Lae business leader warns of job cuts if forex problem not solved soon, Tourism Minister says PNG lags behind Vanuatu and Fiji in tourism spend, and 1,000 SMEs to close when Manus asylum seeker centre closes. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Lae Chamber of Commerce Inc President Alan McLay has been reported as saying most businesses in Lae are feeling the effect of the lack of foreign exchange in the country, adding that new supplies have to be put on hold until past orders are paid. He says the proposed financing arrangement of US $100 million with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to buy foreign exchange will help, ‘but it is far below the US$1 billion (K3 billion) that is required. It will clearly be only a stop-gap measure’. He warns more manufacturing companies will either lay off workers or close their doors if the foreign currency problem isn’t addressed soon.

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Tourism Minister Tobias Kulang. Credit: PNG Facts

Tourism Minister Tobias Kulang says the government is not investing enough in the tourism industry compared with other Pacific Island countries, according to Loop PNG. He says PNG allocates K8–K10 million per year to the tourism sector, one quarter of Fiji’s investment, and half that of Vanuatu.

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Trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Richard Maru, says about 1000 small and medium enterprises in Manus Province will lose their businesses when the regional asylum seeker processing centre closes down, according to The National.

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Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says the country’s debt levels are 28 per cent of GDP, according to new GDP figures. He told delegates at the Australia-PNG Business Council in Cairns new figures show GDP is currently K18 billion. He said K4 billion is foreign debt at concessional rates. ‘If you look at the numbers in 2015, just over K90 million was paid to foreign debt servicing in that year’.

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Ramu NiCo has laid off 240 workers, from the Basamuk Refinery and KBK Mine sites. The MRA Mines Inspectorate issued an order to cease operations at Basamuk Refinery after the death of a Chinese employee, and injuries to two national employees at the refinery in April.

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The second phase of the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone project in Madang Province will cost $US156 million (K493 million), says Madang MP and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Nixon Duban.

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The Bank of PNG”s Loi Bakani

More than K400 million worth of Government cheques issued last year were presented during the first quarter of this year, according to Bank of PNG Governor Loi Bakani. ‘This is a significant expenditure from 2015 and therefore may add to the pressures in the Government cash flow management in 2016,’ he told The National.

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New research in Micronesia is hoping to lead to a programme that helps people quit chewing betel nut. The University of Guam’s Yvette Paulino says people are being recruited in Guam and the Northern Marianas to take part in the trial that would be modelled on similar programmes to help people quit tobacco.

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And finally, the Pacific Islands Media Association has offered to train Australian rugby league broadcasters on how to pronounce Pacific players’ names. PINA has lodged a complaint with Australia’s Fox Sports. Veteran New Zealand broadcaster John McBeth said: ‘Australian commentators really give the impression that they couldn’t care less’.