State Enterprises Minister Acknowledges Global Factors Contributing to PNG's Economic Situation

by PNG Business News - March 16, 2023

Photo: State Enterprises Minister William Duma

State Enterprises Minister William Duma has acknowledged that the state of the economy is a result of global events beyond the government's control. In his words, "We have just come out of a global pandemic, an ongoing war in Europe between Ukraine and Russia, and an increase in the price of oil and gas globally. All these are contributing factors to the situation our country is facing... The government is doing all it can to navigate the country through this challenging time, but it can only do so little. It needs the support from all citizens, stakeholders, and business houses to drive the country forward."

Duma has pointed out that other countries are facing similar or tougher circumstances than PNG. He also noted that PNG has yet to resort to printing more money, which has kept inflation in check. According to him, "We are still way above the inflation line, and that should be a good motivation for people to be optimistic about the future instead of panicking."

In response to the temporary closure of operations by Lae Biscuit Company, Duma expressed sympathy for the company and assured that the government would provide a response. He recognised the company's significance as one of the largest employers in the country. Duma maintained that the rising prices of goods and services are part of the measures taken to stabilise the economy, and expressed confidence that the closure of Lae Biscuit Company is temporary and that it would resume production. He said, "I believe the closure is temporary, and Lae Biscuit Company will come back to production. But this and many other issues happening across the country are all noted while we (Government) work on the best possible ways to ensure our economy is operational and that the Government can still deliver to the people."

However, recent reports indicate that the company's chairman, Ian Chow, has warned that the company might consider moving offshore if the government does not intervene. Duma assured that Prime Minister James Marape was aware of the situation and would address it. He said, "The government will give its response to this situation this week... The Prime Minister is aware of the closure, and we will address the issue."



Related Articles

Business

PNG Business News - March 05, 2021

Report: Strong Trade for PNG

Falling export earnings have impacted the external sector of Papua New Guinea. But surging gold prices and import compression contained the damage. According to the World Bank PNG’s economic update titled “Dealing with a triple crisis”, the current account surplus broadened in the first half of 2020, which increased by 14 per cent. This was supported by a strong merchandise trade performance. It said that even if prices for major exports were reduced, the earnings from the mining sector, especially gold exports, posted a surplus. In addition, continued import compression brought about an overall current account surplus. Meanwhile, lower export earnings were more than offset by a 24 per cent decline year-on-year during the first half of 2020. Negative was the trade services balance, caused by negative balances on education, transport, and other business services. The deficits in income and services narrowed. These developments led the current account into a positive area. Earning exports decreased by 14.3 per cent, and prices of major exports also dropped since the beginning of the pandemic. Exports from mineral resources - which includes LNG - went down to 15 per cent year on year, crude oil decreased to 22 per cent and copper, 18 per cent. In addition, agricultural commodity exports decreased by 9.2 per cent, caused by lower export values for coffee, cocoa, and logs - with a little bit offset from palm oil exports. In spite of this decrease, the increase in the cost of gold outweighed all of these impacts, giving rise to the total export earnings to 9 per cent year on year.

Business

PNG Business News - March 05, 2021

Fleming: There Will Be Confidence in PNG Economy

There will be confidence in the PNG economy in 2021.According to Bank South Pacific Group Chief Executive Officer Robin Fleming, this was attributed to the resource sector with several major projects in the pipeline - such as the Fiscal Stability Agreement signed between the Government and Total and Joint Venture Partners of the Papua LNG Project. This also included the Environmental Permit awarded to Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture for the mine negotiations to gin on the Wafi-Golpu Mine.“Certainly we feel that by the end of this year there is going to be far more confidence within the economy. The Wafi-Golpu Mine, and there is a much higher level of confidence within Lae as well, that the business community is looking at further expectations of growth,” he said. Other drivers to this growth also included the ongoing investments in infrastructure and the improvement of State-Owned Entities. “The Government has indicated in its Budget that it’s looking to continue with some of the development of the road construction, for the business community as they know they (PNG Power) got the capability to put their capital to investments which are revenue-generating and not just investments which are protecting their own infrastructure,” he said. The World Bank Groups Papua New Guinea Economic Update of January 2021 said that the Papua LNG Project and the fast resolutions related to key mining projects can contribute to higher inflows of taxation revenue and foreign currency.

