The international position of Papua New Guinea has improved in recent years as the country continues to benefit from a number of positive trends. A stabilisation in commodity prices, strong output from the country’s major projects and an end to the El Niño drought have brought major trade indicators back into line. The lack of dollars and the...
While Papua New Guinea has a free and open economy, it is also a place where it can be exceedingly challenging to do business. General conditions are difficult, and some areas of administration and law can cause things to progress at a slow pace. The US State Department’s 2016 Investment Climate statement noted that the country “appears to...
Despite some weak headline numbers, Papua New Guinea’s economy is set to see a recovery in 2017. Depreciation of the kina and the shortage of US dollars have slowed imports and led to pockets of strength. Robust activity at the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) level and in the informal sector is being observed, while key statistics,...
Papua New Guinea was well prepared for the 2008 financial crisis, as it had reduced its debt and had some room to manoeuvre. The country’s obligations dropped from around 70% of GDP in the early 2000s to about 20% a decade later. This, in part, explains why the crisis was so short lived, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). However,...
While Papua New Guinea continues to account for the lion’s share of output among the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific region with 60%, concerns remain that modest economic growth could have a knock-on effect on the country’s capacity to achieve sustainable development in the long term.
Getting the books to balance will be a significant challenge for Papua New Guinea going forward. Although the country has made some deep cuts in expenditures, it will be years before the government takes in as much as it needs to operate. The authorities have few options in the short term other than carefully balancing interests. As it works...
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