Eighty per cent of Interoil shareholders approve of ExxonMobil’s takeover bid, PNG economy to grow by 2-3 per cent, and plans for a new shipyard in Madang. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

InterOil shareholders have voted to approve the takeover by Exxon Mobil. More than 80 per cent of shareholders were in favour. ‘This transaction delivers shareholders a material and immediate premium, a potential direct cash payment based on the Elk-Antelope resource certification and exposure to future value through ownership of ExxonMobil shares,’ said InterOil Chairman Chris Finlayson. The deal is expected to close at the end of this month. The approval came days after founder and ex-CEO Phil Mulacek abandoned a two-month campaign urging shareholders to reject the offer.

The Bank of Papua New Guinea’s Loi Bakani Source: EMTV

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The PNG economy is expected to grow at 2-3 per cent, according to the Governor of the Bank of PNG, Loi Bakani. In his Economic Outlook for PNG-2016 & Beyond Bakani said inflation is projected to ‘be in the range of 6 to 7 per cent.’ Bakani said medium term prospects were good. ‘Benefits from past and current investments in priority areas by government will be realised.’

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PNG has enough gas to support a second standalone LNG scheme (PRL 15) led by France’s Total, says Wapu Sonk, managing director of PNG national oil company, Kumul Petroleum. Exxon believes the best value proposition is for the second LNG plant’s resources to go through its existing facility. As gas from InterOil’s share in PRL 15 is now expected to feed the third train of PNG LNG, Sonk suggested Total may have to extend into nearby acreage to support future trains. ‘There have been gas discoveries outside PRL 15, so we are very confident of a separate project after the third train, he said.

Tourism Minister Tobias Kulang. Credit: PNG Facts

The Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Tobias Kulang, speaking at the National Tourism Conference in Port Moresby claimed the industry is undeveloped, according to EMTV. Kulang described state funding of the tourism sector–which is less than 1 per cent of the national budget–as ‘ludicrous and unthinkable’, The National reports.

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The Governor of West New Britain, Sasindran Muthuvel, has claimed that the province will have some major projects, according to Loop PNG. Muthuvel reportedly claimed that a contract has been awarded to build bridges on the Aum and Kapiura rivers and that assessments are being made of the Pandi River Bridge and the Toriu Bridge on the New Britain Highway.

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The Institute of National Affairs’ Paul Barker has said an improved forex situation has enabled much of the demand on foreign exchange to pay for imported goods to be met, The National reports. But Barker reportedly warned that there had been only limited progress in addressing the large backlog of transactions and associated debt built up in 2015 and early 2016.

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