An overview of Papua New Guinea’s state-owned or ‘Kumul’ enterprises and investment companies, including its national oil and mining companies, utilities, national airline and telecommunications company.

Following reforms over the past decade, Papua New Guinea’s state-owned enterprises are gathered under an entity known as Kumul group of companies, which has the PNG State as its sole shareholder.

The Kumul companies cover not only essential infrastructure such as aviation, water supply, electricity transmission, ports administration and postal services, but also enterprises established to foster development of particular sectors of PNG’s economy, such as mining, petroleum and agriculture.

Thus, many of these state-owned companies are potential partners to investors seeking to invest in particular sectors of PNG’s economy. In some instances, such as electricity generation and port management, some of the mandated functions of PNG’s state-owned entities have been outsourced to the private sector.

Profiles of the individual Kumul companies follow below.

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd (KPHL), formerly known as the National Petroleum Company of PNG, is PNG’s national oil company. It was created under Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited Authorisation Act 2015.

KPHL is mandated to ‘protect and maximise the value of the country’s petroleum assets so that it can contribute to the maximum wealth for the people of Papua New Guinea’.

KPHL is currently responsible for managing the State’s 16.57% equity in the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG Project through its subsidiary Kumul Petroleum (PNG LNG) Limited.

KPHL is the legislated State nominee for all projects in the petroleum sector and has the option to take up to a 20.5% stake in every project.

KPHL also runs the Kumul Petroleum Academy, while its subsidiary Kumul Energy has a joint venture, Niupower Limited, with Oil Search to run a 58MW gas-fired power station in Port Moresby.

Further information

www.kumulpetroleum.com

Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited

Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd, formerly Petromin PNG Holdings, is the sister company to Kumul Petroleum. It is mandated to hold the State’s mining assets.

Currently, its main asset is the 67% share in Ok Tedi Mining Ltd, the operator of the Ok Tedi copper mine in Western Province, but it is expected to be the State’s nominee for future mining projects such as Wafi-Golpu.

Kumul Minerals also plays a proactive role in exploration for new mining deposits.

Further information

www.kumulminerals.com.pg

Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH)

Kumul Consolidated Holdings is the entity which holds in trust PNG’s non-petroleum and non-mining assets.  Formerly known as the Independent Public Business Corporation, it is mandated ‘to hold all government-owned commercial assetshttps://www.kch.com.pg and to manage those assets to improve commercial performance and underpin economic development.’

It falls under the portfolio of PNG’s Minister of State Enterprises and Public Investments and is arguably a de facto ministerial department.

KCH currently manages the following nine state-owned enterprises

1. 1. Air Niugini (PNG’s national airline)
   2. Motor Vehicle Insurance Ltd (compulsory third party insurance)
   3. National Development Bank
   4. PNG Ports (which manages PNG’s 16 gazetted ports)
   5. PNG Power (electricity company)
   6. Post PNG
   7. Kumul Agriculture
   8. Kumul Telikom (which includes the telcos PNG Dataco, Telikom PNG and Bmobile)
   9. Water PNG (recently merged with Eda Ranu)

The KCH portfolio of companies is currently undergoing reforms, underpinned by technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank. These reforms are aimed at improving governance, transparency and competition and are likely to involve amendments to relevant legislation.

Further information

www.kch.com.pg (this site also helpfully provides downloadable copies of relevant legislation)

Minerals Resources Development Corporation (MRDC)

Although not strictly speaking a ‘Kumul’ company, Minerals Resources Development Corporation is also a company wholly-owned by the PNG State.

Its unique role is to manage the mandated project benefits granted to landowners and provincial governments from PNG’s resources projects.

The MRDC currently manages the royalties from minority stakes in the following projects on behalf of these stakeholders:

• The Ok Tedi, Porgera and Ramu mines
• The Moran, Gobe and Kutubu oil fields
• The Hides, Juha, Angore, Kutu, Moran gas fields

MRDC plays an active role as an investor on behalf of its stakeholders. Recent investments include the Star Mountain Plaza hotel and residential development in Port Moresby and power generation company Dirio Gas and Power.

Further information 

www.mrdc.com.pg