Trade Winds

□ Trans-Tasman Shipping Merger?

THE NEW ZEALAND Shipping Corpo ration is considering a merger with its Australian counterpart, the Australian National Line. Merger discussions be tween the two Government-owned ship ping companies were revealed in a speech yesterday to a Chartered Institute of Transport conference by the Corpora tion’s head of research and development, Tim Mac Kay.

In an address on deregulation in sea transport, Mr Mac Kay said close integra tion of New Zealand and Australian trade should be welcomed. Both countries were at the same end of the longest trade lanes in the world, had comparable commodity trade and depended heavily on favourable maritime transport services and rates.

The Australian National Line and the Corporation (which trades as the New Zealand Line) already run a joint Trans- Tasman service, Tranztas. Mr Mac Kay said the merger was one of a number of ra tionalisation options being studied by the Corporation.

□ Singapore Out In The Cold

SINGAPORE AIRLINES says it is “dis appointed” that the New Zealand Government hasn’t granted it a fourth service to New Zealand, but the airline welcomes Wellington’s decision to con sider a proposed formula that would per mit flights to increase automatically between the two countries to match de mand. Further discussions on the pro posal have been set down for early this year.

In a statement released in Wellington, Chew Tai Lu, general manager of Singa pore Airlines, said it was hoped an agree ment could be reached that would enable the airline to route a fourth service to New Zealand: further services could be added when needed.

According to Mr Chew, there is a “huge backlog” of up to 18,000 tourists over the peak period until February 28. New Zea land’s decision not to grant a fourth serv ice, he says, has “effectively stopped thousands of potential tourists”. □ RAN TO SURVEY NEW TRADE ROUTE A ROYAL AUSTRALIAN Navy ship will survey a new commercial shipping route between two of Papua New Guinea’s provincial capitals this year. HMAS Flin ders will survey a new, faster route be tween Port Moresby and Lae via the Star Reefs.

The survey is part of a five-year pro gram requested by the PNG Government to update and extend coverage of the country’s navigational charts, It is to be funded under Australia’s Kl 4 million per

year defence co-operation program with

Png.

□ Bougainville Mine Ban Lifted

A 17-YEAR-OLD moratorium on min eral and oil exploration in Papua New Guinea’s richest province could soon be lifted. The moratorium, imposed in 1971 following trouble on Bougainville Island with traditional landowners over the opening up of the Bougainville copper mine, should be lifted, according to Papua New Guinea’s Minerals and Energy Min ister, John Kaputin.

However, he is “extremely sensitive” to the concerns of the Bougainville people that led to the original moratorium being imposed and intends to hold talks with the province’s leaders before taking any action.

Bougainville Copper Limited’s Pan guna mine has only 10 to 15 years of op eration left and it is critical that the company be allowed to explore outside its present mine if it is to have time to develop another mine.

□ Joint Clothing Venture In Fiji

AN AUSTRALIAN firm is launching a multi-million dollar joint venture in Fiji to manufacture men’s clothing for Aus tralian and international markets. The project is the first of its kind to be an nounced in Fiji since the economic slump after two military coups and the procla mation of a Republic.

Chairman of the Stafford Group, Mr Maurice Lubansky, says his company and the Kelton Group in Fiji will acquire Na rotam Garments of Suva and use it as a base for the planned development. He pre dicts that the venture, costing around $A6.6 million, will become a world-class internationally competitive enterprise.

Plants are planned for the urban centres of Lautoka, Nadi, Da and Nausoir, even tually employing more than 2500.

□ Fiji Economy Fluctuating

FIJI WILL record a deficit of SUS 69 mil lion this year. According to the Minister for Economic Planning, Mr Isimeli Bose, the situation has been caused by a “down turn” in the country’s economy. The def icit will be $l5 million more than last year’s overall deficit of $54 million.

Officials say the gross domestic prod uct this year is expected to be 12 per cent lower than 1986 because of low sugar pro duction and a decline in tourist arrivals.

Sugar production is estimated at around 370,000 tonnes, with visitor arrivals esti mated at 190,000. Receipts from exports have increased from $2lB million to $238 million, but this is mainly because of the devaluation of the Fiji dollar.

