Two Chinese companies to build Ramu 2 power project, 95 per cent of logs sent to China, and Lae business leaders welcome ADB loan for key roads. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

China’s Shenzhen Energy Group Director Peng Haibin says its winning of the bid for the Ramu 2 hydro power project in January marks the entrance of China into a new period of closer and deeper cooperation with PNG. The Government has announced both Shenzhen Energy and Sinohydro Corp will build the power station at Yonki. It is believed that this will add about 210 MW to the Ramu grid.

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Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has launched Air Niugini’s new air service between Townsville and Port Moresby. The service is now running twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.

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Approximately 97 per cent of PNG’s total exports in the forestry sector are log exports and more than 85 per cent of the country’s logs go to China alone, according to figures by PNG Forest Authority acting Managing Director, Tunou Sabuin.

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Stanley Alphonse, CEO, PNG Ports

The President of the Lae Chamber of Commerce, Alan McLay has described as ‘excellent news’, the announcement by the Asian Development Bank that it is loaning PNG K3.1 billion to upgrade the the Highlands Highway, the Madang-Ramu, Sepik, Buliminski (New Ireland) and New Britain Highways.

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The CEO of PNG Ports, Stanley Alphonse, says only three of the 15 ports it owns are profitable. In a statement, he said more than  K1 billion has been invested in ports in the last four years.

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The Ramu nickel-cobalt project in Madang is facing a huge deficit balance accounting to more than K100 million despite achieving 100 per cent design capacity. The Vice President of Ramu NiCo, Zhao Deqian, says the deficits are due to the declining commodity prices and the April 2016 fatality at the Basamuk refinery forcing the project to shut down at the time.

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Citizens of eight countries will now be allowed to hold dual citizenship in PNG, says Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister, Rimbink Pato. They are Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Germany and the USA.

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Credit Corporation’s Sir Wilson Kamit.

Steamships has posted a profit after tax of K84.2million for the 12 months to December 2016, a drop of 14.9 percent of the profit it recorded in 2015. The Post Courier quotes Chairman Geoffrey Cundle saying the results are indicative of the economic environment, which has been weaker than anticipated in 2016 across all sectors.

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Credit Corporation (PNG) has recorded an operating profit after tax of K98.9 million. Chairman Sir Wilson Kamit said it represents a 56 per cent increase on last year’s results.

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The National Fisheries Authority has bought Namasu Wharf at Voco Point in Lae for K12 million from NASFUND. Fisheries Minister Mao Zeming told the Loop that, as the NFA already owned the facilities on either side of the wharf, it made sense that the government should purchase the wharf as well.

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The PNG Tourism Promotion Authority has launched commemoration activities for the 75th Anniversary of the World War II Battle of Kokoda. CEO, Jerry Agus, says activities include the National Remembrance Day on July 23 at the Ela Beach Memorial Park and Kokoda Day on November 3 at the Kokoda Station and Isurava Memorial. But Tourism Minister, Tobias Kulang, says a 50 per cent decrease in visitors from Australia and NZ could be due to lack of marketing of Kokoda to the world.

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Prime’s East New Britain design. Credit: Prime

Locally-owned Prime PNG Design has ventured into the textile industry after noting a high demand for the sale of garment products with distinctive provincial designs. The company was established after selling specially-designed shirts for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Day last year, according to Prime PNG Design general manager Jacob Niggins. They have since expanded into selling provincial-themed shirts at prices between K50 and K70 with other garments and merchandise.

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And finally, Lae police are cracking down un-roadworthy PMVs. The operation is started yesterday in a sting operation. Businesses have been warned to expect staff to arrive late at work as many operators are not operating, for fear of being picked up. Metropolitan Police Superintendent Mr Wagambie said: ‘The shortage of PMVs only shows the high number of defective and unsafe vehicles on the road’.