John Momis told to ‘carefully consider’ Bougainville Copper equity offer, ExxonMobil declines to confirm or deny InterOil bid, and Supreme Court orders parliamentary vote on no confidence motion. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Petroleum and Energy Minister Ben Micah has told  Bougainville President John Momis to carefully consider the offer of free equity from former Panguna mine owner, Rio Tinto, which has given its shares equally to the Autonomous Bougainville Goverment (ABG) and the national government, according to the Post Courier. Rio Tinto reportedly said it now had no ongoing obligations over environmental and social issues related to the mine.

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A spokeswoman for ExxonMobil PNG has declined to comment on reports that ExxonMobil is the mystery bidder for InterOil, saying ‘we never comment on rumors or speculation’. Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review quotes industry sources saying Exxon may offer up to 10 per cent more than a US$2.2 billion Oil Search bid, using its own shares. InterOil’s board has recommended the Oil Search offer. Under the terms of the offer, Oil Search has three days to match any rival offer that the InterOil board deems as superior. InterOil shareholders vote on the Oil Search offer on 28 July.

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Parliamentary Speaker Theodore Zurenuoc has been given five days by the three-man Supreme Court bench to recall Parliament and deal with the existing notice of a motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. The Court also ordered the notice as the first item of business when Parliament resumes on Friday afternoon.

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Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch

The PNG Government has secured a US$500 million unsecured syndicated loan from international financial institution, Credit Suisse AG, to help finance the budget deficit for 2016, according to the Post Courier. Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch says the first tranche of the loan is to be drawn down immediately. No information about the terms and conditions of the loan has been made available.

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Air Niugini will immediately begin planning the introduction of direct air services to Shanghai, says Chairman, Sir Frederick Reiher. He said the air services agreement, signed in Beijing this week, would enable Air Niugini to introduce seasonal charters between Port Moresby and Shanghai during the Chinese New Year celebrations early in 2017 and for other holiday periods next year.

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Minister of Commerce and Trade Richard Maru says he expects to launch the country’s first trade policy in September, which will see trade having its own ministry. He told The National: ‘We don’t even know which countries are our most important partners, we don’t have statistics and we don’t keep good data. We haven’t got a bilateral trade agreement with most countries because there has never really been a focus on trade and investment’.

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Cash incentives for real estate agents are the main reason behind the city’s expensive real estate properties, the National Development Bank Investment CEO, Des Yaninen, has told the Post Courier. He added: ‘All the indicators show that property prices in the market should be correcting itself by now and prices should be coming back down’.

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Credit Corporation chairman Sir Wilson Kamit says the company is applying for a foreign exchange licence. He also told the company’s AGM that the company intends to establish an office in Timor-Leste.

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And finally, Transparency Solomon Islands says nearly 15-million Solomons’ dollars worth of government shipping grants have been given to eight so-called ‘ghost companies’. Executive Officer Ruth Liloqula says several members of parliament have also received shipping grants and their use of the money is highly questionable.