Local producers and service providers in the country will in the near future see the benefits of the establishment of Trade Commission Services under Papua New Guinea (PNG) Foreign Services in the various countries that the country is represented in. The Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru, when making the official announcement of the new Trade Commission Service, said that the establishment of the new Trade Commission Service was a direct decision of the National Government in an effort to improve trade and investments, and the economic growth of PNG. “Since independence we have our Foreign Service operation through our Embassy and High Commission throughout the world, but the Marape- Rosso government has decided, on top of the Foreign Service, for the first time to embark on a new Trade Commission Service that will complement the Foreign Service work,” said the minister. He said that the aim is to establish this service in all 8 countries that PNG is represented in. The trade mission will be headed by a trade commissioner and staff, who will be operating either in an Embassy or High Commission, co- sharing the office with the Foreign Service headed by an Ambassador or High Commissioner, or in an office of their own. Minister Maru said that the Trade Commission Service has a different focus from the Foreign Service. They are; • Focus on trade by look for export markets for PNG’s products and services, • Focus on getting foreign investors to come invest in major economic projects in PNG, • To be the focal point in various countries that PNG will be undertaking studies and negotiations for free trade agreements with PNG. “The recent decision is consistent with the Marape government decision to establish the ministry of international trade and investment. “Our core business is to look for market for our products and to bring in foreign investors to invest in our country, in particular in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) that we are embarking on.” Minister Maru said the decision of the government is timely because on Sunday 07th May, the prime minister will open the first SEZ Summit for PNG and over the next few days, six countries will present about how they successfully developed SEZ, which has been a key driver for economic growth and transformation of economies for the better. Meanwhile, the minister also announced that the first overseas mission to see the establishment of the first Trade Commission Service, will be in the PNG Embassy in China. The reason being that China is PNG’s most important trading partner. “China’s president has announced over and over again that they are ready to buy everything that we produce, from our fish to our coffee, to our palm oil and to our gas that we produce. “China will become the most important market for Papua New Guinea,” said Minister Maru.

Total Energies, the lead developer of the Papua LNG project, is looking at recruiting over 5, 000 people for the construction phase of the project, through the newly developed WAN PNG Platform. Total Energies Country Manager Mr. Richard Kassman said the construction phase will be done both upstream and downstream, which means the project up in the Gulf province with the Conditioning Plant and then the pipeline down to the facilities in the Central province. “Basically, at very high level of Total employees, we are looking at upstream 3, 000 to 4, 000 people and downstream be 2, 000 to 3, 000 people as well,” said Mr. Kassman. Mr. Kassman said that at the downstream, where the facility will be built within the PNG LNG project, the expected number of employees is 3, 000 plus. “At this stage we are firming up numbers, the project could potentially bring in additional jobs in total of 6, 000.” The Papua LNG project is close to its Final Investment Decision (FID) and the new platform is timely to start getting in qualified Papua New Guineans with technical, trades, catering, administration and logistical background who can be employed and engaged for the construction phase. Meanwhile, the WAN PNG platform is a national candidate database developed and managed by Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) to increase the sustainable employment of local talent. KPHL Managing Director Mr. Wapu Sonk said, “This commitment by Papua LNG and its operation demonstrates their intention to maximize national content in this LNG project with respect to employment of qualified Papua New Guineans for the construction and operations.” The platform also got its backing through Total Energies sponsorship for its upcoming launching, following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two parties on Tuesday 02nd May. Under this arrangement, Papua LNG is now a major sponsor for the launch and support of WAN PNG platform to the value of K250, 000. Once launched, interested applicants can log onto the platform site and apply through there, for the Total Energies positions advertised on the WAN PNG platform.

Two fire fighters were injured and properties worth over hundred thousand Kina were destroyed on Tuesday evening after fire burned through about two units of buildings at the Yumi Yet estate in Gerehu, Port Moresby. Fire Superintendent of the Waigani Fire Station, Sedrick Luwai said that the fire started at around 4pm at a guest house and then spread to the nearby buildings.  He said the fire crew were able to save one school within the premises but couldn't save the others. "We couldn't save the other buildings because there were no firebreaks between the units and the whole area inside doesn't have any fire hydrants to assist firefighters with water." He said the two fire fighters that were injured were taken by St John Ambulance to the hospital. One fire fighter was cut by a fallen roofing iron and the other inhaled toxic fumes. He said a full investigation will be conducted into the incident to find out how the fire started. Fortunately, no further people were injured or killed in the fire.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Justin Tkachenko will be representing Prime Minister (PM) James Marape and the people of Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the Coronation of King Charles III. The minister made this announcement after he was given instructions from the PM to represent the country. Minister Tkachenko will be travelling in a few days’ time to join the PNG Governor General, Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae, who has already left for London as the representative of the King. “We look forward to seeing him and representing Papua New Guinea, because King Charles the third is now the King of Papua New Guinea,” said the minister. “There’s only fourteen realms in the Commonwealth and Papua New Guinea is one of those realms, a very important realm.” The minister said this major event is significant because the United Kingdom (UK) has interest in PNG and the region. “We’ve just had the Secretary General of the Commonwealth come and visit us here in Port Moresby and we also had the UK Foreign Minister, Secretary of State here as well.” “So, it shows you the interest in the region, interest in the pacific, but a traditional partner as well going forward.” The Coronation of King Charles III will take place on the 06th of May in London, England.

