As part of the 2012 Alotau Accord, the O’Neill Government agreed to establish an Infrastructure Development Authority to ‘take ownership’ of Cabinet decisions and oversee major infrastructure projects in Papua New Guinea. Business Advantage PNG spoke recently to the authority’s interim Managing Director, John Kaio.
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.
Foreign investment in the Fiji economy is expected to return, following the first democratic election since the 2006 coup. Tourism, infrastructure and natural resources are three sectors expected to benefit, but economists and business leaders say that will depend on political and policy stability, as Kevin McQuillan reports.