Fiji Times reports that "althoughFiji is adhering to the Melanesian Spearhead Group trade agreements, other countries within the MSG are yet to honour the agreements, creating difficulties for traders.
Speaking to traders at the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji public consultations today, Attorney-General and Minister for Trade Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG) were not honouring the agreement. He said the three countries of the MSG - PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu had negative lists against Fiji. "Under the MSG trade agreement signed some time back, all the produce that comes from there - any goods and services that comes from the MSG countries into Fiji, we don't tax them, there's no tariff," Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said. Papua New Guinea (PNG)-incorporated Oil Search is expecting to start inspection works at the platform of the Kumul Marine offloading terminal Friday with the arrival of a specialist diving support vessel, a spokesperson told Rigzone.
Oil Search had released a statement on August 3, 2012, which detailed a minor spill that took place at the Kumul Marine offloading terminal. A "small release of oil", said Oil Search, was seen on the sea surface next to the terminal during the loading of a tanker on July 26, 2012. Loading operations were suspended on the same day. Photo courtesy of Greener Ideal A controversy is brewing off the coast of Papua New Guinea, and a Canadian mining firm is in the hot seat. Toronto-based Nautilus Minerals has received the go-ahead from the PNG government, to mine thecountry’s seabed for gold and copper. The 20-year licence was granted, despite harsh objections from environmentalists and local activists in the country. Nautilus will mine an area of 1.6 km beneath the Bismarck Sea. That’s 50 km off the coast of the PNG island of New Britain. The ore extracted will contain high-grade copper and gold. International mining companies are keeping a close eye on this particular project. They’re keen to exploit lucrative opportunities that lie deep beneath the waves. Oil Search reports that on 9 August, the Trapia 1 well was drilling ahead at a depth of 843 metres in a 17-½” hole. During the week, drilling of the 12-¼” pilot hole was suspended at a depth of 1,440 metres and drilling resumed on opening up the 17-½” hole from its previous depth of 446 metres. Progress for the week in the 17-½” hole was 397 metres. The Trapia prospect is located approximately 13 kilometres east of the Angore gas field and 23 kilometres east of the Hides gas field. The primary objectives are the Toro and Digimu sandstones. The participants in Trapia 1 are:
Source: LNG World News The incumbent acting Bundi LLG President, Elias Mangoa has heaped all praise towards Ramu NiCo, the developer of the first nickel/cobalt project in the country for bringing positive changes to the lives of the people of Bundi in Madang Province.
He said Bundi hardly got any government services such as roads, bridges, schools and health services. There were mothers and sick children dying due to lack of health services in the past. Photo courtesy of Fijivillage The new look Grand Pacific Hotel on Victoria Parade, Suva is expected to officially open by early 2014 as construction work is expected to finish by November next year. The hotel which will cost more than $78 million will have 113 rooms with 10 executive rooms in the historic building and a mixture of suites in the new zones under construction just beside the Main Hotel. Acting Chief Executive Officer of Fiji National Provident Fund, Jaoji Koroi said work is underway to restore all structural appearance internally and externally to its original condition. SOURCE: THE NATIONAL/PACNEWS
Papua New Guinea’s investment in Australia reached US$1.2 billion, equal to 12.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, according to Asian Development Bank country economist Aaron Batten. This was 350% higher than the amount of money invested by Australian companies in PNG, he said. Batten said the benefits of strong economic growth were being undermined by rising inequality. “Rising inequality is partly a result of constraints on diversified business investment.” Batten said. “Whilst the stock of private sector employment has doubled over the last decade, ADB estimates show that less than 5% of the population – or roughly 10% of the working age population – are currently able to earn a wage in the formal economy. THE INSIDE EDGE
With visitor arrival numbers and tourism spend both up in recent years, Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) tourism sector is showing solid signs of consistent growth. A renewed focus on niche markets, particularly adventure and ecotourism, has seen international recognition of the burgeoning sector. However, a lack of infrastructure and security issues could frustrate further achievements. The government is targeting 1.5m visitors and $6.28bn in tourism receipts by 2030, and the latest figures from the Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) indicate that it is on the right track. Visitor arrival numbers more than doubled from 77,730 in 2006 to 165,059 in 2011. In the same period, average spend grew 47% to $6133, and the average length of stay hit 20.4 days in 2011. NDTV Good Times, the lifestyle channel of NDTV Group, has announced its partnership with Media Niugini Ltd (MNL), based out of New Guinea, Indonesia. MNL will broadcast NDTV Good Times’ shows ‘Yogasutra’ and ‘Around the World in 85 Plates’ in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for a year on its channel EMTV.
Talking about the partnership, Smeeta Chakrabarti, CEO, NDTV Lifestyle, said, “Our partnership with Media Niugini is another endeavour by the channel to reach out to audiences across the globe. We intend to offer the best in food, lifestyle and luxury across borders.” Elaborating more on the tie-up, Atul Seth, Vice President, Development, NDTV Lifestyle, said, “NDTV Good Times’ tie-up with Media Niugini is part of our venture to take the channel’s offerings to our global audiences. Content from NDTV Lifestyle is already played across several ethnic, third party platforms in Africa, Middle East and Europe, and with Media Niugini’s tie-up, we intend to expand our horizons further.” EMTV is the national television service owned and controlled by MNL. It is received in real time via satellite in 38 centres throughout Papua New Guinea. The EMTV footprint is approximately 85 per cent of Papua New Guinea’s total population of approximately 7 million people. ‘Yogasutra’ airs at 8 am on Sundays and ‘Around the World in 85 Plates’ will go on air from August 19 at 11 am on EMTV. source:NDTV Papua New Guinea is utilizing specific computer software for its National Greenhouse Gas Inventory focusing on Agriculture and land use, land use change and forestry as the major sources of carbon emissions.
The Agriculture and Land Use software when in place will monitor and document calculations and removal of carbon emissions to ensure transparent, accurate, consistent, complete and comparable data are inputted into the system for reporting purposes. A National GHG Inventory is a significant element of a country’s National Communications report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) every two years. |
Papua New Guinea Business NewsWe cover all Papua New Guinea and International business news on this page. Please subscribe to our latest business on the subscribe form available on this page. |