The Papua New Guinea economy is gradually stabilising as it adjusts to the impact of the PNG LNG project, according to the Bank of PNG’s latest Monetary Policy Statement. Real economic growth is predicted to be 2.8 per cent, the kina has been steady, and the 2016 balance of payments was in surplus. But there are financial stresses, as David James reports.
Commodity prices were reasonably stable over the month and precious metals strengthened. But the weakness in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prices continued. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly review of Papua New Guinea commodity and financial markets.
The Solomon Islands has great potential as a tourism destination, but there are obstacles to be overcome. In the second of a two part series, Business Advantage PNG looks at the opportunities and challenges, including in the hotel business.
The lack of availability of foreign exchange is creating imbalances within the Papua New Guinea financial system, according to a report by Kina Securities. It says there is a build up of liquidity in kina, which may have implications for the financial strategies of domestic companies.
The first of 500 cows arrive in Papua New Guinea from New Zealand this week, (25 May) as a commercial-scale dairy industry gets closer to production in Central Province. And the CEO of Innovative Agriculture Industries, Ilan Weiss, says milk products will be on local supermarket shelves by October.
Kumul Telikom Chairman Mahesh Patel says the Papua New Guinea telco is close to rolling out its 4G services. He tells ‘Business Advantage Boardroom’, which aired on national broadcaster EMTV, that the merger of bmobile, DataCo and Telikom PNG is necessary to make the state- owned enterprise efficient and manage the technological challenges.
The economic risks faced by the three main commercial banks in Papua New Guinea are very high, says ratings agency S&P Global Ratings. But Associate Director Andrew Mayes tells Business Advantage PNG, credit risk is ‘well-managed’.
Rhodes is a pre-fabricated buildings company focused on the Papua New Guinea market that has support operations in Australia, the Philippines and China. Managing Director Emanuel Papas outlines the strategy to Business Advantage PNG.
Mineral deposits are becoming increasingly difficult to develop and the mining industry is looking to the Papua New Guinean Government to deliver flexible policies that will benefit a maturing industry, Nautilus Minerals Chief Executive Officer, Mike Johnston tells Business Advantage PNG.
Papua New Guinea has a high level of mobile phone penetration, but Tony Westaway, Chief Executive of MiBank, believes the country has significant barriers to overcome if it is to achieve optimum financial inclusion in the digital age. He outlines some of the issues to Business Advantage PNG.