Prime Minister James Marape claims that the Australian government's intervention to assist PNG with budgetary support for essential infrastructure has aided the government's expansionary economic goals.

Marape said this in Brisbane at the 37th Australia-Papua New Guinea Business Forum and Trade Expo.

“In case you did not see it that is why Bank South Pacific declared their highest profit in 2021, posting over a billion kina in a year when the Porgera mine was still closed, Wafi-Golpu had not started and both Papua LNG and P’nyang LNG constructions had not started yet,” the Prime Minister told the forum.

“This shows that the use of our Government’s fiscal policies and effective operationalisation of our budget plans have kept the PNG economy functional.

“To put numbers to our Government spending, our combined 2019, 2020 and 2021 budgets saw aggregate Government expenditures to the tune of K56 billion.

“This kept our small, but the growing economy, lubricated with liquidity supplied from Government expenditures like Connect PNG, arrears and debt settlements, service improvement funds transferred to districts and provinces, record funding to health and education, paying our public services in time including clearing backlog of retirement funds are just some transactions that enabled financial life in our economy.”

Despite being a developing nation, Marape claimed the country has done well in terms of economic growth throughout the years. "Despite our economy's sensitivity to global economic and health shocks, we did significantly better than other developing countries in the previous three years," he remarked.

“Our inflation averaged under 5.5 per cent.

“Our foreign reserves in Central Bank are the highest-ever since 1975 at K10 billion-plus.

“Our budget and fiscal management is running congruent to reforms we are doing with International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and all bilateral partners like Australia and Japan.”

Reference: The National (26 May 2022). “PM: Aust’s intervention assisted Govt’s economic policies”.

The outlook for Papua New Guinea has been changed from negative to stable by Standard and Poor's Global Ratings.

The stable outlook is based on S&P's belief that fiscal consolidation efforts and measures contained in an International Monetary Fund programme would continue to decrease fiscal deficits and stabilise the country's debt burden over the next year.

According to the research, if consolidation initiatives do not appear to be taking place over the next 12 months, S&P could reduce the country's ratings, increasing worries about the country's fast-expanding debt levels and debt serviceability.

“We could raise our ratings if there were a strong track record of implementing fiscal reforms, thereby improving our view of PNG’s fiscal and debt metrics, as well as a strong improvement in GDP (gross domestic product) growth.

“This is unlikely to occur over the next 12 months,” the credit rating agency said.

“Despite an estimated decline of 3.5 per cent in real GDP in 2020, we expect a modest economic recovery of 1.7 per cent in 2021.

“Buoyant agricultural output and commodity prices drove growth in 2021, and the reopening of resource plants shuttered during the pandemic will support resource-related growth.

“The promise of new resource-related projects in the medium term should improve the country’s economic prospects.”

According to the study, the worldwide pandemic has compounded PNG's underlying budgetary issues.

“Our sovereign ratings on PNG reflect structural constraints inherent in a low-income economy dependent on the mining industry and served by weak institutions.

“The PNG government aims to promote investment and address macroeconomic imbalances and economic diversification.”

Reference: The National (26 May 2022). “PNG economy ‘stable’”

According to National Research Institute (NRI) interim director Osborne Sanida, the government must embrace digital transformation to promote commerce.

“the volume of trade has increased over the years with the reduction of tariffs,” he said.

“We need to ensure that digital transformation is used to our advantage to facilitate trade.

“But we must, at the same time, guard against many adverse impacts on information explosion in this ICT (information, communications technology) age.”

ICT, according to Sanida, provides all types of information on multiple platforms.

“So, how can we tell what is relevant and what is not?” he said.

“The producing of valid statistics and developing data is important for research, analysis and providing reliable policy recommendations.

“Digital transforms functions from labour-based to digital or electronic-based systems.”

PNG, Sanida said a Customs Business Consultative Forum, has an open economy that relies heavily on commerce.

Sanida said PNG Customs had gone from manual document processing to automation of customs processing and procedures, which included electronic document submission, adoption of electronic payment systems, inter-agency coordination, and interagency Government systems involving clearance, among other things.

Reference: The National (27 May 2022). “Embrace digital tech to facilitate trade, says institute”.

Photo credit: Rocky Roe - PM Marape addresses the forum

Prime Minister James Marape claims that Papua New Guinea is a good location to invest.

The Prime Minister recently spoke at the 37th Australia-Papua New Guinea Business Forum and Trade Expo in Brisbane.

“To attract and lock in investments, we are opening up special economic zones that offer incentives like free trade, tax holidays and other concessional investments,” he said.

“My generation of leaders are aware of opportunities in trade for the benefit of our 10 million people in our Apec, Asean and Pacific neighbourhood.

“The world close to PNG in the Asia-Pacific needs food, energy and other finished products from our forests, land and seas.

“We want to value-add to our resources so we are looking for partners in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, oil, gas and mining.

“Downstream processing is the way to go.

“I call on this august business forum to keep on investing in PNG or come and pick up a business address in PNG.

“As a vote of confidence in PNG’s economy, we saw recently Australian companies invest big in PNG, like Telstra which acquired Digicel and Fortescue Future Industries.”

Marape said the merger of Santos and Oil Search was a pivotal moment in potentially forging closer ties between Australia and PNG.

