Emmanuel MAIPE

The BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) has once again come on board to support the staging of the annual Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) PNG Conference for another year. “BSP Financial Group has a long-standing relationship with the Certified Practicing Accounts (CPA) of PNG and is pleased to continue that by supporting the annual CPA PNG Conference for another year,” says BSP Head of Financial Reporting, Douna Vaname. As the biggest financial institution in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Accounting Profession is just one of many that BSP supports. Human Resources through the PNGHRI and Internal Institute of Auditors are among other various professional bodies. “BSP has over 100 Certified Practicing Accountants within the organization, and we are pleased to be part of an event that promotes professional development through such affiliations and conferences. In fact, we have supported this annual conference for 32 years consecutively,” said BSP Head of Financial Reporting, Douna Vaname. “Since 1992, BSP has assisted with over a million kina in sponsorships to date. We are proud to support the 2023 Certified Practicing Accountants Annual Conference with a Gold Sponsorship of K50, 000.” The main CPA conference is set to take place in Port Moresby from the 24th to 25th of November 2023. Conferences in Buka and Lae have already taken place. CPA PNG Executive Director, Yuwak Tau, said CPA is committed to training and developing accountants in PNG. The Annual CPA PNG Conferences see the CPA PNG body meet to develop and enhance a worldwide accountancy standard as a member of the International Federation of Accountants in PNG. “Accountants continue to take up leadership roles in their respective organizations. I would like to acknowledge the continuous support of BSP Financial Group Limited. The support that we continue to receive not only helps us to run our events but also promotes integrity, professionalism, and positive influence in our respective workplace. Thank you very much and we look forward to the event in November,” Tau added. Over 12, 000 affiliated members have attended the conference in the last five years and CPA PNG membership continues to grow attracting graduates and raising the quality of CPA PNG reputation.

There is still more life left in one of the oldest mines in the country, the Ok Tedi Mine in the Star Mountains of the Western province, with the Board of Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) recently approving in principle a further mine life extension from 2033 to 2050. This marks a significant milestone for OTML, its shareholders and for Papua New Guinea (PNG) in general and is a sign of the confidence the Board has in the company's ability to deliver over the next two decades. The approval was based on the latest Strategic Business Plan submitted by the Executive Leadership Team and discussed during the OTML Board meeting held in Tabubil on 13th September 2023. This extension brings to life OTML’s Vision to operate with excellence, maximizing the value of the mineral resource in an environmentally friendly way, to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits to the mine communities and the people of PNG. Several factors have enabled the extension including a strengthened long-term copper price outlook, additional mine waste management solutions such as Engineered Waste Rock Dumps and a Tailings Storage Facility to minimize impact on the environment, renewal of aged processing plant assets and implementation of other strategic projects that are currently in various stages of completion. "The approval by the Board on the eve of PNG’s 48th Independence anniversary is a welcomed gift to the communities in which we operate and who provide us the social license to continue, as well as to the people of PNG," said the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Kedi Ilimbit. "The revised mine life will see the company generate in excess of K30 billion in dividends, royalties, compensation payments, and taxes for the benefit of OTML’s shareholders, communities and Papua New Guinea as a whole over the next 27 years." Jeffrey Innes, Chairman of the OTML Board, also shared his optimism about the company's future. "The latest Strategic Business Plan gives the Board confidence in OTML's continued operational success,” he said. “OTML has tripled its value in the last six years and the outlook is a positive one. The mine life extension reaffirms OTML's commitment to sustainable growth, economic prosperity, and community well-being supported by environmental sustainability, community development and operational excellence.

