Interview:James Rice Where do opportunities exist in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment? JAMES RICE: The greatest opportunities in FMCG lie outside the big cities of Port Moresby and Lae. The highest potential for demand is on the islands and in the countryside, especially in western areas. Some 80% of the country’s population is centred around Mount Hagen, yet our current sales…
Interview:Paul Komboi How would you evaluate the completion of the Coral Sea Cable Project and the Kumul Submarine Cable Network, and what are the benefits of these? PAUL KOMBOI: The impact thus far has been positive, enabling capacity to expand by around 4 GB. This has brought much-needed stability and reliability to the network. Prices have also dropped by 40%. We want to ensure that our…
Viewpoint: Jonathan Seeto Although it is difficult to believe that anything good could come from a global pandemic, the current crisis and Papua New Guinea’s capacity to respond has acted as a wake-up call for the country to identify its priorities for the future. PNG has promising development prospects and an opportunity to dramatically improve social outcomes, but we may need to make fundamental…
Viewpoint:James Marape The election of the current administration arose from a collective desire to “Take Back PNG”. Dreams are free, but the work of reconstruction must start now. Papua New Guinea is blessed with abundant natural resources and, by developing these resources under better term sheets, it is possible for us to achieve our main objectives by 2030. The first year of my tenure…
Viewpoint:John Leahy Parliament passed the Mining Amendment Bill 2020 and the Oil and Gas Amendment Bill 2020 on July 10, 2020. These bills will significantly change the mineral, and oil and gas sectors, and will take effect following their certification by the speaker of Parliament. The mining bill intends to give the state an avenue to directly participate in mineral exploration and mining…
Tourism in the Asia-Pacific region has seen impressive growth in recent years, aided by cheaper air fares, an expanding consumer class and increased exposure brought about by improved internet connectivity. Although these developments have led to significant economic benefits for countries across the region, they have also had some negative consequences, particularly for the environment. Around…
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a far-reaching plan for transnational infrastructure development, connecting five continents through land and sea corridors, and industrial clusters. Launched in 2013, the BRI was initially planned to revive ancient Silk Road trade routes between Eurasia and China, but the scope of the initiative has since extended to cover 138 countries, including 38 in…
In recent years Papua New Guinea has moved away from the long-held policy of tariff reductions towards import substitution and self-sufficiency. As the Covid-19 pandemic underlined the vulnerability of international supply chains, efforts to scale up local industrial production and decrease reliance on imported staples are taking on renewed importance. Policy In August 2017 PNG launched the…
The outbreak of Covid-19 in the first half of 2020 took an economic toll on countries around the world, with each experiencing the effects slightly differently. In Papua New Guinea the pandemic placed the country’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves under renewed pressure; PNG’s forex flows are primarily linked to commodity markets, many of which entered negative territory when the pandemic…
The onset of a Covid-19-induced global recession has affected both labour markets and financial flows around the world. At the confluence of these two are remittances, which have increasingly been among the top contributors to GDP in many emerging markets over recent decades. The issue is particularly pertinent for the countries located in the so-called yellow slice of the global economic pie…
