Gathering of the who’s who of PNG business

More than 400 business leaders attended the Papua New Guinea Advantage Investment Summit.

Awho’s who of PNG business gathered at the end of August for the annual Papua New Guinea Advantage Investment Summit. This year held in Brisbane, Australia, the two-day summit was opened by PNG’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, and brought over 400 business leaders and government officials from 10 countries together to discuss investment opportunities in PNG.

Delegates were given detailed briefings on PNG’s economy by Prime Minister O’Neill, treasury secretary Dairi Vele and Bank of PNG governor Loi M Bakani, while panel discussions covered such topics as how PNG business can be more productive, investing in PNG and opportuntiies for overseas companies in PNG infrastructure.

A highlight was a discussion on the future of PNG’s gas sector, which featured senior representatives from all the major players: ExxonMobil, Total, Oil Search, Talisman/ Repsol and the National Petroleum Company of PNG.

The second day, opened in colourful fashion by Public Enterprises minister Ben Micah, was focused on developing PNG’s national infrastructure. It included presentations on PNG’s state-owned enterprises, and its plans for roads, electricity, ports and telecommunications. It closed with some compelling case studies from companies doing business in PNG, including Hawkins Construction, the builder of the high-profile Kumul Flyover in Port Moresby.

“It was one of the best PNG conferences I have ever attended,” Kina Group CEOP, Syd Yates, told the organisers, Business Advantage International and the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “This comes down to having an interesting program which reflects current topics, and quality speakers.”

“It was really informative and definitely worth attending,” agreed Helen HamiltonJames, managing partner at Deloitte PNG.

Down to business … the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill (top right); packed conference room (right); Geoff Hunt, the CEO of New Zealand’s Hawkins Group (above); leading executives in a panel discussion on ways to improve PNG’s productivity (top).

Eyes front … delegates listening to a speaker at the PNG Advantage Investment Summit (above); the summit’s expo in full swing (top right); representatives from the major players in LNG: ExxonMobil, Total, Oil Search, Repsol and the National Petroleum...