Central bank seeks temporary loan to cover backlog of demand for foreign currency, district grants and non-tax paying companies under fire and kina to fall to its lowest level since 2003 if current rate of depreciation continues. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

The Bank of PNG is trying to borrow K793 million ($US250 million) from the World Bank and International Finance Corporation to clear the foreign currency backlog, estimated to be as high as K3 billion. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says the central bank is seeking a temporary facility to be used by commercial banks. O’Neill says PNG’s three commercial banks need to approve the loan, and only BSP has agreed so far.

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The Institute of National Affairs’ Paul Barker

PNG is facing a difficult economic time with a growing demand on public funds, says the Institute of National Affairs’ Executive Director, Paul Barker. He says the Government has failed to prune the widely wasteful and poorly managed district grants. He adds that some resource projects, including the logging companies who don’t pay taxes by claiming not to make a profit, are heavily investing in extensive real estate and other business activities.

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An analysis of the kina exchange rate suggests that if the current depreciation trend of 14.6 per cent per annum continues, this time next year the exchange rate would be 0.2788. This would be a rate not seen since 2003, says Rohan Fox, a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Papua New Guinea.

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Constant power blackouts in Papua New Guinea’s main cities have been blamed by Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, on ‘human misconduct’. He says ongoing bickering between unions and management at PNG Power has resulted in some union members deliberately cutting the power supply.

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The Internal Revenue Commission’s Betty Palaso.

The recommendations of the PNG Tax Review Committee are before the Government for consideration, says the Commissioner-General of the Internal Revenue Commission, Betty Palaso.

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Telikom CEO Michael Donnelly has welcomed a call by the prime minister for a full police investigation into the wrecking of Telikom PNG’s fibreoptic cables last week, causing widespread phone and internet outages across Port Moresby, Lae and Madang.

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Kina Petroleum says it will surrender its exploration licence at PPL 337, which covers wells at Raintree-1 and Kwila-1 near Madang. Managing Director, Richard Schroder, cited insufficient prospects at the wells.

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Digicel Fiji expects to take control of Sky Pacific, the Pacific’s satellite Pay TV service, from Friday, 1 April. Digicel has bought the service from Fiji Television Ltd.

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Vanuatu’s government has announced it ended 2015 with a US$4.5 million (K13.8 million) fiscal surplus, the third surplus in three years.

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Australia’s Pacific Island seasonal worker program has been criticised after revelations that seasonal workers from Fiji who were paid less than A$10 (K23) a week have been told they must either leave Australia or return to work for the contractor they say exploited them.

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And finally, the Executive Chairman of the world’s largest gold producer, Barrick Gold, had a 76 per cent fall in his salary last year. John Thornton received US$3.08 million (K9.47 million) in total compensation, after he gave up his bonus in the wake of investor criticism of pay packages at the company.