According to Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) chairman Leon Buskens, New Ireland has received K460 million in foreign investment in the previous six years, with Namantanai accounting for 80% of it.
Buskens, who recently presided at the inauguration of a Bank South Pacific branch in Namatanai, claimed that according to IPA investment data from 2014 to 2020, Namatanai received 80% of foreign investment. According to him, forestry, the Lihir gold mine, and the Simberi mine have accounted for roughly K340 million in foreign investment in Namatanai during the previous six years.
“Namatanai is a powerhouse in PNG so let’s work together because we have a good leader and we have a bright future,” he said.
Namatanai administrator Neville Tomon said the community has gone nearly two decades without financial services.
“The people of Namatanai witnessed the return of banking services with the launching of the high breed branch of (BSP) BSP Financial Group Ltd,” he said.
“We are now on equal footing with other districts in terms of banking facilities.
“The former PNG Banking Corporation and BSP provided banking services at the sub-branch status in the early 1990s but withdrew due to no businesses in Namatanai.
“We had the Asians joining the business community in Namatanai but without a bank.
“We have done something positive that hasn’t been done before and that is to create a business environment to reconsider the bank’s position and return with its high breed branch facility and other products like automated teller machines, loans, and other facilities.
“I’m pleased to announce that the business arm of Namatanai development authority, Walter’s Farming Association Buying Point, has increased the cash circulation in our district. As a result, our small farmers (especially women) have the cash they didn’t have before and they are putting food on the table instead of their male counterparts.”
Reference: The National (23 August 2021). “Authority: New Ireland attracts K460mil in foreign investment”
