Central Bank Governor, Loi Bakani, says Papua New Guinea is facing economic and financial challenges due to the outbreak of COVID-19. He speaks exclusively to Business Advantage PNG about how the Bank of PNG is responding.
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In the Pacific we aspire to endurance and sustainability. But progress is difficult to sustain when we face multiple threats that reverse decades of development gains in a matter of hours or days, says Dame Meg Taylor, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The presidents of Papua New Guinea’s two largest business chambers, in Port Moresby and Lae, outline the difficulty for business of life under lockdown, but also point to how PNG’s economy can bounce back from the current crisis.
Papua New Guinea is facing a debt crisis according to new reports from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, and the country will need the cash injection of new major investments to avoid ‘lacklustre’ future growth.
Two Papua New Guinea hotels have shut their doors temporarily because of the COVID-19 state of emergency and others have put in place tough measures to guarantee their survival.
Papua New Guinean entrepreneur Samson Korawali aims to revolutionise online learning with the timely launch of online learning platform, Reelae. He tells Business Advantage PNG how the platform has attracted the attention of Silicon Valley.
Wayne Osterberg, Director, Advisory Services, KPMG Papua New Guinea, gives practical advice on the implications of COVID-19 for Papua New Guinea private, midmarket and emerging businesses.
Papua New Guinea’s largest company, Oil Search, is proposing to raise US$700 million (K2.4 billion) to strengthen its balance sheet in response to declining oil prices. The company’s stake in the PNG LNG project may also eventually be on the table.
Papua New Guinea’s government has announced its Budget deficit will balloon to more than K6 billion, the biggest in the nation’s history. Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey has announced a well-targeted stimulus, but the International Monetary Fund needs to come to the party.
Associate Lecturer Dek Joe Sum is based at the University of Papua New Guinea and has been in lockdown in Port Moresby since 24 March. This is his experience.