The economy of the country will have steady growth this year.According to Senior economist Ilyas Sarsenov of the World Bank, it was predicted to be nine per cent smaller in 2023 compared with pre-pandemic. “Like in the rest of the world, the pandemic’s shock was expected to lead to a long period of below-trend economic growth in Papua New Guinea, “ he sai...

The pandemic has indeed affected the tourism industry in the country.This was according to Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Isi Henry Leonard who said that the travel restrictions has brought less international tourists to enter the country and has caused fewer tourism activities. However, he said that it is important to promote local tourism and activi...

Heduru Moni Limited T/a Moni Plus is welcoming applications from experienced candidates for the role of Independent Board Director. Heduru Moni Limited T/a Moni Plus is a licensed financial institution under the Banks and Financial Institutions Act (amended) 2000, and providing financial services to its clients throughout Papua New Guinea having branches ...

The foreign exchange liquidity in the country is predicted to increase this year. According to the Bank South Pacific, this could happen although the first quarter may be tight. In the BSP Economic and Market Insight December 2020 quarter publication, group general manager treasury Rohan George said that the foreign exchange inflows were expected to decre...

By the end of November, the National Airports Corporation is set to finish its Tranche 3 projects under the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program. According to acting managing director and CEO Ephraim Wasem, these projects began in March 2017.The projects began with 12 project sites that included Mount Hagen in Western Highlands, Momote in Manus, ...

After the signing of the fiscal stability agreement, Prime Minister James Marap said that the Papua LNG project is going in the right direction. He gave confidence to the investors that PNG has an active democracy. “We appreciate very much that this project has now been moved,” he said. “The Government will ensure that all necessary support is procured fo...

Oil Search Ltd is happy to see the progress of the US$12 billion (K41.38 billion) Papua LNG project.According to Oil Search managing director Dr Keiran Wulff, “We are pleased to see further progress achieved on the Papua LNG. This milestone highlights the commitment from the Government towards Papua LNG and is a significant step in de-risking the project....

Following the signing of the Fiscal Stability Agreement (FSA) for the Papua LNG Project between the Papua New Guinea government and with French company Total and partners ExxonMobil and Oil Search, Prime Minister James Marape has announced that the Papua LNG project will proceed as a two-train project, independently of the P’nyang project. This came afte...

Following a meeting of the Milne Bay Steering Committee, the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) and the Milne Bay Provincial Administration (MBPA) have partnered to work on the agenda of financial inclusion in the province.Among the key activities for this financial inclusion include training of trainers for financial literacy training, b...

Stakeholders and investors hope for a quick resolution to key resource project negotiations in driving economic growth and confidence.This was according to Kina bank Executive general manager for banking Lesieli Taviri who said that this was on top of the government spending to enhance infrastructure and provide confidence - until the global pandemic diss...

In a recent visit to Jiwaka, Prime Minister James Marape said that the commodity cost support programme will support the current coffee market costs.Following the initial K50mil allocated last November, Marape said that the programme will receive K200 million each year. Through the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC), the government has already allotted K10...

Kina Bank will not create a duopoly, even with the proposed acquisition of Westpac PNG and Fiji.This was according to Kina Bank executive general manager banking Lesieli Taviri, who said that the acquisition will only cover 20 percent of the market with a multi-brand approach. She added that it is to create a new brand for the acquired business and to mai...

Prime Minister James Marape revealed that PNG must take back its resources from foreign exploitation to take the country out of poverty. This is his Vision 2050 to “Take Back PNG”.“Corruption was sucking 30 to 40 per cent of internal revenue,” he said, adding that the country was not earning the fair cost of its resource exports. “We are still looking for...

According to the Bank South Pacific (BSP) chief executive officer Robin Fleming, the kina depreciated by 2.9 per cent against the US dollar in 2020.“During the course of 2020, the Kina depreciated by 2.9 per cent against the USD, therefore, the cost of goods increase associated with the exchange rate for USD denominated imports would have been around 2.9 ...

Prime Minister James Marape said that three multi-billion projects are expected to be signed in the next few weeks, giving his thanks to the investors of these projects: the US$5.4 billion (K18.49 billion) Wafi-Golpu copper and gold project, US$13 billion (K44.5 billion) Papua LNG project and the US$525 million (K1.7 billion) Pasca-offshore oil and gas pr...

The construction of the Kumul Submarine Cable Network (KSCN) is to be finished in the third quarter of 2021.According to PNG DataCo managing director Paul Komboi, while the Coral Sea cable has been online since February 2020, the domestic part has been put on hold because of the COVID restrictions. Komboi said that the landing is already finished for syst...

For the nickel-cobalt mining project in Madang Province, production efficiency is still the number one priority. According to Ramu NiCo company president, Gao Yongxue, the employees of the mining project should take advantage of the scale-cost given that the world markets are going into recession. He has outlined the key project areas in 2021 - which incl...

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Newcrest Mining Limited recognises the critical role that partnerships play in delivering sustainable outcomes in Papua New Guinea. Since the establishment of its K20 million Community Support Fund (CSF), Newcrest has assisted host communities in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic through partnerships with all levels of Government and major donors. O...

Although an economist has embraced the progress of the Wafi-Golpu project, Paul Barker said that they should focus more on the reopening of the Porgera mine quickly since the former takes time. “With Wafi-Golpu, we still have much further to go,” he said. “(Reaching) an immediate and practical agreement between the Government, Barrick and partners over eq...

With gold, copper and liquefied natural gas (LNG) expected to be strong, the economy could rebound this year.According to K92 Mining Inc chief executive officer John Lewins, this would be achievable if the impact of the COVID crisis is managed and that 2021 would still be a challenging year for many. He said that in early January, the cost of gold rallie...

During the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus (Phama Plus) and the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC), it is emphasized that marketing needs more attention in the exportation of coffee to the international market.While Rachael McCarthy of the New Zealand High Commission is happy ...

According to Institute of National Affairs (INA) executive director Paul Barker, foreign exchange (forex) has stayed very tight since 2017, considered to be one of the major hindrances to investments and businesses in PNG. He added that his concern was the imbalance in the markets, partly linked with rigidities in the setting of exchange rates, and the un...

Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) has announced that it has returned to normal production after the second of the two processing circuits which were damaged in a fire incident on the 20th of December 2020 was restored recently. OTML Managing Director and CEO, Musje Werror expressed his appreciation to the team who worked for almost 6 weeks. “The commitment sh...