Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says he will ensure that the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Commission-of-Inquiry (COI) report is tabled in Parliament and that criminal actions, if necessary, will be taken against those responsible for the controversial UBS loan which has cost Papua New Guinea over US$300 million (K1 billion). The UBS COI was established by PM Marape in 2019 to probe into the A$1.2 billion (K3.12 billion) loan
The Papua New Guinean government has proposed a cut in the goods and services tax (GST) for six months to help ease cost-of-living pressures, but the Highlands Farmers and Settlers Association disagrees with the move. The GST cut would be applied to certain household goods, services, and fuel products such as petrol, diesel, and kerosene. However, Wilson Thompson, the president of the Highlands Farmers and Settlers Association, has expressed his
The National Training Council (NTC) has certified the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI) to teach courses in financial literacy. At a recent ceremony, the NTC presented CEFI with a Certificate of Registration to conduct Training, as well as an ‘Accreditation of Courses’ Certificate. In addition, Jill Pijui, CEFI’s Head of Training, also received a ‘Certificate of Registration as an Instructor’. George Awap, the Acting Assistant Governor, Financial System
Prime Minister James Marape has said there is about US$3 billion – roughly K10.31 billion – in foreign reserves at the Bank of PNG (BPNG). The PM said the money could be used to make overseas purchases and added that he would tell the Treasury to help the country’s largest fuel suppliers by giving them improved access to foreign exchange. This would result in a more consistent fuel supply for
Ambassador Jernej Videtic has said that the European Union would be willing to support Papua New Guinea with its forest reforms by providing hundreds of millions of Kina, training programmes, and more. Ambassador Videtic was talking at the PNG Forest Authority’s workshop, which celebrated the International Day of Forests 2022. He said that Papua New Guinea was under threat from climate change and stressed the importance of the country’s forests.
Kina Bank’s CEO Greg Pawson has announced an after-tax net profit of K96.2 million. Mr Pawson made the announcement with the bank’s Chief Financial Officer Chetan Chopra in Port Moresby recently. Mr Pawson said, “Our underlying net profit after tax was up 27 per cent on the prior year. We are excited about becoming the second largest bank in PNG by footings. Our combined footings broke through K5 billion at
The head of the National Fisheries Authority (NFA), Ango Wangatau, has said that strengthening the fisheries industry needs inclusive government and private partnership investments. Mr Wangatau made the comments in his keynote talk at the National Tuna Fishing Sector consultation. He said that to grow and increase demand in the fishing industry, it was necessary to be inclusive and collaborate with the private sector. He pointed out there must be
Steamships Trading Company Ltd recently released a statement that reported strong performance and increased profits for 2021. The company, based in Port Moresby, said, “On the back of a strong performance in the hospitality division and a continued recovery in the shipping division, revenue increased 11 per cent to K564 million on a continuing basis, and the underlying profit attributable to shareholders rose 14.8 per cent to K90.6 million. The
According to Robin Fleming, the chief executive officer of the Bank South Pacific Financial Group Ltd (BSP), a lot of businesses in Papua New Guinea are not banking their cash. Fleming agreed with the Internal Revenue Commission’s commissioner-general, Sam Koim, that these businesses operated in a black economy to avoid paying tax. Mr Fleming said BSP had found cash wasn’t coming back to the bank, and branches had to frequently
Prime Minister Marape stated in Parliament recently that his government made loan facilities available to SMEs. He said that smaller businesses are able to access credit facilities at Bank South Pacific (BSP) and National Development Bank (NDB). Marape made the statement in a discussion relating to the projected Credit Guarantee Corporation of Papua New Guinea. It was a response to a question from Hon. Richard Maru, the MP for Yangoru-Saussia,