The Mining Minister, Sir Ano Pala has come out to brush aside a recent media report stating that the most talked about opening of the New Porgera Mine in the Enga province, was an empty promise made by the government. Sir Pala in a statement said that the National Government is committed to ensuring that the Porgera Mining Project commences operations before the end of this year and the slight delay was due to technical issues. He explained that the government was ready to grant the Special Mining Lease (SML) on 16th September, signaling the re-start of the mine. However, in the weeks leading up to that date, the Mining Advisory Council (MAC) identified a few technical issues that the applicant New Porgera Limited (NPL), needed to address in their application. He said the issues were flagged with NPL, adding that the MAC had received a response from NPL on this matter. He also assured that the MAC will deliberate on the response from NPL immediately. We want the project to re-open as soon as possible. This is because of the expected boost to the country's economy. However, as a responsible government, we must make sure that all regulatory requirements are met, and all laws of the land are abided by, said the Minister. The minister would be making a submission to cabinet at the end of this month to have the SML granted. Meanwhile, the Acting Managing Director of the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), Mr. Jerry Garry said the MRA and its line agencies, had been conducting two separate but related processes in parallel. These are the regulatory aspect of the project and the Community Development Agreement (CDA) initial consultations. He said on the regulatory front, which is basically the assessment of the SML application by NPL, the MAC met two weeks ago to deliberate on the application. It was then that they discovered the issues with the application. Mr. Garry said on the CDA front, landowners and stakeholders had submitted their position papers to the State. A State team is currently going through the position papers to incorporate them into a matrix in preparation for the actual negotiations. The negotiations will begin in about two weeks from now. He further explained that because the two processes were separate and running parallel to each other, the SML could be granted ahead of the completion of CDA process. Now this means that the mine could re- start operating once the SML is granted, and the CDA process would continue as the mine operates.

The world is currently in the phase of transitioning from the use of fossil fuel to renewable energy sources to drive economic growth as countries opt to green energy usage. For countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG), this transition phase is making its way in slowly because the country is very much dependent on the production of hydrocarbons like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and oil to support its economy, and supply to markets that are still in demand of it, but who are making efforts to transition as well. However, the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy has its perks, something which PNG would eventually experience, probably in the next 10 to 15 years as the country makes its transition in to tapping into the greener energy sources. According to the Vise Minister for Petroleum and Energy Mr. Thomas Opa, the rapid scale of allowing the development of new energy sources like hydrogen and ammonia, means a growing demand for skilled workers. “The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has calculated that between 2012 and 2020, nearly 5 million jobs were created in renewable energy along,” said the vise minister. “Renewables will create more jobs than fossil fuels and for PNG, this will happen soon as we drive just energy transition.” He explained that this is because energy transition will require change in workforce skills, set with more capacity building around the areas of new and renewable climate and environmentally friendly technology that comes with the energy transition. Vise Minister Opa said this during the recent Petroleum and Energy Conference held in the city of Port Moresby.

Things are moving quickly in terms of preparations for the 13th World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) to be hosted it in the city of Port Moresby for the first time, with the aim to create opportunities for more Papua New Guinean businesses to tap into the international market. The Acting Secretary for the Department of International Trade and Investments (DITI), Mrs. Jacinta Warakai- Manua said the WIBF is an important event for Papua New Guinea (PNG) because it will provide a great platform to connect and discuss international business opportunities with indigenous businesses from Africa, North and South America, Asia and the Pacific. “It facilitates indigenous businesses, and it also includes a trade show where our indigenous owners, both from Papua New Guinea as well as overseas, will showcase their products, and of course, their goods and services.” Said the Acting Secretary. “The World Indigenous Business Forum brings our attention to the development of indigenous businesses around the world.” Giving a brief history of the WIBF, Acting Secretary Manua said the Forum started in 2011 in New York City in the United States of America (USA) and it has been to twelve countries and now, it’s coming to PNG. “Papua New Guinea was granted the hosting right to host the World Indigenous Business Forum by the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute in Bogota, Colombia in 2022.” “We thank the then Vice Minister of International Trade and Investment, Kessy Sawang, for the successfully winning the bid to bring the World Indigenous Business Forum to Papua New Guinea.” The WIBF will be hosted in Port Moresby from the 24th to the 26th of October and is expected draw in over 600 participants from with the country and from overseas. Mrs. Manua said there are just five more weeks to go before the hosting of the international Forum. The National Government is fully supporting the WIBF and has put in K2 million already to support its hosting. The event will cost about K7 million to host, and the DITI continues to raise funds to go towards its financing. Just recently, the Department hosted a Sponsors Night to raise further funding, where the National Capital District Commission (NCDC), through Governor Powes Parkop, pledged K1 million to support the hosting of the 13th WIBF.

