Papua New Guinea

From lockdowns to remote work and widespread job losses, the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way people work. These interruptions are likely to have a significant impact on the global labour market well into the future.

The economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the establishment of a number of debt-relief and financing options for cash-strapped countries. But just how many emerging markets have benefitted from these initiatives?

In recent years, Papua New Guinea has moved away from its long-held policy of tariff reductions, towards import substitution and self-sufficiency. As the coronavirus pandemic underlines vulnerabilities in public finances and international supply chains, efforts to scale up local industrial production are likely to take on renewed importance, as is the need to reduce exposure to unsustainable debt.

Papua New Guinea’s foreign currency reserves are being put under renewed pressure by the coronavirus pandemic, but there is hope that gold exports could partially offset falling prices and lower demand in other commodity markets. 

Papua New Guinea confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on March 20, involving a foreign mine worker in Morobe Province. This prompted the government to declare a two-week state of emergency commencing March 24, which has since been extended by two months.