The signing of the Papua LNG project deferred, PNG LNG signs Singapore deal, and Minister flags new Mining Act. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

The signing of the Papua LNG project agreement between the state and the project’s developers, Total, ExxonMobil and Oil Search, which was scheduled for April 5, has reportedly been deferred until 3pm Monday 8 April (according to the Post Courier).

It has been reported that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said that ‘lawyers are still working on the final terms of the project’. (Loop PNG)

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A four-year deal between the ExxonMobil operated PNG LNG project and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) has been signed. The agreement is for the supply of ‘0.45 million tonnes of LNG a year to Unipec Singapore,’ a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinopec. (Santos)

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Mining Minister Johnson Tuke has said that the Mining Act and the PNG Mining Safety Act are due for review. According to Tuke, he will introduce the new Mining Act after the current negotiations of the Wafi-Golpu project are completed. (Post Courier)

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Robin Hundupi, Managing Director at the Livestock Development Corporation (LDC), reportedly said that LDC and the Department of Agriculture and Livestock were working together to try to increase the production of livestock in PNG. The country spends K30 million to import 14,000 tonnes of meat to satisfy local demand.

‘The current target, as established under the PNG Development Strategic Plan (PNGDSP) 2010-2030, is to increase domestic production to four million metric tonnes by 2030,’ said Hundupi. Currently, production in the country is 400,000 tonnes, which is about 10 per cent of the meat target set in the PNGDSP. (The National)

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In its Monetary Policy Statement released last week, Governor Loi Bakani of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, said he supported the government’s 2018-22 strategy to review tax concessions. Bakani said in the statement that ‘the extractive industries gave a lot of tax concessions to project partners for the development of major projects’, urging that the Papua LNG and Wafi Golpu projects be included in the review so that ‘much-needed revenue for the Government can be raised’. (The National)

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Legacy issues at Porgera Gold Mine in Enga Province need to be sorted out before renewing its Special Mining Lease (SML). Mining Minister Johnson Tuke reportedly said that the warden hearing held recently ‘was a process to understand the concerns of legitimate resource owners and not to determine benefits’. (The National)

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The National has reported that the Executive Chairman of Securities Commission of Papua New Guinea, Christopher Hnanguie, is drafting a national investment policy to help to define Papua New Guinea’s investment proposal climate until 2050. ‘Public investment and private investment have to work in one framework so that we can accomplish a bigger set of results,’ he reportedly said.

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Bank South Pacific’s Financial Literacy program has reached about 129,500 people in Papua New Guinea over the past five years. The program began in October 2014 and aims to educate the community on banking products and services as well as money management. In 2018, Bank South Pacific noted that over one million customers had used its card to make payments and over 200,000 new accounts were opened for retail customers. (Post Courier)

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Industry analyst firm Hausples PNG has revealed the results of its 2019 PNG Real State Survey. The results of the survey suggest that people in PNG are looking for affordable rentals. According to Mathew Care, Chief Executive at Hausples.com, ‘most people are still looking for affordable rentals, perhaps because they are saving up for a future property purchase. Turning to the buyer’s market, there is still a major obstacle with perceived affordability. Most people think real estate is becoming prohibitively expensive. Despite this fact, the perception is that now is as good a time as ever to buy.’ (Post Courier)

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According to the Post Courier, the Cocoa Board of PNG is proposing a 60 per cent rise in its export licencing fee structure. Under these reforms foreign companies involved in the exporting of cocoa are expected to pay as much as K20,000. Joint venture exporters would pay as much as K10,000, and small fermentery operators K200 (the current fermentery licensing charges annually are K99). Kenny Samuel, owner of Waiyu Limited, a leading cocoa buyer, processor and exporter in East Sepik, said ’60 per cent is a big ask’ given current market conditions.

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Newcrest Lihir’s Power and Utilities Electrical and Engineering team has completed a major system upgrade. The new upgrade means that the team will be able to receive power outage alerts via SMS instead of desktop computers. According to Peter Zajac, Senior Power System Engineer, ‘not all power outages can be prevented, but this new system gives us an upper hand. We are now able to provide a more reliable electricity service to the operation and nearby communities’. (EMTV)

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The Australian Government has increased its funding to Papua New Guinea. The K85 million increase will go towards initiatives in infrastructure, electrification partnership, secondary schooling programs and health services. (EMTV)

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Photography of the week

The 2019 apprentices: Andrew Taitibe, Shane Korken, Morgan Iha, Benjamin Kiate, Jim Amail, Danny Kakaso, Samson Toaripi, Kami Jack Putaija and Jayfred Yambun (back, left to right). Gloria Haunje, Adeltrude Kote, Cynthia Thompson, Jack Kari, Hilda Wandalu, Stephanie Rumbia, Murphy Temu, Jessica Sape, Anthony Bangu and Jordan Noki (front, left to right). Credit: Oil Search

Oil Search has announced the names of the 20 young Papua New Guineans (six women and 14 men) selected among 800 applicants to join the production and maintenance departments on a four-year apprentice program, which includes a one-year training course at the Institut Teknologi Petroleum PETRONAS (instep) campus in Malaysia. Congratulations to all the winners!