PNG-Asia Investment Conference

Sessions 1-4 were concluded yesterday on day one of the conferences, with Prime Minister James Marape welcoming investors to PNG before departing for Beijing, China.

Minister Maru, who was instrumental in the hosting of this conference in Asia, is headlining session five with the topic: “PNG ready for investment”.

Kumul Consolidated Holdings, PNG Hydro Development, FAO PNG and the Investment Promotion Authority will be presenting throughout the day, with the program set to end at 3.40pm (HKT).

XCMG is a Chinese state-owned company that specialises in building machinery for export to the world.

Prime Minister Marape informed Vice President of XCMG, Hanson Liu that PNG has an independent and robust judiciary that would protect the company's investment interests in the country.

He said the Government, no matter who was in power, always honours contracts between investors and the State, ensuring they were free from undue political influences.

While the Sydney conferences focus on minerals and energy resources, the inaugural Hong Kong conference now takes into account forestry, agriculture, tourism and fisheries.

This was evident in today’s session 4 at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, where the regional chief executive officer of Sime Darby Plantation’s Upstream Operation, Malaysia, Nik Mazia Nik Mustapha, said “there is something unique and interesting that PNG has to offer”.

“You are able to garner the confidence of investors coming from all these different industries and sectors,” she said.

Speaking at the opening of the PNG-Asia Investment Conference, he told the over 400 attendees at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel that PNG is stepping up to be “investor-friendly”, and is reforming its policies and legislation to encourage an environment that allows for investment.

“Amid – sometimes – the negativity that has been in the public space, it is a success story,” he stated.