Telikom PNG in pre-APEC upgrade, strong result for Highlands Pacific, PM in Davos, Oil Search’s successful 2017, poor roads leading to food wastage, IFC sells BSP shares to Fiji fund, Nautilus trials on track, push to  return artefacts

Telikom PNG is working closely with the PNG 2018 APEC Authority to upgrade its services for the high powered meeting scheduled for this year. Manager for products and business development, Corney Alone reportedly said a designated team from the organisation has been working with the authority to ensure all needs are met in all the APEC–related locations.

***

HIGHLANDS Pacific recorded a strong result during the final quarter of last year, attributing it to the record production at the Ramu nickel/cobalt mine in Madang. The company said the rapidly rising cobalt and nickel prices also contributed to the strong result, reported The National.

***

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says he concluded a successful series of engagements at the World Economic Forum last week in Davos, Switzerland, claiming it will have positive outcomes in improving trade, investment and job creation. On Friday, O’Neill reportedly spoke to the former US Vice President Al Gore and senior ministers from Indonesia, Denmark, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Guatemala.

***

PNG LNG partner Oil Search announced full year production in 2017 of 30.31 million barrels of oil equivalent, claiming it was the highest level in the company’s long history and at the upper end of the 2017 guidance range.

***

NKW Fresh Produce General Manager, David Stewart, who heads a food market network in Papua New Guinea, says the country’s poor roads are leading to a ‘shocking’ amount of wasted fresh food from local farmers. Stewart said farmers were facing difficulties bringing their produce to markets as road conditions were bad, according to The National. Stewart reportedly called for tariffs on imported produce to give local farmers a level playing field.

***

Nautilus Minerals’ auxiliary cutter.

Nautilus Minerals says submerged trials of the collecting machine and auxiliary cutter were completed in late 2017. The company says it will provide a comprehensive analysis once all test work and data analysis is complete. Nautilus’ chief executive Mike Johnston told The National: ‘We are extremely pleased with the progress that continues to be made on the trialing of the seafloor production tools.’

***

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has entered a Share Sale Agreement to divest 22.8 million shares it owns in Bank South Pacific (BSP). The shares will be sold to the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF). The IFC will continue to hold a minority equity stake in BSP and provides multiple financing facilities to support BSP’s expansion across the Pacific.

***

A Lake Murray villager in a photograph taken by Frank Hurley in 1922. Supplied: Courtesy Australian Museum Archives

THE Labour Department has recognised the industrial award signed between Ramu NiCo Allied Workers’ Union and Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd, reports The National. Madang labour representative Peter Neimani, who was the negotiation chairman between the union and Ramu NiCo, said the registrar of the department was ‘impressed’ with the quality of the agreements reached by the parties.

***

Finally, there are tens of thousands of artefacts from across the Pacific—thousands from Papua New Guinea alone—sitting deep in the storage vaults of Australian museums. At least one village in one of the most remote and undeveloped parts of PNG is pushing to have artefacts taken by the Australian photographer Frank Hurley returned, the ABC News website reports.

Picture of the Week

Roadworks this week on the Highlands Highway-Okiufa Road in Goroka. Credit: Mapai Transport. Got a photo to share? Email editor@businessadvantageinternational.com.