With regulatory approval finally received for ANZ’s sale of its retail banking assets in Papua New Guinea, ANZ PNG’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Baker talks to Business Advantage PNG about the bank’s future plans in the country.
ANZ (including ANZ PNG)
Construction milestone for PNG’s tallest building, renewed support for fisheries training and PNG launches legal action in Australia. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.
Government plans to build and open five new highways, Milbank launches women-only credit card, and PNG Power to upgrade two projects in Eastern Highlands and East New Britain. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.
ANZ Bank expects Kina to rise above $0.35 cents from early 2020, Ramu 2 hydropower project to commence next March, and security preparations for APEC step up. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.
Papua New Guinea has some ambitious plans to expand its population’s access to electricity. However, boosting electricity supply across the country requires ‘some very clever thinking,’ say energy analysts.
The sluggish Papua New Guinea economy is triggering a bout of rationalisation, two of the recent examples being in the banking and manufacturing sectors.
ANZ Bank and Kina Bank have announced they have entered into an agreement for ANZ to sell its retail and commercial/small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking businesses to Kina for K24.2 million. Both banks claim the move is in line with their strategies.
The Managing Director of ANZ Papua New Guinea, Mark Baker, has said the foreign exchange restrictions are not likely to ease until a major new resources investment comes in. But in the interim he believes the Government is connecting well with business.
Papua New Guinea is on the verge of a resources boom, according to Kishti Sen, International Economist for the ANZ Banking Group. He told the recent Australia–Papua New Guinea Business Forum that the challenge is to manage the economic cycles.
A US$500 million Eurobond to be issued later this year, Government owes US$88 million to local businesses and February earthquake bill to cost five percent of government expenditure. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.