“Although it was sad to see a PNG company such as Oil Search go, we have our very own Kumul Petroleum in the oil and gas industry in PNG and my hope is that Santos follows through on the ‘national interest expectations’,” he said.

“We look forward to Santos and Kumul Petroleum doing an equity sell down transaction and this will create a strong relationship between the two companies.

“Those of you who have been in PNG know that while we have issues of law and order, and systematic impediments such as infrastructure deficiencies, those who remain as businesses in PNG continue to make profits.”

Marape stated that the government will work to remove barriers to business and make it simpler to do business in PNG.

The government's commitment to the business environment, he stated, includes:

• IMPROVING the ease of doing business;
• MODERNISING tax systems, with an emphasis on downstream processing and incentives for priority industries in special economic zones;
• THE 'Connect PNG' Policy, which connects highways to seaports and airports, is modernising infrastructure.
• POWER AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVISION; and
• A JUDICIARY THAT IS FUNCTIONAL AND EFFECTIVE.

Reference: The National (25 May 2022). “Invest in PNG: Marape”. 

The Ihu Special Economic Zone project in Gulf Province's Kikori District is presently in its second phase of development.

The second phase of the Ihu SEZ has been funded with a total of K10 million, according to Peter Kengemar, the project director.

He stated that for the first five years of phase two development, K20 million from the K100 million allocated by the National Executive Council was meant to be released each year, but owing to COVID-19, the funds have been scaled down to K10 million.

“Phase two basically involves land mobilisation, land investigations studies which involves the size of land we required to get the project in,” he said.

Mr Kengemar stated that they require two permissions to legally enter the project at the desired location: a land development permit and an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the environmental permit.

The site improvements program and SME training for Kikori residents are two more projects now in operation.

“Site improvements involves building infrastructures like roads, fixing airports, airstrips, building jetties, and other basic infrastructure development.

“We have registered almost three thousand people attending the SME training programs and workshops.

“We are working with the Department of Commerce and Industry to get them registered as a corporate societies which has been done,” Mr Kengemar said.

He explained that the goal is to train and upskill them in order to codify their business processes and prepare the team for the huge project.

The development of significant building infrastructure and the growth of industry are the two remaining phases (phases 3 and 4).

It will take 15 years to finish the project.

Reference: Wohi, Lorraine. Post-Courier (26 May 2022). “Iu Special Economic Zone Project Undergoes Phase Two Development”. 

After the general election, getting significant resource projects off the ground must be a top priority for the administration, according to an official.

Rio Fiocco, head of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said these initiatives will bring in foreign cash and help to the country's overall economy.

He said that the projects' spinoffs will assist not just large corporations, but also small and medium-sized firms (MSME).

“The business community is waiting to see some of these major projects get moving, in particular, the Pasca project and of course, the Porgera project restarting and the Wafi-Golpu project to get underway,” Fiocco said.

“We would hope that those projects get moving quickly so that more jobs are created and the economy can grow.

“It will give a boost to all businesses, not just big businesses but small and micro-enterprises.

“You look at for example the case of Porgera, all road contractors have missed out, all workers of the mine have lost jobs, even farmers supplying fruits and vegetables to the mine have no customers.

“So yes, the spinoff benefits of getting any of these major projects underway is very strong. It also boosts the foreign exchange with the export of gold which will bring dollars into the country.”

Reference: The National (20 May 2022). “Govt should focus on resource projects: Fiocco”. 

Photo credit: Department of PM&NEC

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has today congratulated the Member for Lae and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning, Hon. John Rosso, on his appointment as the new Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.

PM Marape said the appointment was made to honour and pay respects to the life and work of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Transport & Infrastructure, and Member for Bulolo, the late Hon. Sam Basil, who died on 12 May in a tragic motor vehicle accident in Morobe Province.

Prime Minister Marape said Honourable Rosso is a senior leader from Morobe Province and Member for Lae City, the most important “economic” city in the country.

“Importantly, Honourable Rosso has performed his duties as a minister of state very well and in respect to Deputy Prime Minister, late Honourable Basil, it is fitting to return the portfolio to Morobe Province.

“Honourable Rosso is a hardworking Member of Parliament and a senior Pangu leader, who has the political and personal attributes to replace Basil. In this context, we are making him the Deputy Prime Minister as he retains his Lands portfolio.

“Also, and just as importantly, because there must never exist a vacancy in the Deputy Prime Minister’s office in case something happens to the Prime Minister or in the absence of the Prime Minister,” said PM Marape.

The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to thank the family of the late Basil for their understanding in how it cooperated in the handling of the funeral arrangements including the replacement of Basil’s portfolio as immediately as possible soon after the burial.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Marape also announced the appointment of Hon. Manasseh Makiba as the new Minister for Transport & Infrastructure.

“By the same token, we are bringing in Hon. Manasseh Makibah to Cabinet as soon as possible. He has been on the flanks in the last three years and has been an instrumental part of the change of government that took place in 2019.

“Hon. Makiba has always been a team player who has allowed others to take precedence before him. There is now a vacancy in the portfolio. While time is not there to do new things, there needs to be ministerial oversight and he steps into the Transport & Infrastructure portfolio to have that oversight as we go into elections,” said PM Marape.
Both leaders of Parliament were sworn in today at Government House.

