The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) group called today on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its 10 member states to do more to promote the value of intellectual property (IP) as a key driver for the region’s growth and economic development, and to step up intellectual property right (IPR) enforcement actions to stop counterfeiting and piracy and other IPR infringements that are hurting the

The O’Neill government is preparing to deliver its 2015 budget, against a backdrop of rising government debt and rising expenditure. Business Advantage PNG asks what business needs and what it might expect. With income from agriculture and the resources sector down, business leaders and analysts are expecting a tough 2015. ‘We have low commodity prices at the moment,’ says the Institute of National Affairs’ Paul Barker. ‘The old reliables that provided PNG revenues from-gold, copper

PAPUA New Guinea’s relationship with the European Union is growing from being predominantly based on development support to increased trade and investment engagement through business cooperation, according to the prime minister. Peter O’Neill discussed the matter during a meeting with the European Union head of delegation to Papua New Guinea, ambassador Martin Dihm in Port Moresby. Following the meeting, O’Neill said more PNG products were being sold in European countries than ever before, and European

The steady emergence of Papua New Guinea’s Barramundis national cricket side has led the sport’s managing body in the country to introduce professional player contracts—a major step in the development of the sport in PNG. Professionalism in Papua New Guinean cricket has taken a significant step forward after the national team’s players signed inaugural full-time contracts last month. PNG’s national team, known as the Barramundis, is currently competing as full-time professionals for the first time

The Chairman of Papua New Guinea’s Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC), Paul Nerau, has flagged a ‘tsunami’ of government-backed development projects worth billions of kina, including the relocation of Port Moresby’s port and gas-generated electricity. Now that is up and running, it is time to look at other infrastructure projects and ensure they are built and managed professionally, he said, and that would involve a ‘second tsunami’ of investment, involving telecommunications, ports and energy. Major

On 8 October 2014, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted an event in Washington D.C. on the outlook of the upcoming G20 Summit in Brisbane. The event brought together Australian and US government officials, business leaders and international policy experts to discuss expectations for the Australian G20 Summit to take place next month. In the run up to the Leaders Summit, ICC and CSIS co-hosted

As part of the 2012 Alotau Accord, the O’Neill Government agreed to establish an Infrastructure Development Authority to ‘take ownership’ of Cabinet decisions and oversee major infrastructure projects in Papua New Guinea. Business Advantage PNG spoke recently to the authority’s interim Managing Director, John Kaio. Business Advantage PNG (BAPNG): What role will the Authority play in helping ensure infrastructure projects in which the government participates are delivered in an appropriate way? John Kaio (JK): The authority

Papua New Guinea’s largest cocoa grower, trader and exporter, Agmark, says cocoa yields in East New Britain could double, as a result of new technology arising from the battle to recover from the impact of the cocoa pod borer. The province used to be the chief provider of cocoa, with annual yields of more than 25,000 tonnes until the cocoa pod borer (CPB) hit. More than 80 per cent of cocoa farmers abandoned their plantations