Long held back by inefficiencies linked to geography, manual operations and slow procedures, Papua New Guinea’s banking sector marked a watershed in 2013 with the initial implementation of a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. Running on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network, the high-value...
While the new financial inclusion policy aims to expand access to and usage of financial services – Bank South Pacific (BSP) estimates some 98% of its over 1m accounts in Papua New Guinea are used for transaction purposes only – facilitating access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be key to broadening economic...
Highly profitable by global standards, Papua New Guinea’s banking sector has traditionally focused on the government, larger firms and high-net-worth individuals. Despite significant challenges linked to poor infrastructure, inadequate credit information and a largely rural population, commercial lenders are developing innovative means of...
Although economic expansion slowed in 2013 as construction on ExxonMobil’s $19bn Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project wound down – albeit from 9.1% in 2012 to a still healthy 5.2% in 2013, according to the Bank of PNG (BPNG) – the country stands on the cusp of rapid resource-led growth. Despite ranking as the world’s 115th-...
While rapid increases in government spending come at the right time in Papua New Guinea’s economic cycle, the key will be the timely execution of budgeted projects. Affected by low disbursement levels, particularly for its capital expenditure, the government is enacting key reforms to streamline projects and strengthen revenue collection. As...
Following three years of sharp appreciation, Papua New Guinea’s currency, the kina, reversed course from late 2012 as construction on the PNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) project began to taper and commodity export revenues contracted. Fiscal spending, largely financed in kina, continued to drive demand for imports and compounded the currency’s...
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