Capital Markets

Papua New Guinea has made strides in recent years to expand its capital markets and promote liquidity. However, the performance of the country’s stock exchange – which changed its name to PNGX Markets in July 2019 – has been affected by a series of economic disruptions. The 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck PNG in February 2018 contributed to a contraction in economic activity for most of the year, following steady growth in 2017. Extractive industries suffered extensive damage, but fears of a recession had dissipated by the end of 2018 as macroeconomic recovery led to an uptick in market activity for the last few months of the year. Political unrest after the resignation of long-serving Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in May 2019 generated concern over future investment. However, the new government, led by Prime Minister James Marape, is now in a position to strengthen the national economy through the capital markets. This chapter also contains an interview with Anthony Smaré, Chairman, Nambawan Super.