National Petroleum Company to appoint a specialist debt-raising adviser for new oil and gas projects, Treasury says public debt above 35% limit and anti-corruption hotline more successful than expected. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

The National Petroleum Company of PNG is preparing to raise billions of dollars to help fund new oil and gas projects.  Chief Financial Officer, Robert Acevski, says a specialist adviser will soon be appointed to ‘work out the structure’. NPCP holds a 16.6% in the PNG LNG project, which operator ExxonMobil Corp wants to expand, and has rights to take up to a 20% stake in the next LNG project, the Elk-Antelope fields.

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A PNG Treasury report says the government’s public debt level exceeded the 35 per cent limit set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The Final Outcome 2014 Report says total public debt incurred at the end of 2014 was K11,827.9 million, or 37.7% of gross domestic product.

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Dr Ken Ngangan

The Acting Secretary of the Department of Finance, Dr Ken Ngangan, says a new anti-corruption service has been much more successful than was expected. The Phones Against Corruption initiative has uncovered 250 cases of potential corruption in the department. Two officials have been arrested for fund mismanagement of more than US$2 million and another five cases are before the courts.

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The government’s ban on visas-on-arrival for Australian visitors may be lifted by the end of the year, reports the Post Courier. Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato reportedly gave the assurance to Sir Peter Barter, Chairman of the Madang Visitors and Cultural Bureau, at the opening of PNG’s consulate in Cairns. There around 500 PNG nationals living in and around Cairns, with another 600 studying at the TAFE there.

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Sam Kauona. Credit: Post Courier

Former Bougainville Revolutionary Army leader, Sam Kauona, has told the Post Courier any talk of re-opening the Panguna copper mine will not happen until after Bougainville becomes an independent nation. Kauona is running for president in next month’s Bougainville elections, promising a review of the recently-passed Mining Act. Meanwhile, the Manager of Bougainville radio station New Dawn FM, Aloysius Laukai, says most Bougainvilleans want mining to resume.

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Innovative Agro Industry CEO, Ilan Weiss, says the company is about to start exporting fresh produce. The year-old Port Moresby farm currently produces around 12 tonnes of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and capsicums for the Port Moresby market. The company employs around 300 people, most of whom are Papua New Guinean women from the nearby 9 Mile settlement, and Morata. Innovative Agro Industry also produce about 10,000 eggs a day at its integrated farm at Koroba in Hela Province.

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A partnership between Queensland and PNG’s agriculture departments will see Australian cattle genetics being taken to PNG to improve beef production.

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Papua New Guinea imports more than 10,000 vehicles every year, according to PNG Ports data. Most vehicles come from Japan.

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The NFA’s Ludwig Kumoru

The deputy Managing Director of the National Fisheries Authority, Ludwig Kumoru, estimates PNG loses about K1.7 billion annually when tuna caught in PNG waters are sold and processed overseas. European Union official, Cristobal Munoz, also says PNG loses about K65 million per year due to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in PNG waters.

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Maurice Brownjohn, Commercial Manager for the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, wants the purse seine tuna fleet in the Pacific to tie up for a month because there is too much fish on the market.

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Puma Energy has announced a home deposit funding scheme for its employees. The company will provide an interest-free loan to help employees obtain a mortgage for a first-time home.

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Petromin subsidiary Tolukuma Gold Mine in Central Province is set to cease operations this month, according to the Post-Courier. Recently-appointed Managing Director at Petromin, Thomas Abe, says the mine is unable to produce enough gold each month to cover costs.

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BSP CEO Robin Fleming with Alex Rogea, Nuni Kulu and Rebecca Senge

The Bank of South Pacific is sending three up-and-coming executives for a three month secondment to the Bank of Philippine Islands. Alex Rogea, Nuni Kulu and Rebecca Senge are the third batch to be on overseas secondment, as part of BSP’s Leadership Development Program.

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Australia’s Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, is reported to be opposed to a takeover bid by Glencore of Rio Tinto, majority shareholder of Bougainville Copper Ltd. The AFR reports Hockey is concerned that Rio, one of Australia’s biggest taxpayers despite its channelling billions through Singapore, could fall into foreign hands.

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Landowners in Solomon Islands are making an unprecedented bid to buy the Australian-owned Gold Ridge mine after the national government backed out of a planned purchase last month. An official in the PM’s office, Dr Christopher Vehe Sagapoa, says a PNG investor is in talks with the landowners.

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The President of the New Caledonian government, Philippe Germain, has proposed talks to boost the government’s stake in the mining company Societé Le Nickel (SLN) to 51% of its capital.

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And finally, Japanese scientists say they have found the secret to successfully farm bluefin tuna. The fish is in high demand in Japan but its size and speed has made it notoriously difficult to raise in captivity so far.