E-commerce, empowering women in business and anti-dumping measures were highlights of last month’s APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting in Port Moresby. The meeting marked the start of private sector involvement in APEC 2018, ABAC Lead Staffer Douveri Henao tells Business Advantage PNG.

The Business Council of PNG’s Douveri Henao

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) comprises of the region’s top business leaders, who are appointed  to the council by their respective governments. ABAC provides business advice to APEC’s leaders.

The Business Council of PNG has been appointed as the PNG ABAC Secretariat. PNG members of ABAC include David Toua (President of the Business Council PNG), Sir Kostas Constantinou (Chairman of Lamana Group) and Keli Taureka (Vice-President, Interior Limited).

Private sector’s turn

The ABAC meeting in Port Moresby last month marked the start of private sector involvement in APEC’s agenda, ahead of the APEC Summit in Port Moresby in 2018, Henao—also Executive Director of the Business Council of PNG—tells Business Advantage PNG.

‘They were impressed with presentations by the management of the extractive projects, as well as private sector projects in corporate social responsibility.

‘Sisa Kini, Exxon Mobil (PNG) Limited’s Global Coordinator for Women in Management, outlined the role that Exxon is playing in empowering women and that presentation affirmed just how dedicated the private sector is in this space.

‘These are great opportunities for small businesses in the tourism, handicraft and agriculture sectors.’

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‘Her presentation generated interest from the SME Working Group, as it brought to light the empowerment of women, which is much broader than increasing the ratio of women in business leadership. In particular, it is about creating linkages between women’s SMEs and larger projects and investments.’

E-commerce

ExxonMobil’s Sisa Kini

Henao said the e-commerce session was ‘hugely successful’, with more than 500 SMEs attending the one-day event.

‘It looked at how e-commerce can be a panacea for traders to access markets domestically and internationally. These are great opportunities for small businesses in the tourism, handicraft and agriculture sectors. They can become a producer and retailer in one platform.

‘Anthony Smare, the inspiration behind the successful Kumul GameChangers program, is championing this in the SME space.’

Best practice

Bank South Pacific’s Denis Konu, tells Business Advantage PNG that hosting ABAC gives PNG businesses an opportunity to witness regional best practice, especially in relation to finance and technology.

‘We had our first meeting in San Francisco this year,’ says Konu.

‘In PNG, you still have to look at connectivity issues, you still have to look at infrastructure issues and you still have to look at the literacy issues.’

‘Some of the themes we discussed in San Francisco were quite relevant and I felt we were doing it already in PNG, particularly in regards to financial inclusion. It is not just BSP. The other financial institutions in the country have done a lot of things in terms of promoting financial inclusion in PNG, particularly in rural areas.’

BSP’s Dennis Konu

Konu says Chinese representatives of ABAC China have presented their experiences, knowledge and expertise in e-commerce, looking at how Chinese SMEs have accessed global markets through e-commerce.

‘They have expertise around platforms such as Ali Baba, where there is a lot of non-banking transactions occurring that are giving SMEs access to global markets. That is something that we want to push, but in PNG we are in the very early stages.

‘In PNG, you still have to look at connectivity issues, you still have to look at infrastructure issues and you still have to look at the literacy issues.’

Anti-dumping, regional trade groups

The meeting also saw PNG ABAC member David Toua, appointed as co-chair of the Regional Economic Integrated Working Group, focusing on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and anti-protectionism.

‘From a domestic perspective, the WTO and anti-protectionism agenda gives us the opportunity to discuss rules on protecting our infant and domestic industries from harmful practices such as dumping,’ says Henao.

He says one of the key business leaders’ projects will examine integrating regional trade groupings, such as the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the Pacific Islands Forum, with the APEC agenda.