It seems that the water ration in the city of Port Moresby could continue beyond the scheduled time given by Water PNG, so to allow for further cleanup of debris to take place at the water treatment plant just outside of the nation’s capital city. According to Water PNG, the initially matter was the cleanup of the debris caused by the heavy rains up in the Sogeri mountains in the Central province, but another issues popped up. According to a notice put out by the state owned water company, due to a urgent maintenance work carried out by another state owned company, PNG Power Limited, the new schedule will be put out. The urgent maintenance work at Rouna 1/3 has resulted in the Water PNG plant affected by high turbidity of water from Rouna power stations. Water PNG is expected to put out that revised schedule as soon as the plant is stabilized. The current water ration was for Saturday 29th to Sunday 30th April; however, the revised one could see the rationing progress further. Water PNG also sent out an apology to its customers in the city of Port Moresby, for the inconveniences caused. Meanwhile, the reason for the debris affecting the water plant time and time again, was because Water PNG uses the same outlet of water supply that PNG Power uses; therefore, whenever there is some dirt in the water upstream, it affects the water plant and then the cleanup begins. This issue can be avoid if only the water company has its own separate outlet of supply to its water plant, instead of from the same PNG Power one.

It has been officially confirmed that the President of the United States (US), Joe Biden will be here in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on the 22nd of May to visit the country on his short stop over to Australia. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Justin Tkatchenko, made the announcement on Saturday 29th April after getting the official confirmation from the US White House in Washington DC of the president’s stop over and visit. The US president’s visit will fall on the same date as the Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) where the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be attending here in Port Moresby city. The minister said it’s significant because it will be the first time in the history of PNG to have the two biggest world economies visit the country at the same time. [caption id="attachment_39509" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Minister for Foreign Affairs, Justin Tkatchenko[/caption] “First time that this has ever happened and this is because of the confidence in the government, this is because of the relationships that we have put together in partnership with the United States and of course now with India,” said Minister Tkatchenko. “So, the president of the United States will be dropping in on the 22nd around about 2pm to Port Moresby. Stay for three hours in the APEC Haus, see all the 18 pacific leaders that attend (FIPIC) and from there, have a very important bilateral meeting as well as making some very big and important announcement for this visit and why he is in Port Moresby.” Tkatchenko said what is also significant about the US presidential visit to PNG, is that it will be the first time for a United States president in history to ever visit a pacific island nation. This visit will play an important role on strengthening the bilateral relationships and diplomatic relationships with the United States and the pacific and all its leaders. “This is all about working together in partnership to promote our country for the long term benefit of our people,” said the minister. The minister further explained that this visit and meeting with the US president is not just something out of the blue, but a result of previous dialogues between Prime Minister James Marape and President Biden during their earlier engagements during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City. Meanwhile, after President Biden’s short visit and stop over, he will travel to Australia where he will have a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) or a Quad meeting with India, Japan and Australian.

The Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) is in the process of conducting inquiries into matters relating to high costs being charged to consumers in both the motor vehicle and shipping industries. ICCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner Mr. Paulus Ain, said that there have been complaints coming to the office about the hefty prices charged for products and services in these two industries that prompted the planned inquiries. “We are conducting an inquiry into the motor vehicle industry because the price of vehicles has gone up.” “So, we received a lot of complaints from the government that we have to conduct an inquiry as to why the price of motor vehicles are very exorbitant and it’s not becoming affordable for everyone.” The next phase will see the Commission conduct an inquiry into coastal shipping; that is, the shipping industry will be under an inquiry also for unrealistic hikes in prices and fares. Mr. Ain said there are separate teams in the organization that will be conducting these inquiries from the information they received. These two inquiries will be formally announced soon and then the process will commence.

The BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) stands ready to support the expected economic growth to come from the soon to be constructed Papua LNG project in the Gulf province. BSP Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Mark Robinson, said this is expected because the Papua LNG project represents a significant investment in Papua New Guinea (PNG). He said the announcement earlier this year that the Papua LNG has reached the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase indicates some good signs for PNG’s economic prospects. According to the Pacific Economic & Market Insight report, the US$10 billion (K35.2 billion) Papua LNG project is expected to complete the FEED phase in the 04th quarter of 2023 or 01st quarter 2024, by when the Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected. “FID triggers a construction phase that is expected to last four (4) years,” Mr. Robinson added. “During this time we will see resource-adjacent sectors benefiting, as local service providers are contracted to support the construction phase.” BSP stands ready to support the next economic growth phase in PNG. However, he said despite the positive outlook domestically, global risks remain skewed heavily towards the downside, as evidenced by geopolitical instability and the collapse of a small number of overseas financial institutions in earlier this year. “BSP has a strong balance sheet and prudent liquidity management to protect our customers and our capital adequacy and leverage ratios stand at 24.6% and 9.9% respectively, which are well above domestic and international regulatory standards.” “We continue to monitor external financial contagions and the domestic economy to ensure customers’ deposits are safe,” Mr. Robinson added. Nevertheless, BSP remains confident that it will be an integral part of PNG’s economic growth story with its prudent risk management, strong financial metrics, and unrivalled reach across the PNG market.

