The Minister for International Trade and Investment, Hon. Richard Maru says Papua New Guinea (PNG) needs investments in all sectors and not just in the mining and petroleum sector. Minister Maru said this after hosting of the inaugural PNG-Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong on October 16-17, 2023.
“We need investments across all sectors in order to create jobs. From the presentations at the PNG-Asia Investment Conference, we learnt that ExxonMobil PNG only has 3, 000 employees after construction phase whilst New Britain Palm Oil which is the biggest agriculture company in PNG has 29, 000 permanent employees. We also learnt that one fish cannery can create 5, 000 jobs. If we have ten canneries in the PMIZ we will create over 50, 000 new jobs. The agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and the manufacturing sector will provide mass creation of jobs. That is why we are going to China to look for investors to come and invest in this space, and we also continue to encourage local investors to partner such investors. Our biggest national challenge is unemployment. We have the highest level of unemployment since independence. Our state of law and order is largely attributed to our very high level of unemployment. This is why we are desperately trying to market our country as an investment destination, and we are specifically looking for investors to come and invest in the critical sectors that will create more jobs,” said Minister Maru.
“The extractive sector brings in the revenue and we must re-invest it in the non-extractive sector to create jobs and for an inclusive and sustainable economic development,” added Minister Maru.
Minister Maru said the hosting of PNG- Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong was a start of a new beginning in PNG’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China.
“China is our most important trading partner with two-way trade of approximately K15 billion each year and growing. With more mining and petroleum projects coming on board, China will continue to be our biggest market in the future. This conference is well overdue, and our decision to host the conference in Hong Kong is the start of a new beginning in our relationship with China. We want to take our relationship to the next level and anchor the future of our relationship on trade and investment. We know that China will continue to be a big market for our goods with trade currently in our favour,” said Minister Maru.
Minister Maru said PNG was serious with its relationship with the People’s Republic of China.
“Our decision to host the inaugural PNG-Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong, the one-week State visit of our Prime Minister, Hon. James Marape to China for the Belt and Road Initiative Leaders Meeting in Beijing, the commencement of the joint feasibility study this week for a possible Free Trade Agreement between PNG and China, the first direct flight between Port Moresby and Guangzhou expected to take place in December this year, and the opening of a trade mission in Shenzhen early next year should be a statement to the Government and the people of China that PNG really wants to strengthen and deepen its relationship with China,” said Minister Maru.
Minister Maru said he was happy with the outcome of the inaugural PNG-Asia Investment Conference that was hosted in Hong Kong from October 16-17, 2023.
“Papua New Guinea is now walking across Asia and entering into meaningful partnership with China and other countries in the region to secure export markets for our products including our Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). China is an economic powerhouse and Papua New Guinea must establish a closer relationship with China for mutual benefit,” said Minister Maru.
“We have to consolidate and deepen our relationship with China in order to secure future market not only for our resource industries but also our non-extractive industries of forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and manufacturing,” added Minister Maru.
Minister Maru said the next PNG-Asia Investment Conference will be hosted in mainland China in 2025.
“I look forward to it been even bigger and better having learnt from all our experiences in our first ever PNG-Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong,” said Minister Maru.
