Papua New Guinea’s new Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) has now been in operation for three months. Karen McEntee, Tax Partner at KPMG, checks in to see how it is progressing.
Opinion & analysis
Public procurement in Papua New Guinea is set to be subject to the most significant reforms for decades, according to Stephen Massa, Partner and Head of the PNG office for law firm Dentons. The reforms will give preferment to locally-owned suppliers.
The nation’s capital is entering 2019 in good shape after hosting APEC at the end of last year, says Rio Fiocco, President of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He considers the prospects for business over the next 12 months and beyond.
The Pacific region’s energy sector is experiencing growth, according to Calum Smith, Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific at the recruitment consultancy Airswift. He says the sector is creating a need to find skilled local talent, especially in the areas of digitalisation and renewables.
Peter Botten, Managing Director of Oil Search, says including communities in the development agenda is a way that resource developers can engage with governments and other stakeholders. He explains that what his company has done in PNG can be a model for other developing countries.
The 2019 Budget reflects an improving economic outlook says Zanie Theron, KPMG’s PNG Country Managing Partner. She points to increased private investor confidence and positive signs with foreign exchange.
Papua New Guinea could create attract significant investments and derive large revenues from a free trade zone, according to Tony Restall, President consultancy Development Services International. He says the necessary legislation is already in place.
Dame Meg Taylor Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat argues that the Pacific region is at a critical juncture in its history. She argues that because of political ‘jousting’ there ‘has never been a more important nor opportune time’ to act as one Blue Pacific continent.
Papua New Guinea is raising tariffs at the same time it is hosting APEC, according to Rohan Fox, Stephen Howes and Maholopa Laveil. The ANU researchers say this is at odds with the APEC agenda.
In a slow economy getting jobs in the formal sector can prove difficult. But Rohan Fox, a Researcher at the Australian National University’s Crawford Policy Centre, says his research suggests that graduates of the University of Papua New Guinea do find employment.