Suspension of operations at Porgera mine lifted after 16 days, consumers to wait for imported vegetables, and Woodside reiterates ‘fairness’ of Oil Search takeover offer. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Barrick Niugini says it has resumed operations at the Porgera gold mine in Enga Province, after water levels at Waile Creek reached sufficient levels. It was partially closed for 16 days because of dry weather.

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Consumers may have to wait a little longer with the shortage of imported vegetables because major retailers are yet to obtain state approval to import. Joel Alu, the acting Managing Director of the National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority, says despite a partial lifting on the ban to import vegetables, importers need to get approval from the department.

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Woodside Petroleum executives have told analysts that their proposed $11.6 billion takeover of Oil Search would strengthen investment for growth projects in Papua New Guinea and Australia, but reiterated they regard their original offer as fair.

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Trade Minister, Richard Maru

Trade Minister Richard Maru has urged micro-banks to upscale into fully-fledged commercial banks. Maru said the Government had already given K6 million to the People’s Micro Bank in the 2016 Budget to become a commercial bank. Meanwhile, the People’s Micro Bank reports it has more than 50,000 customers, with total deposits of over K50 million.

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Members of the Philippines fishing industry say they are being unfairly treated in new access fee arrangements. The group, led by Pete Celso of the R D Tuna Canners, says the fees to access fish in PNG waters is too high and not sustainable.

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Horizon Oil Ltd Chairman Fraser Ainsworth said the board of the Australia-based oil and gas company believes it ‘has acted swiftly and decisively to implement adjustments to our plans and strategies in response to these lower oil prices’. Speaking at the company’s AGM, Fraser added that planning for development of its PNG assets remained on schedule despite current market conditions.

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East New Britain Plantations has formed an alliance with Rabaul’s Las Peles Shipping to develop Kulon Plantation into an oil palm estate.

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The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) has officially given Bank of South Pacific (BSP) the green light to acquire Westpac Banking Corporation’s operations in Vanuatu, with the two parties now working towards completion of the deal in 2016. In July, BSP completed the purchase of Westpac’s operations in Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, while Solomon Islands was settled in October.

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Napa Napa refinery

Puma Energy reports its Napa Napa Oil Refinery operations near Port Moresby are back to normal after setbacks faced in April with PNG Customs Service over the manufacturing of crude oil.

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Australian law firm Gadens, which has an office in Port Moresby, is set to merge with global giant Dentons and Singapore’s Rodyk as the trio aim to create ‘the dominant global law firm in the Pacific Rim’. The combination, which is expected to launch in 2016, would have more than 7,300 lawyers, more than 9,000 timekeepers and nearly 13,000 staff, according to the companies.

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The United Nations says the current El Nino weather pattern is affecting more than four million people in 13 Pacific countries.

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Jonathan Lever has been named as the winner of the 2015 National Research Institute Design Idea Competition Fairfax Harbour Competition for a design that integrated modernity and the importance of accessibility. The National Research Institute, in partnership with the PNG Institute of Architects and the National Capital District Commission (NCDC), initiated the competition earlier this year.

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Cook Island protestors. Credit: Florence Syme-Buchanan

Cook Islanders have protested again against their government’s deal with the EU for Spanish purse seine boats to fish in its waters. Earlier this year, 4,000 Cook Islanders signed a petition to ban purse seine fishing. A draft agreement allows for the netting of tuna and tuna-like species, the annual quota of 7,000 tonnes to be exceeded, and six months of experimental fishing a year. The Ministry of Marine Resources is yet to explain what the experimental fishing will include.