Business Advantage PNG lists five key focus areas to look out for in the investment space in 2025.

Bank of Papua New Guinea’s Chairman David Toua (centre) at the 2024 Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference. The 2025 conference will take place in Brisbane, Australia on 11 and 12 August this year. Credit: Stefan Daniljchenko/BAI

1: Special economic zones

Paga Hill, a 25-hectare site bordering Port Moresby’s central business district, has the first licence of what the government hopes will be many special economic zones (SEZs) spread throughout PNG.

The Paga Hill Development Company (PHDC) is preparing to start development in the second quarter of this year, if the government comes to the table with co-funding, PHDC Chairman Gudmundur Fridriksson told the 2024 Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference.

“We’re seeing significant progress in Hagen, especially with improved road access to the Highlands.” Chris Daniells, Managing Director, Steamships Trading Company

The development is planning 13,000 square kilometres of open space and 600,000 sq. km of built development, including a new Radisson Blu resort.

An additional 10 SEZ locations have been identified around the country, Richard Maru, Minister for International Trade and Investment, confirmed at a recent conference. An SEZ Authority has been established to oversee their development.

Steamships Trading Company is one of the firms looking to make use of these new economic zones – specifically at its Portside Business Park, a 38-hectare site to the northwest of Motukea Wharf, near Port Moresby.

“Portside is in a prime position to be the first fully operational SEZ facility. Our collaborative discussions with the government have allowed us to gain a deep understanding of the SEZ framework, ensuring we align with the government’s vision and are actively supporting its commitment to fostering local manufacturing and downstream processing,” Chris Daniells, Steamships Managing Director, tells Business Advantage PNG.

However, greater clarity over policy and regulation is needed before SEZs can be rolled out in earnest.

2: Regional and provincial investment

Major businesses are increasingly eyeing investment opportunities outside Port Moresby.

For example, Steamships Trading Company broke ground for the retail-led Wonye Dobel development in Mount Hagen in late 2024. It intends to break ground on phase two of the project in the second quarter of this year.

“We’re seeing significant progress in Hagen, especially with the improved road access to the Highlands, leaving an opening for new opportunities in the region,” Daniells says.

Navin Raju, CEO of Remington Group, is also focusing on projects outside of Port Moresby, with Lae and Mount Hagen two cities where the business services provider will look for opportunities.

“Port Moresby is a very competitive market. The rest of the country does not have the services,” Raju tells Business Advantage PNG.

Meanwhile, consultancy KPMG is also looking to expand its footprint into under-serviced parts of the country, such as Lae, East New Britain and Madang, according to Zanie Theron, Partner-in-Charge of its South Pacific practice.

3: Green finance

The Bank of Papua New Guinea’s (BPNG) new Green Finance Centre will create a formal framework for lenders to support investments in areas such as renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, according to the centre’s head, Mohinesh Prasad.

“Ninety per cent of green investments in any country come through the private sector… and that’s why we’re working through the financial institutions to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to borrow and be able to invest in green projects,” Prasad told the 2024 Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference.

Launched in March last year, the Green Finance Centre is a collaborative effort led by the BPNG, with funding from the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute and the New Zealand Government.

The centre is working with four financial institutions – BSP, ANZ PNG, MiBank and Women’s Micro Bank – to pilot the application of its Inclusive Green Finance Policy in lending operations.

4: Privatisation of SOEs

Privatisation has been on and off the agenda for many years. Now, the government is looking at the partial privatisation of at least three subsidiaries of state-owned Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH).

In one of its final decisions of 2024, the PNG cabinet approved putting up a portion of PNG Power Limited. Under the plan, the state will continue to maintain an interest in the embattled power company, with the investor to take over its management, Prime Minister James Marape confirmed at a recent PNG Chamber of Resources and Energy event.

Meanwhile, privatisation plans for the state-owned telecommunications company Telikom PNG are still in play.

The partial privatisation of the national airline, Air Niugini, is another “ongoing project,” according to David Kavanamur, Managing Director of KCH.

Kavanamur explained the push for privatisation in a speech to last year’s 2024 Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference, saying, “We are moving away from 100 per cent state ownership and working on strategies to improve state-owned enterprises’ contribution to GDP: to sweat the assets and improve returns.”

5: Digital transformation

Digitalisation is firmly on the agenda for both government and the private sector, with financial institutions leading the way.

The PNG Government is pursuing a long-term Digital Government Plan, 2023–2027, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology tasked as the lead agency to help bring all departments and agencies into the digital age. Many common government-related transactions, such as business registrations and visa payments, can now be conducted online and more are planned.

This is very much the first stage, with digital identification, eVoting and the hosting of services for small business and startups also on the agenda.

With improved connectivity driving the adoption of cloud services by business, there is increased demand for specialist ICT services and skills, which is only going to continue.

Recent cybersecurity attacks in PNG emphasise how broad the challenge is for the country.

This article was first published in the annual Business Advantage Papua New Guinea 2025 Edition.