Article courtesy of the Department of PM&NEC

The EU Funded UN Joint STREIT Programme in Papua New Guinea has made progress in delivering technical assistance to the beneficiaries since the beginning of 2020. To address existing the challenges induced by COVID-19 Pandemic, there is a need to further scale up cooperation and partnership among stakeholders to speed up the pace of implementation of the envisioned support to improve agri-enterprise activities and livelihood of rural communities in the Sepik provinces. This was the highlight of the Programme Steering Committee's meeting held on Wednesday, 11 May 2022 in Vanimo, the capital of Sandaun Province.

"The EU-STREIT PNG Programme, funded by the European Union for the benefit of the people of the Sepik provinces, represents the largest opportunity ever to initiate, make and deliver a change for the better, in the daily lives of women, men and   youth, from this region," said H.E. Jernej Videtič, the EU Ambassador and the Head of Delegation to Papua New Guinea. Adding "The Programme is part of EU-PNG’s long-lasting partnership in providing innovative solutions for sustainable development to the marginalised agri-rural communities." 

"To build back better after experiencing the severe impact of COVID-19 Pandemic, the team, including the implementing agencies, public authorities and development partners, need to take new measures and scale-up coordination mechanisms at national, provincial and local levels to accelerate tackling protracted challenges and find solutions for emerging issues," underscored Roger Kara, Deputy Secretary of the Department of National Planning and Monitoring. Stressing "only by paying attention to local ownership and alignment will the long-term sustainability of the EU-STREIT PNG Programme be assured."

"The Programme has rolled out a good level of interventions, directly supporting a large number of beneficiaries,” highlighted the United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i, Dirk Wagener. He further stressed that "the Programme is a joint endeavour of, not only the UN family in Papua New Guinea, but also the National Government, Provincial Administrations, and local counterparts in Greater Sepik region, and we all need to put our best to deliver the support and empowerment the people deserve."

Appreciating the contributions made by all partners in delivering support to the target beneficiaries in the Sepik, Takayuki Hagiwara, the FAO Asia-Pacific Regional Programme Leader, called on all involved parties to take firm measures to roll out the planned activities on the ground for the benefit of the rural population in the region to help them have better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. He also emphasized the increased coordination with the Government, EU and other UN agencies to bring back the project on the right track and recover from the delay, while affirming FAO’s strong commitment on the delivery of the workplan.  

Since January 2020, the Programme has reached out and provided technical assistance and support to 55,000 households and 331,000 people in 40 Local Level Governments (LLGs) in Greater Sepik.

Regarding its work plan, this joint project has achieved the following results for community benefits:

• Distributed nearly 290,000 cocoa pod borer-tolerant seedlings from main and satellite nurseries.
• Established more than 250 cocoa budwood gardens in strategic locations across different districts, LLGs and wards in the Sepik.
• Created and supported the registration of more than 300 cluster groups and cooperatives in cocoa, vanilla and fisheries value chains.
• Trained nearly 13,000 lead farmers and extension officers (including 20 percent women and 25 percent youth) in the cocoa, vanilla and fisheries value chains.
• Organised sensitisation and awareness campaigns on the important role of women and youth in the agri-food value chains and the need to mainstream gender and youth perspectives in these value chains. This benefited 9,241 women, youths, students, and men.
• Provided maintenance to 120 km of farm-to-market roads out of the initial 310 km targeted (18 feeder roads).
• Capacitated 140 entrepreneurs from 70 local companies (contractors) in road construction, e-bidding, contract management, contract procurement, control quality, decent works and quality delivery for competitive bidding, including in EU-STREIT PNG projects.
• Developed and officially launched the web-based Road Transport Information Management System (RoTIMS), tailored for conditions in PNG and trained 40 Government officers its usage.
• Supported the connection of 13,681 beneficiaries to mobile wallets and 16,398 rural people to bank accounts, and the creation of 80 new banking access points across the Greater Sepik region.
• Developed E-Agriculture Strategies for 2 Sepiks and draft of the national "Quality of Service Framework" for NICTA on improved Mobile Broadband Connectivity.
• Trained 90 agripreneurs, NGOs' members and lead farmers and government officers, on Digital Agriculture and Financial Inclusion.

The EU-STREIT PNG, as a UN Joint Programme (FAO as leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. Being implemented in close cooperation with the National and provincial government institutions, research entities, civil society organisations, and private sector enterprises, the Programme aims to help improve the lives of the people from East Sepik and Sandaun provinces, by focusing on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through improved economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains while strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment, and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.

Photo: Members of the OTML Joint Working Party of Union and Management leaders and the Managing Director & CEO, Musje Werror at the signing. Also present to co-sign and witness the event was Industrial Relations Acting Manager, Wala Iga, and Industrial Registrar, Helen Saleu.

Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) and the Ok Tedi Mining & Allied Workers Union (OTAWU) signed a new Industrial Agreement on the 19th of May allowing for the implementation of additional benefits that will address the long-term welfare of OTML employees and their families.

The new 5 Year Industrial Agreement will be implemented from 1st January 2023 and will be in effect until the end of 2027. The previous Industrial Agreement signed in 2019 was valid for three years.

The new Agreement was signed following two-days of consultations between OTML’s Management Team and the OTMAWU Executives.

Acting President of the OTMAWU, Kevin Onde, thanked the OTML Management team for honouring the MoU signed on 9th December 2021 for extending the terms of the 2019 Industrial Agreement and paving the way for the new agreement.

