PRIME Minister James Marape has urged Australian-owned businesses not to miss out on the next 10-year window of investment opportunities in Papua New Guinea.
Speaking at the Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference in Brisbane, Marape said PNG is entering an important decade of economic expansion, major resource projects, infrastructure development and closer integration with regional markets.
“If you’re already in PNG, get entrenched. If you’re wanting to come to PNG, come now. The next 10-year window might close on you,” Marape said.
Marape said Australian missionaries were among the earliest Australians to live and work in Papua New Guinea, followed by prospectors and businesses attracted by gold and other opportunities, and later Australian government
“Our history is deep. We have depth of relationship, people to people through churches, social activities
and sport, business to business, and government to government. This long relationship must now be translated into a stronger economic partnership,” said PM Marape.
The Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference is an annual event held in Australia which targets Australian and international businesses and investors to invest in Papua New Guinea.
Marape said the Australia–Papua New Guinea relationship extended far beyond Independence in 1975 and had been built over generations through churches, business, government and people-to-people connections.
He described the historical relationship through what he called the “three Gs”, God, Gold and Government.
“We want Papua New Guinea to be a place where all investors, local and international, make a fair return on their investments as our country moves into the next 50 years,” he said.
The Prime Minister presented an economic and revenue data that highlighted the transformation of PNG’s economy since Independence.
He said PNG began Independence with a very small economic and revenue base but had grown substantially despite political instability, natural disasters, global economic shocks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marape said the National Budget has now exceeded K30 billion, compared with approximately K300 million at Independence.
He said an important feature of recent economic performance was increasing activity outside the traditional mining and petroleum sectors.
