Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey met with two global rating agencies to talk about Papua New Guinea and its loan history, the United States pledges about K2.8 million in programs for the Pacific and Prime Minister Marape green lights the Japan Development Institute to work on a new Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Master Plan. The business news you need.

Japanese company Japan Development Institute (JDI) is set to help develop a new Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Master Plan for PNG. Credit: Office of the Prime Minister & NEC

Infrastructure

Prime Minister Marape has given ‘full support’ to Japanese consulting firm Japan Development Institute (JDI) to develop a master plan for the development of special economic zones (SEZs) across PNG.

According to statement, Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru and PNG’s Ambassador to Japan, Samuel Abal, engaged with JDI’s CEO and Chairman, Shoichi Kobayashi, to ‘progress’ the SEZ Master Plan as a matter of urgency, starting with the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone in Madang. (Office of the Prime Minister & NEC)

Finance

Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey met with global rating agencies S&P Global and Moodys to discuss PNG’s credit rating and see whether it is possible to lower it. PNG currently sits in the S&P ranking as a ‘B’, a ‘highly speculative category’. Ling-Stuckey reportedly said: ‘This simply means that we and our PNG global firms face much higher interest rates.’ (Post-Courier)

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Nambawan Super has described the current market conditions as the ‘perfect storm for investors’ because of the global high inflation environment, supply chain disruptions, rising prices of energy and rise in interest rates from the Central Bank.

Despite unfavorable conditions, which include an expected inflation in PNG between six and eight per cent for 2022, ‘Nambawan Super is working hard to maximise our profits and minimise potential losses against the backdrop of these challenging economic conditions,’ said CEO Paul Sayer. (Nambawan Super)

International

Prime Minister Marape and US President Joe Biden last week in Wahington DC during the first US-Pacific Island Country Summit. Credit: Office of the Prime Minister & NEC

During the first US-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington DC, President Joe Biden said the US is pledging US$810 million (about K2.8 billion) in programs for the Pacific, including the allocation of US$130 million (about K457 million) in new investment that support climate resilience. (US Department of State)

Agribusiness

After his recent trip to the Philippines, Minister Richard Maru has announced the Asian country will be sending a delegation to Central Province in November to help identify PNG’s suitability for large-scale rice farming.

‘PNG needs to identify up to 90,000 hectares of land to grow rice in order to produce the rice initially to feed our own population and to export the surplus back to the Philippines,’ Maru reportedly said. (Post-Courier)

Mining and petroleum

The Japanese company Sojitz Corporation has received an invitation from Prime Minister Marape to invest in the upstream and downstream processing of LNG in the country. The company has been in PNG since 1963 and ‘it particularly wants to break into the petro-chemical industry in PNG for which it already has an agreement with Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd to produce ammonia,’ Marape said. (Post-Courier)

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Newcrest Mining posted a profit of US$872 million (K3.07 billion) for the 12 months ending 30 June. While gold production at its Lihir gold mine in PNG was down seven per cent for the year, from 732,000 ounces to 682,000 ounces (due to ‘major maintenance activity, lower autoclave availabilities and unplanned downtime’), the company is expecting ‘higher mining rates’ in 2023. (Newcrest Mining)