The increasing rate of development and economic growth in Papua New Guinea (PNG) would see the country become a go- to- country for investments in next decade.
The Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru said that this presents a great opportunity for world indigenous businesses to connect with local indigenous businesses, so to tap into the opportunities and help develop the country along with it.
“In the next ten years, Papua New Guinea will be one of the most exciting investment destinations throughout the world, the opportunities here will be unparalleled,” said the minister.
“Yes, we have our challenges today, but the future looks good, and we are looking at investors from right across the world to come and help us unlock our vast economic potential.”
He said PNG has a population of 11 million and is growing at a rate of 3.2%, which means that the demand for goods and services will continue to increase.
“In terms of population, we are becoming an even bigger market ourselves,” Maru said.
Touching on the country’s economic growth rate and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Minister Maru said PNG expects to hit a GDP of K120 billion and the size of the economy to double in the next 7 years.
“We expect by next year our economic growth rate to go from 4% to 5% and we expect in many years to come, be even higher than 5%.”
Minister Maru also told the international delegates that the country has major potential for business in the resource sector with 9 projects currently operating and 5 new projects coming up in a few years’ time.
In addition to this, he told them that PNG also has fertile land that can be used for agriculture and cattle farming. The ocean’s richness of marine resources and the Special Economic Zones projects coming up and topped by some favorable government policies on investments, makes PNG the go- to- nation for indigenous business investments.