A Singaporean company has shown interest in importing fish from Papua New Guinea.
Commerce and Trade Minister Richard Maru made this known upon arriving from Singapore on Sunday. Mr. Maru says the company wants to import millions of canned fish from PNG and so he has invited the particular company to come in a few weeks time. He says currently PNG has been targeting the European Union's duty free market access, and this provides a very good opportunity for the country to diversify it's fisheries market. "I met a trading company from Singapore who wants to order one million canned fish every month, I mean I nearly fell off my seat. So I have now invited this company to deal with my office, come here in three weeks time and I will direct my Trade Department to travel with them and meet with all the fishing companies who are processing canned fish in our country, I mean this is a huge opportunity for us." EXXONMOBIL PNG Ltd says its US$19 billion (K45.3 billion) PNG LNG project is producing at full capacity after starting ahead of schedule earlier this year.
In an email yesterday, the company’s spokeswoman said production was happening according to design and followed a safe ramp up process over the last few months. The project was expected to produce more than nine trillion cubic feet of gas over its estimated 30 years of operations. It began its first LNG shipment in May to Japan. The development has long-term contracts with Tokyo Electric Power Co., CPC Corp. of Taiwan, Osaka Gas Co. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. ExxonMobil said it has used six ships to transport 12 LNG cargoes to customers which were sold on the spot market to customers in Asia. Its partners, including Oil Search Ltd and Santos Ltd, are targeting an increase in Asian demand for natural gas. The companies are considering an expansion of the development. PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill says the door is open for greater Japanese investment in Papua New Guinea.
He said that at a State dinner he hosted last night for visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his wife Akie Abe and their delegation, which included business leaders. “Your visit will further strengthen our relationship and I want to use this occasion to encourage your industries, and your businesses, to continue investing in PNG,” he told Abe. “This is a good time to invest in PNG and enter into joint ventures and other forms of collaboration, with our own growing private sector. “We welcome additional investment in our resource sector but we need new and added investment in other sectors like construction, agriculture and tourism.” O’Neill said investing in PNG could be challenging and exciting. “Our GDP over the last decade has averaged 8% a year. Next year it will reach 21%, principally due to the export of LNG to Japan and other countries,” he said. “But we don’t just enjoy strong GDP growth. We have an essentially stable political environment – even though politics can at times be challenging, just as I am sure it is in Japan. “But our basis is strong, and our economic future is, in my view, the best it has been since independence. “We will secure that future by high quality foreign investment – of the kind Japan has consistently provided over the last 40 years – and a growing and confident participation in these investments. “Our trading links have always been strong – and we are keen to strengthen and diversify them even further. “We have the people, and the land, to help meet your food needs as well as your energy and mineral needs. “We will continue to welcome imports from your country which have contributed to our transport needs for generations.” |
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