guinea’s government is coming under intense pressure to renegotiate the Special Mining Lease for the Porgera gold mine, which it refused to extend in April. Multiple industry bodies have urged the government to urgently negotiate with the mine’s joint venture operators, Barrick Gold and Zijin Mining, pointing to extreme economic stress.
Air Niugini subsidiary Link PNG has launched a takeover bid for rival domestic carrier PNG Air – via a share acquisition from Nasfund. With the national airline undergoing significant restructuring, what are the prospects for a sustainable aviation sector in Papua New Guinea?
Ok Tedi Mining has announced strong profits and dividends – important because it accounts for over four per cent of Papua New Guinea’s economy. But the future of the company, which has new shareholders, will depend on finding new reserves beyond the Ok Tedi mine’s projected six-year mine life.