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Interview

Jerry Agus, CEO, Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority: Interview
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Interview: Jerry Agus What potential economic benefit do you see in building the tourism industry in Papua New Guinea? JERRY AGUS: The economic benefits of building a thriving tourism industry are enormous. The tourism industry in PNG must be strategically developed during the mining and petroleum boom, as it will serve as a buffer industry to support the economy when the extractive industries are…
Viewpoint

Gerry Brownlee, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand: Viewpoint
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Viewpoint: Gerry Brownlee PNG has all the potential in the world; it has almost 10m people, an abundance of natural resources and sits at the geographic crossroad between the South Pacific and South-east Asia. In many ways both the opportunities and challenges that PNG faces are characteristic of the wider Asia-Pacific region. It is therefore fitting that PNG will host APEC in 2018. With the leaders…
Viewpoint

Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP): Viewpoint
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Viewpoint: Shamshad Akhtar While Papua New Guinea continues to account for the lion’s share of output among the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific region with 60%, concerns remain that modest economic growth could have a knock-on effect on the country’s capacity to achieve sustainable development in the long term. The latest figures indicate that a slowdown in economic expansion…
Viewpoint

Michael Sullivan, Partner, Leahy Lewin Lowing Sullivan: Viewpoint
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Viewpoint: Michael Sullivan The last two years have seen the Parliament enact a variety of new legislative acts, much of which is of a high standard. New acts include the Kumul Legislation, which is designed to positively effect the current government’s agenda for state-owned enterprises and businesses, along with the holding of the state’s interest in mining projects and oil and gas projects.…
Analysis

Concerted effort to broaden banking penetration in PNG

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

By most measures Papua New Guinea is under-banked. Branch density is low and has not risen in at least a decade, while the loan-to-GDP ratio is 31%, well below that reported by neighbours and peers. The Philippines is at 41%, Solomon Islands 38%, Thailand 151%, Vietnam 111% and Indonesia 39%. It is estimated that only 20% of people in PNG have a formal financial services account. PNG’s mountains,…
Analysis

PNG's 2017 budget cuts government expenditures, introduces tax changes

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Getting the books to balance will be a significant challenge for Papua New Guinea going forward. Although the country has made some deep cuts in expenditures, it will be years before the government takes in as much as it needs to operate. The authorities have few options in the short term other than carefully balancing interests. As it works to reduce outlays, the government has to focus on…
Analysis

PNG banks poised to adopt new technologies

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

The importance of technology in the banking sector has long been recognised in Papua New Guinea. Both the regulators and the institutions understand that advanced systems, networks and devices can help promote growth and stability. Their adoption is also seen as instrumental in improving inclusiveness. Laws and regulations have been written to accommodate technology, while relevant infrastructure…
Analysis

Non-mineral policies bolster SMEs and promote a balanced economy in PNG

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

To date, Papua New Guinea has dealt with its economic challenges relatively defensively. It has instituted deep spending cuts to get the budget balanced, maintaining or increasing outlays only where vitally necessary. While the results have been impressive in terms of absolute numbers, the response is conventional. PNG has remained economically liberal and open, and it has largely stayed on…
Analysis

Government seeks to reduce debt in PNG

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

Papua New Guinea was well prepared for the 2008 financial crisis, as it had reduced its debt and had some room to manoeuvre. The country’s obligations dropped from around 70% of GDP in the early 2000s to about 20% a decade later. This, in part, explains why the crisis was so short lived, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). However, after 2012, the government took an expansionary…
Analysis

PNG's business climate affected by new acts and reforms

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

While Papua New Guinea has a free and open economy, it is also a place where it can be exceedingly challenging to do business. General conditions are difficult, and some areas of administration and law can cause things to progress at a slow pace. The US State Department’s 2016 Investment Climate statement noted that the country “appears to have a liberal investment approach”, but then…