Business

PNG Business News - March 05, 2021

PNGEITI Report: Need for Greater Awareness

As a need under the EITI 2019 global practice standard, the Papua New Guinea Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PNGEITI) has published its first Beneficial Ownership (BO) Report. Head of PNGEITI National Secretariat Lucas Alkan said that this has already been published on its website last December 2020. “All EITI implementing countries including Papua New Guinea are required to produce a Beneficial Ownership Report by the 1st of January 2020,” he said.Alkan said to fully comply with this requirement, PNG should have a public register that lists the beneficial owners of corporate entities who hold a particular interest in oil, gas, or mining contracts. This also includes the identity of the beneficial owner. Besides implementing the EITI Standard, PNGEITI is devoted to making sure Beneficial Ownership information disclosure is implemented through its role in; Open Government Policy National Action Plan 2018-2020; the PNGEITI Annual Workplan 2019; and the PNGEITI BO Roadmap for Implementing disclosure including existing legislation such as the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Act 2015.Alkan said, however, that reporting entities did not fully understand the meaning of Beneficial Ownership Reporting. “This is because they were unable to provide complete information of what was requested in the reporting template,” he said. “In addition to the challenges faced in obtaining information for BO reporting, PNGEITI still does not have a legal basis to collect the required BO information which makes it difficult to obtain complete information from the companies.”There are, of course, many challenges that the report found. These include unfamiliarity with the BO concept especially for non-publicly listed companies; several reporting entities did not attend the BO training workshop, and complex corporate structures especially where there are multiple layers of ownership involving several jurisdictions and different types of legal entities.With these many gaps, the report recommends to have a dialogue with the following organizations: the Financial, Analysis and Supervision Unit (FASU) of the Bank of PNG, Investment Promotion Authority (IPA): and the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA).


Recent Articles

Oil and Gas

Paul Oeka - March 27, 2023

Papua LNG project to Minimise Economic Challenges

Photo: Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua has recently stated that the Papua LNG project is critical in addressing some of the economic challenges that are currently faced in the country. He said about K75 billion will be generated over a 15 year period when the project is in progress. He added that the initial stages of the project has commenced with K500 million said to be inputted into PNGs foreign exchange capacity in 2023. During a press conference on Thursday the 9th of March, The Petroleum minister highlighted the progressive stages of the Papua LNG project and emphasized the importance and significance of the benefits that the project will provide. According to studies the project life is expected to operate over a 15 year period that will generate about K75 billion and significantly boost Papua New Guinea's struggling economy. "The K75 billion benefit is inclusive of what comes to the state directly as levies, to Kumul Petroleum, to the landowners as royalties and the provincial governments. All of us put together are going to be collecting and sharing that benefit in the next 15 to 20 years", Kua said.  Minister Kua said that studies for the Papua LNG project began in 2004 following the discovery by Interoil, the resource estimate is in the range of 6 trillion cubic feet of gas and 98 to 100 million barrels of condensive oil.  The benefit of this project is immense and a positive component is the national content which is expected to positively impact GDP, export earnings, forex, revenue to impacted levels of government, landowner benefits and Job opportunities.  Minister Kua said the project developer Total Energies will inject K500 million into the PNG economy in 2023. "The Papua LNG project is a project of national significance for Papua New Guinea and will stimulate business confidence and will provide a significant impetus for our economy", "The Marape-Rosso government places high priority on the delivery of the Papua LNG project, we have an improved deal for our people, and improved contribution for our national contractors and workforce. The government strongly supports the Papua LNG project and encourages all stakeholders including project partners to work diligently to deliver the project on time and on budget", Minister Kua said. Petroleum Secretary David Manau was also present at the conference, he highlighted that the petroleum department will work closely with impacted provincial governments and landowners as this is important in ensuring that all stakeholder grievances are discussed and addressed. In light of this, a development forum is expected in the third quarter of this year. Meanwhile, Kua also revealed a unique aspect of the upcoming project which will mitigate the project's carbon footprint and is set to make PNG in  becoming the first country in the Asia Pacific region and only the second on the world to re-inject carbon dioxide back into the well pad in a LNG project. He said the re-inspection of carbon dioxide into the well pad is a significant step towards reducing the project's carbon footprint and will help mitigate the environmental impact of the project and contribute to Papua New Guinea's efforts to combat climate change. The Papua LNG project is a joint venture between the PNG government, TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil. It is one of the largest investments in the country's history and is expected to generate significant revenue for PNG's economy. Total Energies holds 40.1 percent interest in Papua LNG, along with its joint venture partners Exxon Mobil (37.1 percent) and Santos(22.8 percent). The Papua New Guinea government may exercise a back-in right of up to 22.5 percent interest at the Final Investment Decision (FDI) planned by end of 2023 to early 2024 and production will be scheduled for four years later.