The country’s consumer watch dog, the Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) would very much like to see business houses pass on the expected reduction of prices of basic goods to consumers in the coming months or be dealt with. The ICCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner Mr. Paulus Ain said that the global indicators from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have shown some decline in the overall prices of basic items. “Especially for rice (there has been stable fluctuation), for flour and cooking oil to name a few that have seen some decreases in the prices compared to what we were in 2022 back then,” said the Commissioner. Mr. Ain said these price differences and declines are showing some positive signs based on what is happening globally. In terms of soap, Mr. Ain confirms that the price has gone up due to the reintroduction of the tariff on soap, which has resulted in the price increase in the country. “But otherwise, the ingredients to manufacture soap, has seen decline,” explained the Commissioner. He said shipping rates are also coming down, global food prices are coming down, so domestically business houses should be passing that savings on to the consumers. “People are going back into production, Food and Agriculture Organization is telling us the indication out there. Food price is actually declining, so we should be expecting some price reduction over the next 6 to 12 months.” https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=599511248815885

Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) has announced a Net profit of K144million for the year 2022, which resulted in the declaration of an interest rate of 1.6% to be paid to members’ accounts. The NSL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that although it was a slight increase in interest rate from last year, it was still a good result given the challenges globally and domestically the superfund faced last year. “I’m sure many of our members will be disheartened by this result, it’s completely understandable to feel that way when investments one has made don’t go as expected.” “The result for 2022 may be discouraging; however, we want to remind and reassure out members that the funds are safe with us and are available to our members.” “We are a long term savings and we continue to grow and make those funds available for members when they are ready to retire and exit the fund,” said the CEO. He explained that it is normal in any investment environment that our investments are subject to economic conditions that a company operates in. “This may lead to low, high or even potentially negative returns in one year and this is something that we need to manage for our members going forward and also to make sure that education is passed across to our members.” He said in early 2022, the fund expected the members might get a negative crediting rate; however, the fund worked really hard to ensure that does not happen. “Considering the tough time the fund had in that portfolio caused by the volatile economic circumstances, the following crediting rate of 1.6% for our members, we feel is a good result.” The superfund had to adept to change tactics to manage the effects of rising inflation and other challenges posed in 2022. Some of those challenges include the issue of the lack of foreign exchange, the global economic situation from geopolitical issues and the government’s additional bank tax imposed on the BSP Financial Group Limited.

The Australian Football League (AFL) Junior Development team in the West New Britain (WNB) province has so much lined up for this school term; however, the program is being delayed a bit by the recent unrest experienced in the province. The Junior Development Coordinator Mr. Alphonse Jambarufo said the programs went well during term one of the school year, but term two has been a challenge with the increase in law and order issues and now the unrest. “It is really a tragic moment for us, but we are grateful that there is now more security on ground and we hope things would get back to normal soon.” He said there are a lot of activities for the juniors this second term of school like the schools competition and the Smart Start Niukick program planned for this year, and the sooner they start, the better. The first activity will be to organize the schools competition for Kimbe urban and the key focus will be in the three zones. The next one will be for the schools in Bialla and that is planned for next week, while Hoskins will be after where they will get the communities will be involved in starting the school competition. “We hope to get things better organized once things settle down.” Meanwhile, Mr. Jambarufo said the team will host the Talent ID later this year and they are looking at bringing in participants from New Ireland and East New Britain provinces.  

The country's consumer watch dog, the Independent Consume and Competitions Commission (ICCC) has announced that the country should see the prices of goods, including fuel to drop in the next six months. The ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Paulus Ain said in a press conference this morning that the expected decline in price has to do with the good performance in the global market according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) latest report. “The price of agricultural items globally are doing well despite the war in Ukraine and oil prices are also doing well,” said the Commissioner. He said the results globally should result in the domestic prices dropping, especially for the imported goods. However, Mr. Ain said domestically, the ICCC now would like to see businesses and companies like shops, fuel stations, and wholesalers pass on that reduction in price to the consumers when the import price drops in the coming months. Mr. Ain warned that the ICCC will be out working with its partners and stakeholders to monitor how things go in the coming months and would be dealing with any business houses that would continue to defy instruction and charge hefty prices to consumers for goods.