Papua New Guinea’s oldest manufacturing company, Paradise Foods, is marking its 80th year of operations this year, after its humble beginnings as a small town bakery in 1933. Behind the quiet celebrations are big expansion plans, Managing Director David Peate tells Business Advantage PNG.
Papua New Guinea’s retailers and manufacturers alike reporting significant drops in revenue this year. How serious is the downturn?
The sharp fall of Papua New Guinea’s currency, the kina, over the past few months is a cause for concern, with Manufacturers Council of PNG CEO Chey Scovell describing it as a ‘real kick in the guts’ for local manufacturers.
The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s is adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude towards the O’Neill government’s nationalisation of the Ok Tedi mine and its owner, the PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP).
After a two-year investigation into the controversial Special Agricultural Business Leases (SABL) system, reports presented by two of the commissioners have found that only four of the 42 leases they examined had obtained landowner consent.
With Papua New Guinea’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) due to receive its first revenues next year, the Governor of the country’s central bank has given his approval. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has sounded a note of caution.
The Papua New Guinea Government has increased its stake in mobile phone company Bemobile, following the collapse of a deal with the Fiji National Provident Fund.
Last week’s legislation to nationalise the PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP) and Ok Tedi Mining Limited carries severe risks and negative implications for development in PNG, writes Stephen Howes, Director of the Development Policy Centre at the Australian National University.
While its aims of encouraging small and indigenous business are universally supported, the Papua New Guinea Government’s recent dealings with investors have created a ‘feeling of unease’ in some business circles.
Lukim PNG Nau 2013, a Papua New Guinea tourism promotion event designed to attract national and international operators and agents, has been a huge success, according to both the PNG Tourism Industry Association and PNG Tourism Promotion Authority.