Government to spend K300 million buying into Star Mountain Plaza project, Bougainville President supports new-look BCL, and Trade Minister seeks ban on Fiji imports. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

The Government will invest K300 million in the Star Mountain Plaza project in Port Moresby, becoming a 20 per cent shareholder in the five-star 212-premium room hotel, to be managed by the Hilton Group. The National reports the development is part of the Mineral Resources Development Company’s development projects. The major shareholder is the landowner company, Petroleum Resource Kutubu.

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Bougainville President, John Momis. Credit: RNZI.

The President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, Dr John Momis, says he fully supports the plans of the new-look Bougainville Copper Limited. He said that since BCL was invited to formally re-engage with Bougainville in 2012; the landowners have consistently stated their preference to work with the company as the developer.

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Trade Minister Richard Maru says he has made a submission to the National Executive Council to ban all imports from Fiji. The Post-Courier reports Maru described Fiji as a ‘dishonourable country’ which has failed to honour trade agreements. He cited Fiji’s decision to allow only personal travellers to bring Ox & Palm bully beef, Trukai Rice and biscuits into Fiji rather than allow commercial quantities.

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The Manufacturers Council of PNG has thanked Maru for condemning Fiji for allegedly not honouring its trade agreement. Chairman Murray Woo reportedly said PNG businesses had never expected that PNG would gain the most benefit from the Melanesian Spearhead Group agreements, ‘but we certainly did not expect to be treated as a least desirable trader’.

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Coffee borer beetle. Credit: Coffee News Daily

Agriculture and Livestock Minister Tommy Tomscoll reportedly says about K50 million will be required to address the coffee berry borer issue. Tomscoll said the initial budget estimates presented for an eradication and containment exercise were between K50 million and K100 million. Tomscoll says six provinces in the Highlands region have now been quarantined, and a DNA study will be carried out to discover how the borer entered PNG.

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Landowners are threatening to blockade the LNG project in Hela Province, saying the government has failed to follow through on promised benefits from the multi-billion dollar gas project, after a blockade last August. Hides landowner representative Andy Hamaga says the government signed an agreement to address landowners’ grievances over lack of benefits and equity arrangements within 30 days, but that has yet to happen.

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The Asian Development Bank has signed a loan for the third stage of the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program. The third tranche of US$248 million (K785 million) will improve runways, taxiways and aprons to accommodate for unrestricted Fokker 100 jet aircraft operations at Momote, Vanimo, Gurney and Buka, with new runway lights to ensure safe night operations.

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UK-based global cocoa production company Beans & Co is about to establish what Trade Minister Richard Maru reportedly says will be the biggest cocoa plantation in PNG. He says the plan is to develop a 2500-hectare cocoa plantation project in the Sepik Special Economic Zone (SSEZ), using a method which can produce 20-30 per cent more than standard methods.

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Maru has also reportedly confirmed that a new loan application will be re-lodged with the Export Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) for US$150million (K475 million) for the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone Project in Madang. This is up from the US$90 million (K300 million) the government had initially sought funds from the bank to commence construction of this multi-million kina project.

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MiBank’s Tony Westaway

MiBank CEO Tony Westaway said by the end of 2016 more than K126 million in value had been processed through MiCash mobile wallets, from more than 1.2 million transactions. The bank has posted a record operating profit of K1.2 million for the financial year 2016. This result is a significant leap from the K169,990, which the bank had recorded for 2015.

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Mapai Transport has opened a new logistics freight depot in Lae.

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The World Bank has raised its first bond linked to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as it looks to help a global effort to end poverty, tackle climate change and promote equality. Reuters reports the returns on the €163m (K556 million) two-tranche issue led by BNP Paribas are linked to an index of 50 companies that have been identified as making a significant contribution to the advancement of the UN’s sustainable development agenda.

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This week 28 companies from eight Pacific Island countries travel to Auckland to test their products in the NZ market as part of the next step in Pacific Trade & Invest’s Pacific Path to Market Program.

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And finally, seven Chinese and Taiwanese vessels are facing charges of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing after a 10-day Pacific surveillance operation which ended last Friday. The deputy director general of the Forum Fisheries Agency, Wez Norris, told Radio NZ International that three Vietnamese so-called “blue boats” were chased out of PNG’s economic zone by HMPNGS MORESBY.