“The wishes of the Union members have been heard and will soon be materialised in the coming months. The consultation has ended on a high note with a gain for all employees. It is a milestone achievement in itself for the company and the employees where maturity was displayed in the last few days, and the results are now tangible,” said Mr Onde.

OTML Managing Director & CEO, Musje Werror, said it was a historic achievement, one that would not be possible without the positive culture in OTML.

“Over the last 3 years we started to build on the trust and respect between management and the workforce and to strengthen our culture which is demonstrated by the successful discussions and the signing of the Industrial Agreement in the same week."

Mr Werror also acknowledged the efforts of the workforce over the last two years, which had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the significant challenges brought on by the pandemic the Company was able to generate PGK 1 billion in dividends for its shareholders over this period.

“I look forward to the continuous support from the workforce to realise our Vision 2025 and make Ok Tedi the best mining company in PNG,” added Mr Werror.

The 2023 Industrial Agreement was co-signed by Acting Manager Industrial Relations, Mr Wala Iga, and witnessed by Industrial Registrar, Ms Helen Saleu, in Port Moresby.

Ms Saleu commended the Ok Tedi Union citing the recent negotiations and the signing was a benchmark achievement for all unions and their management teams in the industry and country.

She said, “The Ok Tedi Union and Management should be used as role models for other union negotiations and industrial agreement discussions in the future. The trust and respect shared by the OTML union and management has led to this successful and mature negotiation and the signing showcases a genuine relationship bond with the employees and the management aligned with achieving a win-win outcome for its employees and the Company.”

Article courtesy of Ok Tedi Mining

According to Madang Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Kevin Murray, the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project in Madang would increase the province's fisheries industry.

Despite the lack of certainty about the project, Murray claimed that residents in the Madang area support it because it will create employment.

“A number of canneries will be developed apart from RD Tuna which is the main one in the province today,” he said.

Acting managing director Justin Ilakini of the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) said the NFA was now going back to the drawing board to ensure that the project was completed appropriately, with the government authorising K100 million for it in this year's budget. He said plans were in the works to form a project steering committee made up of officers from several agencies, with the National Planning and Monitoring Department and the NFA co-chairing the project team.

“Government transferred the PMIZ project to the NFA,” Murray said.

“In the last budget, they approved K100 million for the project.

“We have, more or less, go back to the drawing board to make sure that everything is done properly.

“What we are doing now is to make sure that every study that needs to be done is done.”

Ilakini said the NFA would ensure that there were development partners on hand to help develop the project.

“It’s a really big project and the Government feels strongly that it’s a good project that will create more than 30,000 jobs.

“It will provide the opportunity for investors to come and set up may be more than 10 tuna processing plants and other spinoff benefits for the local people.”

According to Ilakini, the government has already purchased the property for the project.

Reference: The National (19 May 2022). “PMIZ project will boost fisheries in Madang, says official”.

The PNG Electrification Global Information System has been created by the United States Agency for International Development.

Off-grid energy providers can use the Electrification Global Information System (GIS) platform to find prospective mini-grid locations and regions for selling stand-alone solar goods.

Sean Callahan, USAID's Deputy Mission Director for the Pacific Islands and Mongolia, formally inaugurated the platform during his visit to Papua New Guinea.

According to him, the platform would initially be available to several hundred customers in the electricity industry.

“USAID is pleased to be a partner with stakeholders to bring electricity to rural Papua New Guinea.

This innovative, data-based approach will provide our off-grid partners with the live, up-to-date information they need to further bring electrification to rural communities,” said Deputy Mission Director Callahan.

He explained that the PNG Electrification GIS platform is an interactive mapping tool that allows stakeholders working on electrification in PNG to view hundreds of indicators linked to local populations and communities.

“The platform was developed by the Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership (USAID-PEP).

“The USAID-PEP Activity is a five-year, US$57 million project partnership with the PNG government to advance the country’s journey to self-reliance by contributing to the goal of connecting 70 per cent of PNG’s population to electricity by 2030,” he said.

To achieve this aim, USAID-PEP supports PNG Power Limited, develops viable off-grid electrification models, improves PNG's energy regulator, and catalyses private sector investment, according to him.

Reference: Post-Courier (20 May 2022). “Online Platform To Support Electricity In PNG By 2030”.

On the strength of planned resource developments, the Australia New Zealand Bank (ANZ) anticipates good economic growth for the country.

Businesses' investment is projected to turn back in the second half of the year, according to the bank's Pacific forecast.

The next phase of gas projects will be the primary driver, with Papua LNG expected to enter Feed (Front End Engineering Design) by June this year, paving the way for a much-anticipated building boom from late 2023 to early 2024.

“We expect a very strong second half of the decade when Papua LNG and the gold/copper Wafi-Golpu mine come online,” according to the research by ANZ.

“Work on the upstream P’nyang fields commence and investments in electrification, telecommunications, and renewable energy projects ramp up,” it said.

“The PNG LNG debt will be repaid mid-decade, providing the state with increases in dividends and taxes to broaden the base of economic drivers late in the decade.

“In the interim, the economy will get a fillip from government expenditure and elevated national income, boosted by an uplift in commodity prices. Ongoing road works, up and down the country, will support activity; but overall we expect another soft year, with business investment unlikely to rev up until 2023.

“Gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to increase by 2.1 per cent in 2022 before strengthening to 5.6 per cent next year and averaging about eight per cent per year through to the end of this decade.”

