PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT
2.4 Ease of doing business PNG was ranked 104th overall in the World Bank’s 2013 Doing Business rankings, out of 185 world economies. PNG’s 2013 rankings in the survey’s ten individual categories were as follows:
Category
2013
2012
+/-
91
87
-4
Dealing with Construction Permits 159
152
-7
Registering Property
88
84
-4
Getting Credit
83
97
+14
Protecting Investors
49
46
-3
Paying Taxes
106
101
-5
Trading Across Borders
120
117
-3
Enforcing Contracts
166
165
-1
Getting Electricity
23
25
+2
Resolving Insolvency
125
123
-2
Starting a Business
The PNG Government has expressed its concern at PNG’s place in the World Bank rankings and its Investment Promotion Authority has embarked on a project with the assistance of the International Finance Corporation to improve these standings. One of the outcomes is online business registration, expected in the second half of 2013.
2.5 Trade PNG is a member of the Word Trade Organisation (WTO) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It is also signatory to a number of trade agreements, including the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER), the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific/European Union Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) free trade agreement.
According to Bank of Papua New Guinea figures, in 2012 the value of PNG’s exports shrank dramatically by 22% on the previous year to 12.76 billion kina (US$5.7 billion)—the lowest figure since 2009’s global financial crisis—mainly due to falling agricultural and forestry demand and prices. Even so, the country enjoyed a positive balance of trade of 3.6 billion kina (US$2.697 billion). Indeed, PNG has had a positive balance of trade since 1993. In 2012, Australia was PNG’s number one export market, taking 44.2% of its exports, followed by Japan (21%), Germany (6.6%), the Netherlands (4.3%), China (4.6%), the Philippines (3.1%), Singapore (1.8%), the United States (1.7%) and the United Kingdom (1.7%).
PNG exports in 2012, in million kina Sector
Value
Annual growth rate
Agricultural exports
2676.5
-29.4%
Mineral exports
9306.1
-19.5%
Forestry exports
569
-25.9%
Marine exports
215.4
-17.1%
Source: Bank of Papua New Guinea
2.5.2 Imports According to Bank of Papua New Guinea provisional figures, in 2012 the value of PNG’s imports was 9.17 billion kina (US$4.1 billion). PNG’s largest import market was Australia, which provided 40.8% of all PNG’s imports, followed by the United States (19.5%), Singapore (14.6%), Japan (4.2%) and Singapore (3%). The four largest categories of imports in 2012 were machinery and transport equipment (35.5% of total import value), miscellaneous manufactured articles (19.9%), mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (19.5%), and food and live animals (9.2%).
2.5.1 Exports According to figures published by the Asian Development Bank, the value of PNG’s exports grew from 40% to 51% of GDP between 2000 and 2012. Exports of gold, copper, and oil led this growth, and account for about two-thirds of total export earnings.
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THE PNG INVESTORS’ MANUAL - THIRD EDITION