Treasurer Charles Abel wants to restore confidence in the economy, election unrest in Mt Hagen may cost businesses K50 million, BCL board meets in Bougainville. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

PNG’s new Treasurer, Charles Abel, says he wants to lay foundations for a more sustainable economy in the longer term and he will soon announce a 100-day plan on management of the economy. At a media conference on Friday, he said that a key priority of the Government was to restore the confidence of the people and business community in the economy. More details here.

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Treasurer Charles Abel. Credit: The National

Western Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Industry President James Leahy has told The National that election-related unrest in Mt Hagen, which resulted in business closures, may cost up to K50 million in turnover. He said in the last two years alone, Western Highlands has seen prominent families leave and businesses shutting down in the province due to the volatility. He predicted the trend would continue.

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Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) has held its first board meeting in 27 years in the autonomous region. CEO Mark Hitchcock reportedly said the meetings were well received. He said BCL has laid out a timeline to have the mine fully operational within 10 years.

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The Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) is disappointed at the number of  companies which have not submitted annual returns. Acting Registrar of Companies, Harnet Kokiua, told The National that more than 10,000 companies owed the IPA a sizeable amount.

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Strong cobalt prices coupled with stable nickel prices boosted the performance of Highlands Pacific, resulting in an unaudited cash inflow of US$51 million (K166 million) for the June quarter. Managing Director, Craig Lennon, said the company’s Ramu nickel and cobalt mine in Madang achieved record production of 9072 tonnes of nickel and 869 tonnes in the quarter

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Illegal logging through SABLs. Credit: ABC

Exotic wood products sold in American stores may be driving the theft of Papua New Guineans’ land and deforestation, according to a report by the NGO, Global Witness. It says since 2009, more than 6.3 million cubic metres of rainforest logs worth over US$1 billion have been exported from PNG under the Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs). About 85-90 per cent of the logs cut under SABLs have gone to China, with the remainder going to other Asian countries including India, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

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Kina Securities has established a banking arrangement with Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB), which will become its correspondent banking partner for US dollar and Singapore dollar transactions. Kina Managing Director Syd Yates said it followed Kina’s signing of a trade finance agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

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Puma Energy has reportedly signed a long-term agreement with JRH Holdings in Kokopo, East New Britain, to supply Puma Gas in the New Guinea Islands.

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Fifty models will participate in the Runway Show, hosted by the PNG Fashion and Design Week in October. CEO Christopher Lam says at least 10 local fashion designers will take part in the Runway Show.

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Chinese nationals under police escort are flown home. Credit: CCTV

And finally, Fijian authorities reportedly say the removal of 77 Chinese nationals from Fiji at the weekend was the result of police cooperation between the two countries. Fiji is the latest country to be caught up in China’s battle against telecommunications scammers, which has cost victims billions of dollars. The 77 were rounded up and flown from Nadi to China last week.