Reference: The National (18 May 2022). “ANZ forecasts positive economic growth for PNG”. 

Governor Sir Peter Ipatas claims that the Enga provincial administration has lost over K70 million since the closure of the Porgera gold mine two years ago.

Sir Peter stated that during the mine's closure, all parties suffered losses, but that everyone must wait for the final agreement for the mine's reopening to be inked.

He added that landowners and companies had been impacted, but that they will recover once the situation was resolved.

Sir Peter explained that the reopening was taking longer because they needed to execute a deal that would benefit both the country and the landowners and residents of Enga.

According to Sir Peter, the developer collected 95% of the advantages over the last 30 years, while only 5% remained in the country.

“We have changed this around and now we will be receiving 51 per cent and the developer is to get 49 per cent. From that 51 per cent Enga will be receiving 15 per cent of the benefits,” he said.

Sir Peter stated that such agreements would necessitate additional time and patience in order to adequately handle all mine-related issues.

“Business houses have a reason to complain because of a loss of business but we have to access the process properly before taking further steps in allowing the mine to operate,” he said.

“Currently, all of us are making a loss, including the provincial government.”

Sir Peter stated that the mine's prior 2% royalty payment to the provincial government was utilised to pay for school fees for the previous 15 years.

He noted that despite the provincial government losing K70 million because the mine remained closed, he urged landowners, Enga residents, and the rest of the country to be patient as they neared the end of the reopening process.

He praised the government for striking a deal that will benefit the country more.

“This Government has been working hard for our good,” he said.

Reference: Pacific Mining Watch (17 May 2022). “PNG's Enga Provincial Government lost K70 million due to Porgera Mine closure”.

Photo credit: Expo2020 Dubai UAE: Papua New Guinea pavilion

The 6-month world Expo2020 in Dubai has ended on the 31st of March with great success giving different participating countries including the Papua New Guinea expo team great learning experiences and key take away tasks to implement to further develop the country’s economy.  

The Papua New Guinea pavilion officially closed its doors on March 31st but remained open on April 1st to give opportunity to pavilion staff from other countries, expo volunteers and workers to come and visit given the lack of opportunity they had to visit other country pavilions during the course of the expo.

The closing now leads to the next phase of expo which is the decommissioning of the pavilion. The PNG expo team has been busy over the last few days dismantling and packing display banners in the pavilion. The items will be packed in a container which will then be shipped back to Papua New Guinea.

The first lot of pavilion staff left Dubai on the 10th of April while a skeleton team remained to organize a post expo networking dialogue with partners and interested investors in UAE.

The full expo team is expected to be in Port Moresby at the end of the month to prepare for an interagency post expo workshop where stakeholders will be called in for a briefing on PNG’s participation outcomes in Expo2020.

During the official closing dinner of the pavilion, PNG Expo Commissioner General and Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, His Excellency Joshua Kalinoe commended the staff saying that they had lived up to the expectation of their people and country as they worked very long hours, 24-seven, not only in pavilion duties but also planning and executing trade and investment events during the expo led thematic weeks.

“Papua New Guinea was one of the countries that actively participated in expo led programmes within the context of the pavilion’s strategic participation framework that was approved for implementation by the Marape Cabinet,“ Ambassador Kalinoe said.

The PNG pavilion delivered a number of forums and events as part of its participation strategy and maximized PNG’s visibility during the expo. The key events included;

• 5 investment forums promoting PNG economic industries and sectors such as agriculture and downstream processing, banking and finance, tourism and connectivity, fisheries and ICT.
• 2 roundtable discussions focusing on education, research and science and innovations and how they can add value to PNG’s mass biodiversity and contribute to PNG’s economy.
• Line up of one week cultural performances and PNG reggae musician Anslom Nakikus as lead up to the Papua New Guinea national day which was celebrated on February 28.
• A trial exercise on bringing PNG seafood and fresh produce into UAE to understand the market requirements, ease of access and costs.
• Government to business seminar focusing on the ICT sector.

PNG also participated in the thematic events organized by expo.

The PNG pavilion together with other smaller pavilions will be demolished and the expo site will be converted to District 2020, a suburb of Dubai city.     

Photo: Mr. Rajest Mandjakkat, CEO and Managing Director of Royal Arabian Computers going through the USD1.2m one-stop-shop Destination PNG Tourism Portal project with Amb Kalinoe, flanked by Mr. Sajeth Kumar, CEO and MD of IMBC Financial Professional Group and Dubai-based Trade and Investment Advisor to the PNG Embassy in Brussels (right) and an official of Royal Arabian Computers.

One of the companies that recently signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with PNG during the Post Expo 2020 PNG-UAE Economic Cooperation Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on 20 April 2022, Royal Arabian Computers, has submitted an investment proposal to partner with the Tourism Promotion Authority to create a one-stop-shop Destination PNG Digital Portal.

The company has been closely following the PNG Pavilion’s Expo journey during the thematic events, including the launch of the PNG SME Digital Economy and the Roundtable on Education, Science and the Green Economy where the Minister for Information, Communication and Technology Hon. Timothy Masiu and the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Isi Leonard presented keynote addresses respectively.

Papua New Guinea’s Ambassador to Belgium and Expo2020 Commissioner General Mr. Joshua Kalinoe who is in Dubai for the completion of the PNG Pavilion’s decommissioning exercise met with the company and formerly received their proposal.

