It is difficult to attract American companies to come and invest in Papua New Guinea (PNG) if they continue to go through the frustrations of establishing themselves in PNG, says The United States (US) Ambassador to PNG, Her Excellency Ann Marie Yastishock. Ambassador Yastishock made this statement today in her meeting with the Minister for International Trade and Investment, Hon. Richard Maru.
Ambassador Yastishock said: “A classic example is StarLink. StarLink was promised a license in January this year. We are now in August and they still have not had their approval. One of the big sticking points for US and the US companies is ease of doing business and it is not always easy to do business here in PNG. So, the questions are: What do we do to attract those American businesses to come to PNG? How do we get NICTA to approve StarLink License that would reduce the cost of internet access which will be helpful to communities who do not have access to the internet? It is difficult to understand why it is very difficult to get approval in PNG when Pacific Island countries like Tonga and Fiji have approved StarLink which has brought down the cost of internet access big time.”
Ambassador Yastishock further stated: “There is a lot PNG can offer including the population and the landmass, and it sits in a place between ASEAN, South East Asia and the Pacific, and it is a member of the APEC. We have American businesses already operating in the country including Exxon Mobil, Hilton, Marriot, and Newmont that has now started up. We are also talking to some other American companies about coming to PNG but it is these little stumbling blocks that frustrates American companies. Without dealing with issues like this and the Government not being able to help us we cannot attract American businesses to come and operate in PNG to help drive the cost of doing business down, create employment, and help drive economic growth.”
Minister Maru in response said: “American companies have a good reason to be frustrated. This is unacceptable. We need competition and we need to drive the cost of doing business down in the country, including internet cost. Our consumers should be the most important factor. We need to drive the cost of doing business down in this country and make it affordable. PNG has one of the highest costs of doing business and when American companies are willing to help us to offer critical services, we are just frustrating them.”
It is understood that the Ombudsman Commission has stopped NICTA from issuing the license because of some investigations which has taken over eight months while the country and the consumers have been held at ransom.
