PRIME Minister James Marape says Papua New Guinea has been working on five major projects in the last three years to reach a K200 billion economy. “The projects are the Papua LNG, Pogera Gold Mine, P’nyang LNG, Pasca Gas Condensate and Wafi-Golpu mining,” he told the 16th Papua New Guinea Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney, Australia, yesterday. “We are in ‘deep waters’ in various stages of those projects as far as agreements and developments are concerned. “There is no turning back and we look forward to substantial concrete progress on project development. “These projects, being developed from 2023 to 2032, will be the impetuous, the next wave responsible for PNG’s economy to be catapulted, surpassing the K200 billion economy I envisioned on May 30, 2019. “Every other project that you all have interest in, like Frieda, Kili Tege, Yandera, Pandora, Stanley and Ketu Elalava, is a bonus on top of these projects. “Investors who already have an interest or an asset in PNG, please progress the project to the next stage before 2025. The PANGU-led Government handed down the country’s largest yet national budget on Tuesday 29th November 2022.
At the 2023 Budget Press Lock-Up, Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey said the Marape-Rosso Government remained committed to budget repair and reconstruction with a 13-year plan projection to eliminate debt and achieve Budget Surplus in 2027, whilst also increasing the capital budget. Minister for Finance and Planning Rainbo Paita announced that the aggregate Capital Investment Budget for 2023 stands at K9,796.0 million. This is a 12% increase from the 2022 appropriation of K8,751.6 million. PNG INTERNATIONAL Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru says the department has so far identified 18 potential economic zones in the country.
It is now waiting for funding from the Treasury ministry. He was replying to a question in Parliament by Chimbu Governor Noah Kool if there were investors who would invest in agriculture in the Karamui district as an economic zone. ECONOMIST Paul Barker has projected modest economic growth but lacking any strong externally driven or domestic stimulus for Papua New Guinea (PNG) next year.
“Substantial investment will be lacking or there will not be any heightened economic activity,” he added. Barker, who is Institute of National Affairs executive director, said: “The prospects of a series of major new resource-based investments, starting with Papua LNG, maybe will go ahead in late 2023, and of course the long overdue restoration of the Porgera mine, will certainly boost business confidence, as well as stimulating capital inflows and some foreign exchange. MOODY’S Investors Service last week upgraded the outlook on the government rating to “stable” from “negative”.
It attributes the change of the outlook to stable “by a stabilisation in the Government’s debt burden arising in part from the positive terms of trade shock from higher global prices for Papua New Guinea’s commodity exports”. It is also a result of a “renewed commitment to long-term fiscal sustainability that has been reinforced by its re-engagement with development partners”. “Moody’s now expects a stable debt burden and debt affordability in the next few years,” a statement said. “In addition, government liquidity and external vulnerability risks have ebbed given improvements in domestic funding conditions and the balance of payments, leading to lower domestic interest rates and higher foreign exchange reserves, respectively, which Moody’s expects to continue. The affirmation of the B2 rating reflects the confluence of relatively weak economic strength, institutions and governance strength, and susceptibility to event risk. Papua New Guinea's superfund Nambawan Super Limited continues to look at ways to mitigate economic challenges on its investments, both locally and abroad. With the fund maintaining 20-percent offshore investments and 80-percent in local investments, Chief Executive Officer, Paul Sayer says the superfund employs an investment strategy that aims to diversify risks by running a balanced investment portfolio. Mr. Sayer said this is done with a view to protecting members’ savings from threats of losses from the kinds of volatility seen in the current environment. The major superfund in the country has seen its investments come under pressure this year. |
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