Ambassador Kalinoe said the proposal is an effort of the positive engagement between the company and the Pavilion Lead staff of TPA, IPA and the Department of Information, Communication and Technology (DCIT) who worked tirelessly to have the company committed to the investment.

“The Pavilion staff were aggressively implementing the target-based Participation Strategy as approved by the National Executive Council and the results have been overwhelming, well beyond my expectation, where 19 LOIs in trade, finance, banking, manufacturing, construction, tourism, mining, hydrocarbon, renewable energy, carbon trade and agriculture were signed.

“In the next two months, we expect to receive some more formal investment proposals from the 19 LOIs in finance, digital banking, agriculture, information technology, hydrocarbon, mining and import/export infrastructure, including mobility and connectivity”, Ambassador Kalinoe said.

Ambassador Kalinoe said the whole-of-government structure in implementing international events like the World Exposition 2020 with the leadership of the PNG Foreign Service represented by Kundu Brussels, has proven that international diplomacy is certainly relevant to achieving Papua New Guinea’s economic and visibility interests.

Photo: Antonio Narokobi receiving his Certificate of Recognition from the Commissioner General of Expo2020, His Excellency Mr. Joshua Kalinoe, Papua New Guinea’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU

A young 13 year old Papua New Guinean living in Dubai has been recognized for representing his country at the UN organized Youth Manifesto Young Ambassadors event hosted during the recently completed World Expo2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Mr. Antonio Narokobi, who attends the Emirates International School, Meadows, volunteered to represent PNG at the Young Ambassadors event that included representatives from other participating countries.

The PNG pavilion was not able to bring a young representative from PNG due to timing and cost constraints. Instead Antonio Narokobi, who was assisting with pavilion work in his spare time with his mother Mrs Hazel Narokobi, sister Michelle and brother Saul, was selected by the Pavilion team to participate in the event that was organized by the United Nations Pavilion.

Antonio and his family were among other PNG families in Dubai that assisted and supported the PNG Pavilion’s Expo journey. He was awarded the Commissioner General’s Certificate of Recognition for Participating as Papua New Guinea’s Young Ambassador during Expo2020, Dubai.

Antonio’s father, Samson is an aircraft engineer with Abu Dhabi Aviation and has been living and working in the UAE since 2009.

Samson’s father Mr. Camillus Narokobi was the Commissioner General for the PNG Expo Pavilion in Seville, Spain, in 1992.

In its ongoing mission to mainstream gender concerns and youth inclusion into the agri-food value chain, the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme in Papua New Guinea, in partnership with stakeholders, has conducted 12 sensitisation sessions and training workshops covering 5000 plus farmers, villagers, officials, extension service workers and students in East Sepik and Sandaun provinces during the first four months of this year.

These awareness and capacity building sessions, between January and April 2022, were conducted in 50 locations involving participants from 34 Wards in 22 Local Level Governments (LLGs). The sensitisation also covered three secondary schools, a primary school and a technical and vocational training centre.

Along with Gender and Youth sensitisation and capacity building activities, under the Cocoa, Vanilla and Fisheries value chain development initiatives led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 3000 girls of 16 years and above have been trained as lead farmers. These girls and women attended capacity-building trainings conducted in rural LLGs and Districts of East Sepik and Sandaun provinces. They have been enabled and mastered to pass on the acquired skills such as in Cocoa Propagation and Block Management and Vanilla Cultivation, Husbandry and Processing techniques to other fellows in their households or clusters. These trainees (ToT) would in turn maximising their reach to a larger number of beneficiaries in hard-to-reach rural communities, enabling more farmers to contribute towards increasing quantity/quality production for an increased income and cash flow among farming households and communities.

All capacity development trainings are facilitated in collaboration with extension service officers from the Cocoa Board, the Fisheries Authority, Divisions of Agriculture and Livestock and local NGO workers and it is envisaged to translate knowledge materials such as manuals in the local Tok Pisin language for better dissemination. 

In terms of providing quality agriculture inputs, 2500 youths and women in 16 villages have received Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB) tolerant seedlings to replace old sterile trees.

To strengthen local capacity on quality transport infrastructure works in the Sepik Region, the International Labour Organization (ILO) under EU-STREIT PNG, and in partnership with TVET Centre in Wewak, organised a skills training and capacity development course for 30 youths and women, pulled from different parts of East Sepik Province. This ongoing collaboration will develop the capacities of 150 more youths by the end of the year, thereby creating and promoting decent employment opportunities for rural youth and women who lack qualifications on in-demand practical skills.

Furthermore, to improve access to financial services to rural areas, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), under EU-STREIT PNG Programme and in partnership with three local financial institutions, has rolled out an “access to finance” and financial literacy initiative. Through this initiative, more than 13,000 women in the Greater Sepik region have been connected to the formal financial system in the first four months of 2022.

Commenting on this multi-UN agency efforts, the Programme’s International Gender and Youth Inclusion Specialist, Patu Shang, said: “Gender is cross-cutting, and when people are gender sensitised and aware, families and communities stay intact, and sustainable development becomes a norm.”

She added: “We can’t change the mindsets in one session, but under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, continuous sensitisation awareness for youth and gender inclusion as well as technical support to train, enable and provide the requisite accesses for women and youth, is critical and this is where we know that change is possible, and change is what we must promote.”

