The outlook for the mining sector has reached a new five-year low and confidence levels are likely to take years to recover, according to Newport Consulting’s new mining outlook. Despite some optimism last year, the latest report found mining leaders troubled by falling demand and a tough regulatory environment. An overwhelming 93% of leaders were not optimistic about their growth prospects for the next 12 months, up more than 50% on last year. A further

Two respected trade and industry leaders have urged the government to boost investment in agriculture and non-mining sectors, warning a failure to act soon could induce ‘the dreaded Dutch Disease’. The head of the trade division of the Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry, Max Rai, wants the government to provide incentives to attract foreign investment in industries other than mining. Former Ambassador Rai was a keynote speaker at the annual National Development Forum, organised

National Roads Authority and Planning Minister discuss state of PNG roads, National Airports Corporation releases commercial tenders at POM, and Cue Energy puts PNG assets on market. Your weekly digest of the latest business news. The CEO of National Roads Authority Ponege Poya says the NRA is unable to undertake any significant improvement work for national highways due to lack of maintenance funding from the government despite budget submissions and requests. Meanwhile, National Planning Minister

Independent Australian organisations, the Australian Fair  Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) and AID/WATCH, Australia’s aid  monitor, have voiced serious concerns about the PACER-Plus Free Trade  Agreement currently being negotiated between Australia, New Zealand  and Pacific Island Countries. Both organisations assert that  PACER-Plus will leave Pacific Island Countries disadvantaged, and  ignores calls from Pacific Islanders who claim that this agreement is  not in their interest. PACER-Plus negotiations began in 2009 with the agreement introduced as  different,

CRICKET LEGENDS TO VISIT LAE Two Cricket Legends will be in Lae next month. Arjuna Ranatunga and Andrew Bichel will be here on Thursday 28th of August and a fund raising dinner is being organised to raise funds for Cricket Lae. The kids of Lae will be able to attend a coaching clinic to be headed by these cricket greats which will help with their development and will be a wonderful memory for them in

Papua New Guinea’s third telecommunications operator, bmobile, has signed a partnership arrangement with the global giant, Vodafone UK. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Ramamurthy tells Business Advantage PNG what the agreement means for the company’s operations in PNG and Solomon Islands. Since its inception, bmobile has had a chequered history. Nine CEOs, under resourced and with limited capacity, it has hardly dented the Papua New Guinea telecommunications market. Last October, the PNG Government invested US$85 million

Papua New Guinea’s largest sugar grower, Ramu Agri Industries, is adding value to its sugar harvest with new products. Business Advantage PNG spoke to General Manager Jamie Graham about its production of spirits and ethanol. Ramu Sugar is a well-known brand in Papua New Guinea. Its producer, Ramu Agri Industries (RAI), harvested 320,467 tonnes of cane from 6,354 hectares, yielding 30,208 tonnes  of sugar. The company is now diversifying its manufacturing activities, with the planned

LAE FIRE SERVICE FIRE HYDRANTS – We have been on about the disappearing Fire Hydrants in the City for quite some-time. The many roads that have been reconstructed over the past 5 years, most without proper designs and specs, have simply built over a lot of these hydrants, or they have been filled with stones to provide more parking space etc. Some of the metal caps have been scavenged for scrap metal sale rendering the hydrants

Mobile phone provider Digicel PNG plans to launch its own multi-station television service later this year. The move is the latest in a series of strategic moves to transform the mobile phone company into a broader based media company in Papua New Guinea. Since the Papua New Guinea Government began deregulating the telecommunications market in 2005, the range of technologies has expanded, the number of providers increased, prices have fallen and the network of mobile

Work on improving the venues for the BSP PNG Games 2014 has now begun, after organisers signed up more key business sponsors, according to the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Phil Franklin. ‘The Bank of South Pacific has come on board as naming rights sponsor, which is excellent’, he told Business Advantage PNG. Another recent signatory has been PNG Ports Corporation Ltd as a major sponsor, which is contributing K350,000 towards the 6th staging of