China wants extra loan to fund PMIZ, unions concerned about housing tax on employees, IMF economic report released. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Petroleum Minister,  Nixon Duban, says the commencement of construction of the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) has been further delayed, after China’s Exim Bank insisted on a new concessional loan of US$61 million (K194 million) on top of the original US$95 million (K300 million) secured under phase one. The Post-Courier quotes PMIZ officials saying the increased costs were based on revised costings of the approved engineering design.

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The PNG Trade Union Congress has reportedly added its concerns about the new housing tax which will come into effect next week. According to the Congress, hundreds of Papua New Guineans living in company-provided housing could reportedly lose up to two-thirds of their fortnightly salary, because the rent value of the employer-supplied accommodation will be included with the actual salary component.

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The Bank of PNG’s Loi Bakani.

The IMF’s 2017 Article IV Report has been released. ‘Papua New Guinea is facing headwinds stemming from low commodity prices and is recovering from a major drought, which have weighed on economic growth, weakened the external position, and created fiscal challenges,’ the report says. ‘Foreign exchange remains in short supply but inflows have recently picked up somewhat.’ The governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Loi Bakani reportedly criticised the IMF document for serious errors and discrepancies.

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The EU is funding the re-establishment of the National Plantation Management Agency. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said the NPMA in the 1970s looked after small scale coffee, cocoa and coconut plantations, reports the Post Courier. That saw them borrow money from institutions like the National Development Bank and they also assisted in managing those businesses.

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The National Development Bank’s Moses Liu.

The  National Development Bank is expected to become a commercial bank in two years’ time, says Managing Director Moses Liu. According to The National, he said the bank’s net assets have reached K550 million. The bank is working to upgrade facilities around the country.

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Israeli-backed 9 Mile Vegetable Farm in Port Moresby has broken another record achieving a weekly harvest of 18 tonnes of vegetables. Business Development Manager, Gallit Tamir, says previously the farm had achieved a maximum weekly harvest of 15 tonnes, according to Loop PNG. The farm grows a variety of vegetables and fruit, including tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chillies,  zucchini, sweet corn and pawpaw.

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Well-head landowners have made a formal offer of K725 million to the national government to acquire their reserved equity option in the PNG LNG Project, according to LoopPNG. It means they would acquire direct equity ownership and interest of 4.27% from the national government’s 16.58 per cent in the PNG LNG Project.

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The latest Transparency International Corruption Index shows PNG has fallen from last year’s ranking as 20th most corrupt country in the world to 36th.

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The ABC has admitted it has no data on the usage of its shortwave radio service in the Pacific, despite its decision to close down its shortwave transmitters and use only its FM relay stations in Pacific capitals and the internet. The service was switched off on January 31.

The Lowy Institute’s Tess Newton Cain, says in the far-flung islands of the Pacific, many people do not have FM reception or affordable internet services, and rely on the ABC for cyclone warnings and news. The ABC reportedly said shortwave radio was an increasingly unreliable technology that was prone to outages, expensive to maintain and not viable over the long term. It said it plans to beef up its FM and online services. The ABC closed down its FM transmitters three years ago. The transmitters are reported to be unusable in their present form.

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The monitoring of tuna fishing vessels operating in the Pacific will receive a significant boost this year through the new Australian Aerial Surveillance Support program. According to Radio NZ, just over US$11 million (K33 million) will be provided annually by Australia over the next 30 years to support the Forum Fisheries Agency in its management of the world’s largest tuna fishery.

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And finally, a Russian monarchist says he wants to use three uninhabited islands in Kiribati to create an ”alternative Russia”. Anton Bakov, a Russian businessman and the founder of Russia’s Monarchist Party, said he planned to invest US$350 million in Kiribati and his proposed resort complex would create jobs for its people. The Kiribati Government says its Foreign Investment Commission is still considering the proposal.