The EU-STREIT PNG Programme, being implemented as a UN Joint Programme (FAO as the leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. The Programme aims to help improve the lives of the people from East Sepik and Sandaun provinces, by focusing on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through improved economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains while strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment, and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.

The Melanesian Tourist Services (MTS) welcomes its newest motor vessel Kalibobo Express to Madang. During the launch ceremony, the vessel adorned members of the Madang business community, MTS clients and proud staff of the Madang Resort Hotel to an introductory cruise around Madang’s picturesque harbour. The ferry vessel, based at Madang Resort’s marina will soon offer Madang business houses, government departments, and visiting tourists regular inter-island scheduled services to nearby islands and destinations of the Bismark Sea.

The 22m aluminum catamaran, was custom built in Pattaya Thailand under the guise of seasoned business man Sir Peter Barter, MTS Managing Director. Sir Peter, a long-time catalyst and front runner in PNG tourism has long offered, branded and locally renowned Discovery Cruises and Expeditions as part of MTS tour packages under the Madang Resort and Niugini Dive Adventures. However, the new, Kalibobo Express brings a new focus to alternate PNG travel.

The ferry will see affordable sea transfers between the islands of Karkar, Bagabag and Manam aswell as competitive fares to Wewak via Manam island out of Madang. Built for comfort and style, Kalibobo Express boasts speed and safety and will commence services in June carrying up to 140 passengers with crew. Fares are now selling, catering for adults and children accompanied with a competitive baggage allowance of 30kilos, with additional excess baggage and onboard freezer storage for perishable goods.

The double story vessel is built with internal air-conditioned seating aswell as outdoor and an internal VIP cabin for that corporate client. Traveling within the Madang-Momase, Kalibobo Express will run on a weekly basis with the schedule out now.

Renowned as Papua New Guinea’s most iconic beer brand-SP Lager has indeed been uniting Papua New Guineans since 1952.

With South Pacific Brewery celebrating SP Lager’s 70th anniversary this year, iPi Catering is beyond honoured and elated to be part of this monumental journey.

South Pacific Brewery has long been a highly valued partner of iPi Catering and the company is nothing less than delighted in and with their decade long business partnership.

iPi Catering Limited’s General Manager, Peter Long, reflected on this remarkable milestone and said, “our friendship with SP Brewery humbly began over our mutual attendance at Sunday footy in Lae and from there, iPi Catering began catering for the good and decent people at the Lae Brewery; a time later, this included the Port Moresby Brewery.”

As the South Pacific Brewery’s operations thrived, so too did iPi Catering grow in conjunction with the Brewery.

 iPi Catering shares similar sentiments with SP Brewery’s commitment of respect for diversity in people, gender equity and, from a business lean, delivering the very best of product and service.

Across the first decade of thier partnership with the SP Brewery, they soundly maintained food safety and quality accordingly; this whilst remaining focus on a continuous innovative approach to ensure top tier service delivery. This was especially seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hand in hand with the SP Brewery, iPi Catering responded and adapted proactively to the ‘new normal’ by reconfiguring the interior dining facility and opened the POM Brew Kettle as a secondary dining outlet to ensure social distancing for the SP Brewery staff.

In addition, they were more than happy to comply with COVID-19 rules and regulations where their staff in Lae and Port Moresby were the first caterers to be 100 per cent vaccinated in light of the vaccine rollout in Papua New Guinea.

At the heart of this milestone, their skilled and dedicated team has always focused on providing nutritious and delicious meals for the SP Brewery staff knowing that it is vital towards achieving employee productivity, boosting employee morale, maintaining employee focus whilst on duty, promoting healthy eating habits, reduced facility down time and an increased bottom line.

“We are immensely grateful that SP Brewery continues to put their trust in us in ensuring employee satisfaction.

Congratulations SP Lager on seven decades of quality brewing,” said Mr Long.

Papua New Guineans stand to benefit from a modernization of the nation’s capital market that’s expected to boost investment, accelerate economic growth and help support a sustainable economic recovery.

Under an agreement announced today, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will work with PNGX Markets Limited, the national stock exchange of Papua New Guinea (PNG), to deepen the nation’s capital market and boost access to long-term financing for companies in PNG. IFC will provide additional advisory services to PNGX, including reviewing its listing rules and other technical elements related to the issuance of corporate bonds.

“We are pleased to be drawing on IFC’s global expertise to help develop PNG’s capital market,” said PNGX Chairman David Lawrence. “This crucial program is creating the potential for PNG investors and debt issuers to participate in a well-regulated, efficient and transparent corporate bond market, laying the ground for more international investment into the country and increased economic development across the nation.”

The reform program will pave the way for the issuance of green and sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), enabling PNGX to tap the rapidly growing sustainable debt market. Green bond issuance surpassed US$1.5 trillion last year, reflecting surging appetite among investors.

“The market is still in its infancy in many emerging economies, or even non-existent, and so we are pleased to see PNGX taking steps that will see it offering sustainable investment options,” said Paramita Dasgupta, Manager, East Asia and Pacific, IFC Regional Advisory Services – Creating Markets. “We need to build the capacity of capital markets, which are crucial conduits for investment and economic growth and are also an absolutely essential tool to finance the transition to net zero. That means rolling out green bonds, sustainability-linked bonds and other sustainable debt initiatives much more broadly.”

