Papua New Guinean’s relationship with other nations including China, will not be impacted in any way from a Defence Cooperation Agreement that will be signed with the United States (US), as the agreement is merely to protect the country’s waters from illegal activities. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape when addressing the media this week, made it clear that the country’s bilateral relationship with other nations will remain the same despite the upcoming defence agreement, which is for the Ship Rider Program where local law enforcement officers are allowed to embark on U.S. Coast Guard vessels, including boarding and searching suspected…
Author: Emmanuel MAIPE
The trade and investment opportunities with one of the biggest economies in the world, India will be one of the focuses of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to explore during the upcoming Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) in Port Moresby. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape when updating the country on the arrival of the foreign delegates for FIPIC, said PNG is anticipating the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be engaging in important dialogues with pacific leaders. PM Marape said India is an important economic power in the world in the Asian market and to foster…
After ten years in the resource sector local landowner company KutMor Limited now looks at venturing out of the Oil and Gas business and into other business areas. The landowner company (Lanco) recently marked its 10th Anniversary in Port Moresby where it looked back on the years of its operation and the contributions to the landowner groups that make up the shareholders of the company. The Lanco’s Deputy Chairman Mr. Nelson Alina said KutMor is not only focused on creating wealth but build its capacity to provide opportunities like employment for the future generation of Moran and Kutubu landowners, when the…
Tenants residing in flats or homes that happen to have an illegal power connection to them tend to suffer when the power is disconnected by PNG Power Limited (PPL) or stand to risk it all through a fire or electrocution. That’s the risk that tenants face when their respective landlord resorts to stealing power instead of doing the right thing by paying for electricity like every other hard-working people do. In Port Moresby this week, PPL teams were out to inspect the homes on the list that have been disconnected previously, to see if they have not illegally reconnected again.…
The Minister for International Trade and Investment is adamant to have the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Policy and Master Plan set and ready launched for the country by mid this year. Minister Richard Maru, when giving an update on the policy and master plan after the inaugural SEZ Summit recently, said that both items are a work in progress at this stage. “The secretary went through the initial drafts at the summit, we got a lot of good comments coming through so we working on fine tuning the initial draft and hopefully by next week, we’ll put a new version…
The PNG Power Limited (PPL) exercise to disconnect illegal power connection to easipay meters through a by- pass or direct connection to a building without the use of a meter box, is to come up with a better way to deal with the matter going forward. According to Mr. Damien Kaputin, the Acting Manager Meter Audit Low Consumption of the Retail Division of PPL, this work is done in conjunction with USAID as part of the United States assistance to achieve Papua New Guinea’s reach of electricity of 70% by 2030 as per the government’s goals. He said from this…
The government is ready to partner with viable companies operating in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, said that this partnership will be in the form of government investments in the companies with funding already made available by the government. “The government this week approved funding, which is already in the budget for this year, of K100million for government to take up shares in companies, in particular in the Special Economic Zones that we feel we need to support to get investment across the line, or bring…
Member for Moresby South Justin Tkatchenko has stepped aside from his position as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape made the announcement late on Friday afternoon that the Foreign Affairs Minister, Justin Tkatchenko has stepped aside from his Ministerial portfolio with immediate effect following public uproar after a tiktok video from his daughter Savannah Tkatchenko was circulated widely on social media. The Minister’s defense of his daughter drew further harsh criticism from the public over the poor choice of words used to show his frustrations. PM Marape announced that he will oversee the Ministry of Foreign…
Rigo Rice, perhaps the biggest successful rice project in Papua New Guinea (PNG), is the main one amongst six other projects to get their licenses this year to operate as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, said that Rigo Rice in the Central province has set a benchmark for the rest of the projects to venture into a large-scale project that can be turned into a SEZ that would generate employment for thousands and contribute to the economy going forward. “Rigo Rice, they are already an existing project and they have spent a…
The efforts put into Papua New Guinea better having access to trade and foreign investment opportunities has just been complemented with the launching of the National Trade Portal, the Export Readers and Investment Guides.The three were launched by the National Trade Office (NTO) in Port Moresby in a significant ceremony witnessed by the Minister for Internal Trade and Investments Richard Maru and the Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso.The Chief Trade Officer Mr. Richard Yakam said the portal and the guides are what will give the right information to portential investors about PNG, it’s market, its SMEs and potential to trade…