What are the signs of economic recovery in Papua New Guinea that business leaders should look out for? In the first of a two part series, Business Advantage PNG asks some experienced business leaders what indicators they regard as significant and whether what they are seeing is positive.
Bank South Pacific, Papua New Guinea’s biggest bank, has made ts 2017 AGM shareholder presentation. Analysts say it indicates the bank is travelling strongly, but does face some risks.
Papua New Guinea needs greater flexibility in the exchange rate, Rohan Fox, Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of Papua New Guinea’s Division of Economics, explains to Business Advantage PNG. He believes APEC will be a boost to the economy but not enough to spark a general recovery.
Cocoa is Papua New Guinea’s third-largest agricultural export. The inaugural Cocoa of Excellence show held recently in Kokopo focused on improving the quality of cocoa production to better meet international market requirements.
Papua New Guinea’s agricultural sector is the backbone of the economy and a substantial contributor to national income, Steve Woodhouse, host of EMTV’s ‘Farming PNG’ program, tells Business Advantage PNG. He calls for changes to the regulatory bodies.
Papua New Guinea’s largest retailer is still only servicing about 30 per cent of Papua New Guineans, according to Chairman of CPL Group, Mahesh Patel. While it has product and store expansion plans, Patel says CPL is waiting on a general economic recovery before moving forward.
Highlands Pacific is expanding its focus from large projects and exploration, to controlling interests in smaller projects offering near term returns. Highlands Pacific Managing Director, Craig Lennon, tells Business Advantage PNG it is a response to market changes.
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 Editor of Stella magazine, Amanda Donigi, claims Papua New Guinea risks losing its young entrepreneurs unless business conditions are enhanced. Her comments are echoed by House of Xen founder, Xenia Peni.