‘You can’t rely on gas forever. It probably remains a positive for the near term, but if you want to be thinking about what is sustainable for your children, investing in gas is unlikely to be producing a result when our kids leave high school. That’s the bottom line. It’s part of the transition process.

‘On current trends … and what we’re seeing in investment around the world, you’ve got a window and if you don’t grab it now, it will be very hard in five years’ time to have this same debate.’

—Justin Smirk, Senior Economist, Westpac speaking during Business Advantage PNG‘s most recent online business briefing

A couple of weeks ago, Business Advantage International hosted a small, high-level gathering of PNG-focused business leaders in Sydney, Australia.

With so many business people prevented by the COVID-19 pandemic from visiting PNG as regularly – and for as long – as they would like, it was an opportunity to come together in a relaxed environment to discuss business issues, make new connections, renew acquaintances and share market intelligence.

I was able to share the results of the Business Advantage/Westpac PNG 100 CEO Survey, and reflect on what it told us about business confidence in PNG, and the challenges businesses are facing.

Attendees also picked up copies of our 2021 Business Advantage Papua New Guinea business and investment guide, hot off the press.

2021 PNG Investment Conference

We also took the opportunity to announce the dates of our 2021 Papua New Guinea Investment Conference.

The event will take place from 7 to 9 September and it will be – for the first time – a digital conference.

The world may not be able to travel to PNG at the moment, but we can take PNG to the world and a digital event is the way to do it.

We’ve been hosting international investment events for a decade now and the key to a successful event is always, in my opinion, the delegate experience.

Can we create an engaging event with compelling speakers, relevant and timely information, informed opinion, and stimulating discussion?

Based on our track record delivering regular online briefings over the past year, we feel confident we can curate an event that will be both special and memorable.

Our confidence is shared by our major sponsor, KPMG, whose brand is recognisable worldwide.

To stay up to date with our plans, bookmark www.pnginvestmentconference.com.

FEED frenzy

Finally, with the above words from Westpac’s Justin Smirk echoing in our ears, the increased urgency around the US$13 billion Papua LNG project has certainly buoyed business confidence. Total SE appears to be keener than ever now that its Mozambique LNG project has stalled.

After a couple of years of delays, front-end engineering and design (FEED) in 2022 with a view to a final investment decision (FID) in 2023, and gas from 2027 is very encouraging news.