Business Confidence Improved

“The Prime Minister and Hon. James Marape’s opening address at the 11th Parliament session on “Restructuring Governance and Real Development Outcomes” was well received by the market,” said BSP Group General Manager for Corporate Banking, Peter Beswick.

According to Beswick, “The message of the Prime Minister was well received. With its key focus on support for foreign direct investment and agricultural outputs that have high potential to be competitive across global markets.”

“The specific commitment made by the Prime Minister that his Government “will see that Papua LNG, Porgera, Wafi Golpu, P’nyang LNG and Pasca A projects will all move across the line” improves investor sentiment,” said Beswick.

He added that; “With the conclusion of the national election, we are seeing a significant uplift in consumer and business enquiries for investing and spending across all sectors.”

He said; “This is expected to build momentum leading into a strong 2023/2024, initially driven by Barrick's reopening of the Porgera Gold Mine and then Papua LNG Financial Investment Decision.”

“Also note that a major positive was that CPI Inflation has tapered to 5.5% in the June quarter 2022, when the headline CPI for the March quarter was 6.9%,” he said.

He continued that; “This is a positive sign, however inflation is significantly impacting business costs and consumer purchasing power nationwide.”

The key drivers of inflation remain unchanged—supply chain disruptions, logistic costs, fuel and food.