Company

PNG Business News - March 27, 2023

WanPNG: The Skills Development and Jobs Platform for the People of Papua New Guinea

Wan PNG is a platform and community dedicated to expanding opportunities for local Papua New Guineans. Its goal is to increase the development and sustainable employment of local PNG talent, so everyone in our great nation can share in newfound resources and growing prosperity. With the goal of empowering individuals and businesses with the skills and people they need to succeed in the 21st century world, the Wan PNG platform spans three core areas for job seekers: Employment opportunities: Gain experience with internships, start earning with entry positions, or upgrade your career with the next big job. Career advice: Advance your career with expert advice and professional resources, and stay up-to-date on the latest news. Education and training: Expand your employment prospects by upgrading your knowledge, skills, and competencies through courses. For employers it provides: Free access to upload jobs and find the best talent. Smart matching between jobs and candidates. Diversity promoting candidate suggestions reaching a wide pool of talent. The platform's primary objective is to promote lifelong learning and employment and simultaneously bridge the skills gap in Papua New Guinea by providing accessible training opportunities to all its citizens. WanPNG believes that by investing in the development of its people, Papua New Guinea can unlock its full potential and become a more prosperous nation. WanPNG is now available for job seekers and employers. Visit the website now at www.wanpng.com to learn more.

Company

PNG Business News - March 27, 2023

St John Ambulance First Aid Training for Workplace

The St John ambulance service responded to over 21,000 emergencies across Papua New Guinea in 2022. In addition to being Papua New Guinea’s main emergency ambulance service, St John is the nation’s leading first aid training provider equipping thousands of workers with essential first aid skills and knowledge. With just one day of training, St John’s expert first aid trainers can equip your workers with the basic skills to handle all kinds of first aid emergencies. Workplace accidents and injuries are a common occurrence and it is essential for employers to have a competent workforce that can respond effectively to emergencies. St John’s workplace first aid courses ensure your workforce is equipped with the first aid training to assist a sick or injured person. It also helps organizations comply with legal requirements, reduce workplace injuries and fatalities and promote a culture of safety and preparedness. The Papua New Guinea St John Ambulance provides training routinely in Port Moresby and Lae, and can facilitate training at any location in PNG, which makes it easy for workers to gain or maintain their first aid qualifications. St John’s first aid trainers come from a variety of backgrounds, enabling them to contribute real-life experiences to the training environment. Each course, based on St John Ambulance Australia’s training resources, goesthrough rigorous appraisal by training and health specialists including St John’s Papua New Guinea’s medical expert advisory panel - made up of some of the industry’s leading physicians and health professionals, who ultimately endorse the clinical training content components of the first aid courses. St John CEO Matt Cannon said, “this rigorous appraisal process gives clients the confidence of St John’s commitment to delivering the highest quality in training content and delivery in Papua New Guinea.” Workplace first aid courses cover a broad range of topics, including basic life support, wound care, bandaging, splinting, CPR and using an AED. Participants learn how to identify and manage different medical emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes, burns, fractures, and poisoning. Each training program is designed to be flexible and can be delivered on-site or at one of our training centres. If you want to ensure that your workplace is prepared to respond to emergencies, contact St John today to learn more about our workplace first aid training.

Join Papua New Guinea's

Business Community

Be the "First" to get our exclusive Digital Magazine & Weekly Newsletter.