Foreign organisations and individuals wishing to invest in PNG have been told to abide by the country’s laws and procedures.
New Britain Palm Oil country manager, Robert Nilkare, made the firm call during a panel discussion yesterday following the launch of the The Report: Papua New Guinea 2016, by the Oxford Business Group (OBG).
Nilkare said foreign investors must follow procedures and laws when applying to do business.
“My message to investors coming in, don’t come through the back door!
“Investors who want to come in, you come through the front door, do the right thing (and) pay your taxes.
“Look, Papua New Guinea is a place full of resources, whether it’s in oil, gas, mining, or agriculture, and you know you make money, we make money and everyone succeeds,” said Nilkare.
OBG chief executive officer, Andrew Jeffreys, says the main theme of the report was to provide a clear and independent review of the country to encourage foreign investment.
And according to data presented by him, economic growth is expected with a positive outlook on commodity prices improving.
This is because of PNG’s diversified investor base which is expected to drive Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) above 4 percent through to 2020 and at an average of 3.6 percent between 2020 and 2035.
“What makes us cautiously optimistic about PNG’s investment prospects is a relatively diversified investor base. As an increasingly open economy, engaged in international trade,” said Jeffreys.
“The country has managed to spur a healthy competition amongst investors from Australia, Asia, Europe and the US. Although the share of the US seems dominant because of one landmark project, we see quite an even distribution in terms of number of investment projects per country.”
The investment opportunities in PNG are immense and Asian Development Bank country director, Marcelo Minc, says it is not only in the extractive industry.
“Well clearly the country has a lot of potential and a lot of resources, not only mineral and that’s something that I would tell them (investors) that there are other areas that can be developed,” said Minc.