PNG business news at a glance

PNG BUSINESS AT A GLANCE

BY GABRIELLA MUNOZ & DAVID JAMES

Online shopping portal teams with Kina Bank

One of Papua New Guinea’s key online shopping portals, Jungle, has joined forces with Kina Bank to provide a secure and reliable payment system.

Jungle (jungle.com.pg) was launched earlier this year and sells a range of goods, including electronics, hardware, clothing, books and furniture.

Jungle says Kina Bank’s Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) provides shoppers with peace of mind. “Kina Bank’s IPG will ensure a safe transaction process between the customer and the store, every time.”

Demetri Allayialis, co-founder of Jungle, says: “We want all Papua New Guineans, regardless of their location, to have access to the same quality products as people in the cities.”

He says introducing online shopping to the PNG market has made Jungle a significant part of the nation’s ongoing digital development.

“E- commerce will enable cross-border trade and active economic participation for Papua New Guinean SMEs for the first time.

“Online shopping will give everyone the chance to receive quality products straight from the Highlands, such as our local honey or a popular meri blouse. This emerging new digital landscape will put PNG on the international e-commerce map and open up a world of new business opportunities,” he says.

Kina Bank’s IPG platform is the first in PNG to accept locally issued cards, meaning customers have the freedom to browse and shop across the site using a standard local bank-issued card of their choice. Visa and Mastercard are also accepted.

Meat ban in 2025

PNG has nominated 2025 as the year to stop importing meat products into the country.

The Livestock Development Corporation is planning to revive rundown cattle, piggery and poultry farms in different provinces to achieve this goal.

Signs of optimism

There are signs of optimism in the Papua New Guinea business community, according to a survey of market conditions by the

Business Council of

Papua New Guinea.

It suggests that, while the pandemic has exacted a severe financial toll, businesses have now “settled” and are navigating the challenges of the new environment. Although 60% of businesses did not meet their projected results in the last quarter of 2020, 44% are expecting revenue growth in the next six months, while only 25% are expecting revenue decline.

Fast-track for foreign workers

A single application process for visas and work permits for foreign nationals is being developed by the country’s Immigration and Citizenship Authority (ICA).

The move is one of a number of innovations planned to improve international labour mobility.

It can take up to six months currently for foreigners to get the necessary paperwork to work in PNG.

The ICA is also looking at waiving the requirement for workers to leave PNG when they need to renew their visa. Instead, visas will be reissued in-country on a case-by-case basis.

The ICA is also considering a premium service for larger employers.

The ICA believes that when people move, the economy thrives and that when borders are closed, it affects the economy negatively.

Help for SMEs

The BSP Financial Group is stepping up to help the operators of SMEs.

The Group General Manager of Retail Banking for the BSP, Daniel Faunt, says financial literacy is one of the “biggest challenges” for the SME sector.

He says that the lack of basic financial knowledge, combined with the perception of it being “difficult to deal with banks,” are two of the main reasons SMEs find it hard to access loans.

BSP is trying to address these hurdles. The bank has dedicated SME centres in Lae, Goroka and Port Moresby, and has partnered with entities such as the Asian Development Bank and the United States Embassy to deliver financial literacy programs. Since 2013, the bank has delivered the program to 135,000 people.

BSP is also trying to create an environment where SMEs can access bank loans more easily. This includes using bank statements, which are easier to obtain and track, instead of audited and unaudited financial reports as the basis for loan applications for a small business.

The bank also recently reduced its equity requirement on SME loans from 30% to 10%.