The first maritime patrol between the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Papua New Guinea (PNG) security personnel to strengthen regional security and resource management in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was deemed a success after concluding. Building on the recently ratified bilateral agreement to counter illicit transnational maritime activities, the U.S. Coast Guard joined hands with PNG agencies – the Defence Force, Customs Services, National Fisheries Authority (NFA), and the Department of Transport's Maritime Security Division – to make this historic operation a reality. Ship-riders from PNG agencies spent a cumulative 10 days countering illegal maritime activities, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Notable achievements of the patrol include: Six contact and observation reports of fishing vessels made within the PNG EEZ, including a notable vessel monitoring system violation leading to immediate action from the National Fisheries Authority in which the vessel was fined for failing to operate their VMS in accordance with PNG requirements. Four bilateral boarding conducted on foreign fishing vessels targeting tuna in the PNG EEZ, which showed no violations but served to regulate activities in PNG’s EEZ, deter illegal activity and enhance knowledge concerning the compliance of foreign flagged fishing fleet operating in PNG’s EEZ. Intensive planning sessions leading to the enhanced use of maritime domain awareness tools and the development of strategies. A subject matter exchange on law enforcement took place aboard USCGC Myrtle Hazard, involving multiple PNG partner agencies. Cultural exchanges, including sharing customs, traditions, and histories. The operations, led by PNG and supported by the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Coast Guard upon invitation from the PNG Government, reinforced the importance of the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.

The National Capital District Commission (NCDC), as co- host of the upcoming World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF), has pitched in with K1 million funding support to the Ministry for International Trade and Investments for the hosting of the event. The NCD Governor, Powes Parkop said the WIBF is an important event because of the opportunities it will bring in for the local business owners and entrepreneurs, something that the governor wants to see happen. “We are ready to have a successful World Indigenous Forum, the K1 million basically is to support the opening ceremony,” said Governor Parkop. “We mean business, we’ll do our part to support the government and its efforts. We can’t get the outcome that we want either at the national level, sub- national or local level, if you don’t do the investment, if we don’t put the money; this is a serious national outcome that we must support.” Parkop said the NCDC is supporting this event because of two reasons, one is its significance is assisting the local businesses in the city and the country progress from informal businesses to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), to bigger businesses and enterprises. He said that at a time where small businesses are finding it tough, such a forum will help a lot of businesses excel by learning from the experiences of other, especially from the international community. The other reason behind the NCDC supporting the WIBF, was the potential of it promoting Port Moresby as the capital city and gateway to Papua New Guinea (PNG). Parkop said it’s about promoting “Amazing Port Moresby” to the rest of the world. The WIBF is a major international event second to the APEC Summit. This year is the 13th year of the event and PNG was granted the approval to host it in October in Port Moresby. Over 600 participants are expected to attend, coming in from as far as Canada and the United States of America (USA) and from PNG itself, to engage in dialogues and exposition, share experiences, ideas and make connections. NCDC will also be staging side events, including cultural events, coinciding with the WIBF from the 24th to the 26th of October. The Department of International Trade and Investments will host the WIBF at a cost of K6 million to K7 million.

The Minister for International Trade and Investments wants to see more investments in the energy sector in order to see a reduction in the cost of electricity, so to boost production and improving the general economic status of the country. Minister Richard Maru, when giving his keynote speech at the last day of the 2023 Petroleum and Energy in Port Moresby today, said the cost of electricity in doing business is another factor apart from the law-and-order situation that is affecting the business sector, with the high costs of things being passed on to the public. The high cost of energy is also chasing away potential investors from entering the economy. Maru said it would be difficult for an investor to start operations in the country, whether in the agriculture or mining and petroleum sectors, because there might not be any good returns from their investment capital. That is why Minister Maru wants to see more investors tapping into the energy sector and developing it. Taking the example from the Chinese private investment in the Edevu Hydro Dam in the Central province, Maru said there is enough resources in the country that can make way for even clean and green energy production, which would lead to lost cost energy. He said other nations have managed to reduce the cost of energy and Papua New Guinea (PNG) should be learning from them. “We need to get the cost of electricity down to compatible rates like Thailand, China and Indonesia, whom we are going to complete with,” said the minister. “I’m looking for solutions to how the electricity industry can come up with outcomes like cheap energy, which is compatible clean energy.” Maru wants to see a plan formulated through the Conference and other similar meetings in the future on ways forward to having clean and cheap energy. “So, for us as government, we need to seriously look at how we incentivize investors, make it attractive for others to invest in this sector (energy).” “I will be interested in hearing some of the outcomes on your proposals on what we should do to attract investors,” Mr. Maru said.