IFC will also provide an expert education program relating to the development of environmental, social and governance (ESG) rules which will help create appropriate disclosure standards for PNGX and its companies. This latest development comes after PNGX announced in April it had joined the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative. Other areas of expert training will encompass board gender diversity. Strengthening PNGX’s ESG standards will lay the foundations for a new corporate governance code that, importantly, will factor in gender.

“Our work with PNGX will also help enable PNG companies to operate in line with global best practices, helping their corporate debt and equity become an attractive investment for international investors,” said John Imbal, PNG-based Operations Officer, East Asia and Pacific, IFC Regional Advisory Services – Creating Markets. “Environment and social governance disclosure is becoming mainstream for listed companies around the world, and many are now including the disclosures in their annual reports. This is because investors expect it and can then use them as part of their assessment of a company’s performance.”

As part of the ongoing initiative to develop the PNG bond markets, IFC and PNGX are already strengthening the market’s legal and regulatory framework, modernizing bond market infrastructure and providing training and education for regulators and market participants.

Article courtesy of PNGX

Photo credit: PNG Women Entrepreneurs Connect Facebook Page

Papua New Guinea Women Entrepreneurs Connect, whose objective is to empower and motivate women to be successful in business, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PNGX Markets, the PNG Digital ICT Cluster, Emerging Venture Management (Unkapt) and Pacific Capital Markets Development - together the proponents of the DEFINE Initiative. The MOU outlines areas of cooperation to deliver several DEFINE objectives, including facilitating technical assistance for micro, small and medium women-led enterprises and enhancing the capabilities of human capital in the women-led entrepreneurial sector.

One key objective of the DEFINE Initiative is to expand access to banking and financial services for all, particularly women and the vulnerable, and their integration into value chains and markets. Another is to enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.

With over 5,000 members, PNGWEC is ideally placed to join with the DEFINE Initiative to deliver on these and other objectives.

“We are very pleased to be an integral partner with this DEFINE Initiative. This is a very strategic partnership as PNGWEC endeavor to promote, facilitate and progress the agenda of economic empowerment of Women in Papua New Guinea. This initiative gives PNGWEC members and all other Women Entrepreneurs an opportunity to expand and build their businesses. Most Women MSMEs have concentrated their operations locally, and this partnership opens the opportunity to accelerate and boost the Women MSMEs into trading and exporting Internationally. Assessment and capacity building will be accorded to the matured organizations who have a sizeable turnover, are profitable and have employees. We are excited and looking forward to working in collaboration with our partners to achieve our objectives.” said PNGWEC Chairwoman Ms Esther Igo.

“PNGWEC is an important partner for the development of the DEFINE Initiative and reach out to entrepreneurial women, especially in the MSME sector” said PNGX Chairman Mr David Lawrence. “It presents an ideal opportunity to provide business, financial and technology skills training to this important part of the PNG economy. We hope that many members of PNGWEC will be participants in a new business skills program for women which the DEFINE Initiative is developing with the assistance of the UNCDF as announced last week.”

“The relationship with PNGWEC also fits well with the MOU we have with Mama Bank. PNGWEC’s interest to explore artificial intelligence solutions to improve women’s access to finance ideally aligns with the interests of the DEFINE initiative and Mama Bank” said Mr Lawrence.

Article courtesy of PNGX

Photo credit: Weir Minerals

As a leader in materials development and advancement, the team of material scientists at Weir Minerals are always pushing for ways to improve the capabilities of our technology for our customers.

The advanced laboratories at Weir Minerals develop a variety of materials, from natural to synthetic, to polyurethanes and composite materials. One of these materials is the Vulco® mill liner rubber.

Vulco® rubber is renowned throughout the mining industry for its exceptional wear life and reliability in mill lining systems. These abrasion- and impact-resistant rubber compounds are continuously improved and refined by Weir Minerals’ team of engineers and material scientists to keep them at the forefront of mill lining systems technology.

Having identified a need for higher-wearing rubbers for mill lining systems, the material science experts developed an industry-leading, premium-grade rubber compound with superior wear life and performance in mill lining applications.

The result: Vulco® R67 rubber – an optimum material which is manufactured with proprietary new compounds and innovative methods of processing to deliver outstanding wear life and longer uptime.

This new elastomer material was developed through extensive laboratory testing which was optimised and refined to further improve the material’s properties for aggressive mill system applications. The outcome of these improvements is a rubber compound which delivers an increased wear life of more than 20%, resulting in significant cost savings for our customers.

The Vulco® R67 rubber compound offers a high hardness, elongation, tensile and tear strength, making it suitable for lifter bars, head/shell plates and grates. When used in conjunction with metal cap mill liners, the result is a versatile, economical, and efficient product that weighs up to 50% less than steel alone. The added benefit is a lighter product that’s faster, easier and safer to install, as well as a measurable reduction in mill downtime and reduced maintenance costs.

“The Vulco R67 compound is a significant improvement to extend the wear life of mill linings.  The longer life results in lowering customer’s production costs and also allows more uptime to potentially increase throughput of the plant due to the higher annual mill availability.” – Tony Millar, Weir Minerals Director of Product Management

Produced locally in Australia, as well as North and South America and South Africa, our customers can feel assured that they have a market-leading product that is backed by decades of experience, expertise, and proven effectiveness.

Connect with our mill lining experts today: https://info.global.weir/vulcor67