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With a low penetration rate of below 2%, Papua New Guinea’s insurance sector has significant growth potential. The economy is expected to benefit from a range of new extractive projects and this, coupled with growing awareness about the benefits of insurance coverage, is set to increase demand. However, some notable challenges will need to be addressed to ensure the long-term...

Two of the biggest trends in global insurance in recent years are premium growth in emerging markets and the rising importance of technology across the supply chain. The latter has come to be referred to as insurtech, a potentially disruptive trend that heralds both threats to and opportunities for incumbents and newcomers alike. While technological solutions are being applied...

One of the main aims of Papua New Guinea’s banking sector is to foster the development of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In emerging markets such as PNG, MSMEs play a critical role in economic growth. However, the expansion of small businesses has been slow in comparison to other countries in the region – there are an estimated 49,500 small and medium-...

The banks of the Asia-Pacific region have been subject to successive waves of regulatory changes in recent years. Remaining compliant with strengthened anti-money laundering rules, know-your-customer guidelines and a raft of sustainability and transparency initiatives proved to be a resource-consuming process for the region’s lending institutions.

In an effort to diagnose limitations across Papua New Guinea’s banking industry, a joint review team has conducted a comprehensive health check of the financial ecosystem. Following a series of intensive studies by the World Bank and IMF beginning in 2011, as well as efforts by the Department of Treasury and the Bank of PNG (BPNG), bottlenecks were identified in a handful of...