As part of reforms to the way things are being done in the country’s petroleum sector, the government intends to move from the present Concession Based Licensing system into a Production Sharing Arrangement system. Petroleum and Energy Minister, Kerenga Kua, said the first step the government will be doing to achieve this, is to introduce a bill in parliament to establish a National Petroleum Authority. “This authority will be charged with the administration and management of the Oil and Gas Act,” said the minister. “The National Petroleum Authority within due course will administer and manage the production sharing arrangement.” The government expects this new National Petroleum Authority in operation by end of the first quarter of 2024. The next is to introduce a new Constitutional Law to be known as the Organic Law on Petroleum Production Sharing, and this would set up the constitutional and legal foundation for the new Production Sharing regime. He explained that the Production Sharing provisions of this law will not apply to Bougainville. “Nor do they apply to oil and gas developments like PNG LNG, Papua LNG, P’nyang LNG, which are projects under existing gas development agreements.” The other legislative components for the Petroleum Production Sharing reform agenda to be developed by the government are the Petroleum Production Sharing Act, a national content Petroleum Act and a Domestic Market Obligation Act. “One of the physical benefits this petroleum production circuit breaker will bring to the nation is the opportunity to review and increase our royalty take from our petroleum projects," said Kua. "Further more, the recipients of royalty, in particular our landowners and the provincial governments, will be much better off from the steps we are now taking." The minister also assured the investors that there is nothing to fear in the government taking this step. "With this in mind, Papua New Guinea continues to see itself as a favourable destination for foreign investments and it will act to encourage foreign investors to our shores to obtain a fair return on your investment capital."

Papua New Guinea (PNG) will continue with production and investments in the resource sector for energy supply despite the world making efforts to transition to a more cleaner and greener energy sources in the future. This, Prime Minister (PM) James Marape said is because the LNG is a more cleaner source of energy than the other hydrocarbons and also the government is venturing into potential clean energy sources that the country can tap into in the near future. Although the global community is transitioning, PM Marape said there will still be some major economies out there that will still demand for gas for energy production, hence until the world makes a drastic switch to green energy, the demand for LNG will continue to exist. This, he said means that there is still more space for investments in the resource sector of Papua New Guinea. Therefore, he is urging foreign investors to look into potential areas to develop. The upcoming Papua LNG project and the other gas projects in the pipeline to be developed, is a testimony of this. Nevertheless, PM Marape stated that the clean energy sources are also available in the country such as hydro, wind and thermal energies that investors can also tap into to generate. "We are ready to promote all forms, including green energy," said the PM. Meanwhile, PNG is in a strategic location in the Asia Pacific region and is able to continue to meeting the demands of the Asian market with energy supply. The PM made this statement at the official opening of the 2023 Petroleum and Energy Conference this morning at the Hilton Hotel, Port Moresby.

It's finals time for the Moni Plus Port Moresby AFL 2023 Premiership Cup challenge with the major semi- final and the preliminary final scheduled for next weekend at the Colts Oval. Port Moresby AFL Association President, Mr. Douglas Lai said the major semi- final match will be between the Gereka Bombers and the Gordons Kokofas, while the preliminary final will be played out between the Gerehu Magpies and the Lamana Dockers. “The winner of the major semi- final will advance to the grand final and the looser will play winner of the preliminary final. The looser of the preliminary final will bow out of the series,” said the president. The major semi- final along with the minor semi- final matches will take place on the 23rd of September, while the preliminary final will be played out on the 30th of September. The grand final will be played out on the 07th of October. Meanwhile, the Port Moresby AFL Association will not be holding any matches this weekend in respect to the date of the country’s independence and also celebrate the country’s 48th Independence Anniversary.

President Joe Biden will mark the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington at a memorial ceremony in Alaska with members of the military, first responders and their families, the White House said Monday. The commemoration will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage and is expected to include units from the Air Force, the Army, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserves and others. Biden will stop in Alaska while returning from the Group of 20, or G-20, summit of world leaders in New Delhi, India. Before arriving in Alaska, Biden plans to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sept. 10 and meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other key leaders to discuss ways to deepen cooperation between the United States and Vietnam, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of a technology-focused Vietnamese economy, expand ties through education exchanges and workforce development programs, combat climate change and increase peace, prosperity and stability in the region, Jean-Pierre said. Nearly 3,000 people died when terrorists hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. Another hijacked plane believed to be headed for the U.S. Capitol crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 people on board. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will participate in a commemoration ceremony at National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. First lady Jill Biden will lay a wreath at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial to honor the lives lost on 9/11. Source:ustoday.com