New fishing rebate scheme favours on-shore processors, coffee producer says poor roads in Western Highlands devalues coffee, and Lae laments loss of Alan McLay. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Trade Minister, Wera Mori, says a threat by foreign fishing firms to close their processing facilities, after the government ended the rebate on fishing fees, amounts to extortion.

The PNG government will introduce a new rebate scheme from February, replacing the  discounted fishing fees scheme, which Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says has cost more than US$100 million (K330 million) annually. He said close to 80 per cent of fish caught by PNG-based fleets is processed in other countries. The new rebate scheme will be paid only for fish processed in PNG.

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About half the value of coffee is lost in Western Highlands because of poor transport systems, says Nebilyer Coffee’s Managing Director, James Leahy. He told The National there was an urgent need for an effective road network to encourage farmers to produce more.

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LCCI President, Alan McLay. Credit: The Loop

The Lae business community has lost an icon after the death of Alan McLay, President of the Lae Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 1995, at the age of 73. Australian-born McLay had lived in PNG since 1960. He was passionate about business in Morobe, and was vocal about issues that affected or would affect the business community. He is survived by his wife Nellie and two children.

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New Zealand’s dairy giant Fonterra has been invited to partner PNG’s agriculture sector. Trade Minister, Wera Mori, said he will seek cabinet support of K1 billion to effect this invitation including supporting introduction of New Zealand’s ‘One milk, one child per day’ program in the schools.

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Nautilus Minerals has obtained a one-year bridging loan of US$7 million to continue the development of its seafloor production system at the company’s Solwara 1 Project.

The company has yet to finalise financing worth US$350 million and has told the ASX and TSX it ‘requires significant additional funding’ to complete the development. It said if it fails to secure additional financing it may have to sell assets, enter into a joint venture and/or capital restructure.

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The World Bank repeatedly changed the methodology of one of its flagship economic reports over several years in ways it now says were unfair and misleading, according to the Wall St Journal. Chief Economist, Paul Romer, says he will correct and recalculate the  national rankings of business competitiveness in the report ‘Doing Business’ going back at least four years. It is unclear at this stage if this will affect PNG’s rankings in the survey.

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The National Executive Council has approved K30 million for a feasibility study of the Vanimo free trade zone wharf development.

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The World Wildlife Fund hopes new blockchain technology currently being piloted in Fiji will ensure greater transparency and accountability for tuna fishing, reports RNZI. Blockchain is a type of digital ledger that allows for the tracking of information along a chain of transactions.

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Plastics wash ashore on the tide. Credit: RNZI

A ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags comes into force in Vanuatu at the end of this month. Vanuatu’s Council of Ministers says local plastic bag manufacturers will only be allowed to use biodegradable plastics. Companies will have six months to use up their current stock of single-use plastics and polystyrene takeaway boxes.

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