Asia Economy

With macroeconomic growth slumping and domestic demand weakening in the aftermath of a long construction boom, trade and investment in Papua New Guinea have faltered in recent years. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in non-extractive industries has been low, while domestic challenges – notably including the ongoing foreign exchange shortage, import dependency, currency...

The bold National Trade Policy (NTP) 2017-32 – approved by the National Executive Council in April 2017 and unveiled in August that year – aims to rebalance Papua New Guinea’s trade flows, protect domestic producers and provide new incentives to local manufacturing investors.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to radically transform a vast swathe of trade and transport infrastructure throughout Eurasia and Africa, which will have significant effects on how Asia does business with the world and vice versa.

The future remains somewhat uncertain for Papua New Guinea. The economic downturn resulting from lower global commodity prices and the completion of the PNG LNG project have led to some in criticism of the current administration, with accusations of mismanagement.

Papua New Guinea is a vast archipelago, with the eastern half of New Guinea, the largest tropical island on Earth, and hundreds of smaller adjacent islands. Known for its unique flora and fauna, the country is famous for its environmental variety. However, with more than 850 languages spoken within its borders, it can also be considered one of the most culturally diverse...

Papua New Guinea’s chairmanship of APEC in 2018 comes at a time when the Pacific Island nation is still grappling with a foreign exchange shortage and high public debt, as well as persistent problems with law and order. Despite these challenges – and, in some quarters, grumblings that hosting APEC 2018 is an unnecessary drain on public...