The proposed Foreign Investment Regulatory Authority Act looks to have been withdrawn, according to Papua New Guinea’s two largest business chambers.

 They say the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Wera Mori, has committed instead to look at amending the Investment Promotion Act.  
 
The Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry (POMCCI) said in a statement that its representatives had ‘made representations’ to have the Foreign Investment Regulatory Authority Act (FIRA) reconsidered.  

Fiji has banned the personal importation of pork and pork related products from Australia and New Zealand.

This is due to the spread of the African Swine Flu that kills pigs.

Fiji is currently free of the disease.

A Biosecurity of Fiji alert has tied the spread of the ASF to the Chinese New Year.

“As per Chinese calendar this is the Year of the Pig 2019, which leads to massive movement of human, swine populations and products and thus poses a high-risk period for the transboundary spread of the disease. Transmission of the disease is strongly linked to the movement of domestic and wild pigs, as well as pork products,” states the BAF alert.

The country’s rating in the 2019 Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) report has improved to 108 from 109 last year, according to the 2019 World Bank annual ratings.
Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), in its January Opportunity newsletter, said this was due to reforms in the areas of starting a business, paying taxes, getting credit and getting electricity compared with 190 other countries.

The new head of mining company Barrick Gold says it wants to strengthen its partnership with the Papua New Guinea government and the local community at Porgera.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow visited PNG for four days recently and met with central and provincial government representatives as well as the Porgera Landowners Association.

The PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum says the continued success of existing projects and the development of new ones is critical to the future of the country.
In a statement released last week, it said any significant delay in the renewal and extension of mining licences for the country’s biggest producing mines would have a detrimental effect on the economy.
Chamber president Gerea Aopi commented following reports that projects such as Porgera, Ok Tedi, and Ramu Nickel may not have their leases extended.
“Security of tenure and continuation of mining leases is essential if we want investors to spend billions of kina in our country,” said Mr Aopi.

​There has been significant misuse of multiple-entry business visas to the country, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says.
Speaking at a recent business breakfast in Port Moresby, he said: “I have also heard your concerns in regards to the issuing of business visas.

There are many money Scammers in Papua New Guinea and thus Bank of PNG  Governor Loi Bakani, warns of these scammers.  Mr. Bakani urges people not to listen to scammers on the streets claiming that they have money parked at the PNG Central bank.
Bakani said he had been receiving many text messages and calls from people enquiring about their money or to meet them.
“I never texted you or sent these texts,” he said.
“There are people who impersonate either myself or others to talk you into giving them money.
“You see these people hanging around at public places and parks at Boroko.
“You will meet them and this guy with a folder.
“He is tricking you to collect money.

BANK of PAPUA New Guinea supplied US$695.2 million (K2.339 billion) into the foreign exchange market to assist in meeting some of the demand for foreign currency in 2018, says Governor Loi Bakani.
This compared to US$227 million (K763.74 million) in 2017.
Bakani said the bank was able to do this from US dollar inflows from the Government’s commercial and budget support loans that became part of its international reserves.

THE European Union is concerned about the rise of informal financial institutions offering quick lending services and is calling for sticker regulation.
“Actually, I have heard that there are many opportunities to borrow for money but at huge cost,” Rene Mally, first counsellor, head of corporations, European Union, said during launch of the Mama-Bank access point official rollout pilot project in Port Moresby last week.
“I think we all need to make a bigger effort for sticker regulation of this totally exploitative practice.
“It is horrendous and it is deeply immoral to make people pay at huge interest rates for loans.”

The amount of foreign exchange that was turned over last December was in excess of K4 billion, according to a recent report from Jonathan Prince of Westpac treasury.
This was the highest foreign currency inflows during last year with strong support from the Bank of PNG (BPNG).

​The report said this allowed further substantial progress to be made in clearing outstanding foreign exchange orders, in line with PNG Treasury wishes for BPNG foreign exchange reserves to be deployed in this way.