Meanwhile, Fiji’s all-items industrial production index has increased by 63 per cent in the September quarter of 1987 in a rise largely linked to the resumption of sugar production.

A protest by sugar planters after the first military coup in May resulted in sugar production for the June quarter reaching only 403 tonnes.

The September quarter’s production figure was 187,000 tonnes, still well down on the record 239,000 tonnes produced in the third quarter of 1986.

Meanwhile, inflation in Fiji more than trebled in the 12 months to December. The Fiji Bureau of Statistics reported that a 1.2 per cent rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November set the annual infla tion rate 5.1 per cent. In November, 1986, it was 1.6 per cent. The CPI now stands at 112.4 on a base of 100 for average prices during 1985. Both inflation and the CPI have soared since the May coup.

The two devaluations of the $F since the first coup, totalling 33 per cent, have made imported goods much more expen sive. Lighting, food and clothing rose by 6.6 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.

□ Lome Convention Discussions

LEADERS FROM developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific have met in the European Community headquarters, Brussels, to review trade and assistance between Europe and the devel oping world. Ministers from 66 countries met under the chairmanship of Western Samoa’s Finance Minister, Mr Faasoo tauloa St Saili, to discuss criticisms of the newly revised Lome Convention, the agreement under which economic rela tionships is set out between the European Community and African, Caribbean and Pacific States the ACP.

Most observers describe the latest ver sion of the accord as an improvement in the level of trade concessions, but the ac cord has been criticised as not going far enough, especially in the area of stimulat ing large-scale industry in the ACP.

□ Png Corporation Investigated

PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S Finance Min ister has set up a committee to investigate allegations of malpractice in the opera tions of PNG’s semi-government Invest ment Corporation. The Minister, Mr Galeva Kwarara, suspended the Invest ment Corporation’s managing director, Mr Leo Hannet, and another senior officer in November, 1987, claiming the corporation had exceeded its authority by entering into contracts worth more than $ A 100,000 without his approval.

The investigating committee is to be headed by the managing director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation, Mr Mekere Morauta, while the other members will be the Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Sir Henry Torob ert, and a lawyer with the Law Reform Commission.

The committee’s terms of reference in clude questions relating to Mr Hannet’s recent sacking of two senior staff as well as the terms and conditions of certain expa triate officers of the corporation. A report is expected shortly.

□ China-Fiji Trade Links

CHINA says it will continue to maintain economic, scientific and technological agreements with Fiji. China’s acting Pre mier, Mr Li Peng, gave the undertaking during talks in Beijing with Fiji’s Foreign Minister, Mr Filipe M’Bole. Mr Peng said China was willing to develop friendly and co-operative relations with Fiji because they shared much in common as devel oping countries.

□ New Exchange For Png

PAPUA New Guinea is to build a new in ternational telecommunications exchange to replace the one destroyed in Lae by a fire last September. The new exchange will cost about K 1.6 million and be built next to the country’s satellite earth station in Port Moresby. The international com munications firm, L M Ericsson, told PNG’s Post and Telecommunications Board it would be cheaper to build a new exchange than to repair the old one, be cause all the equipment in the exchange would need to be replaced.

□ Nz-Australia Trade Merger

NEW ZEALAND foreshadowed a possi ble merging of markets with Australia during a conference between the business councils of the two countries in Sydney.

New Zealand’s Minister for Trade, Mr Ay gill, said he wanted an examination of the possibility of taking the trans-Tasman re lationship beyond the free trade area.

Australia’s Minister for Trade Negoti ations, Mr Duffy, called for the removal of the few remaining areas of disagreement and cumbersome rules that were hamper ing free trade between Australia and New Zealand.

□ Coconut Smear

COCONUT PLANTERS in the Pacific and Asian region condemned what they call a smear campaign against coconut oil by the American Soya Bean Association.

A meeting of growers in Apia endorsed a campaign to lobby for keeping coconut oil markets open. Coconut oil is Western Sa moa’s main foreign exchange earner and plays a major role in the exports of other small Pacific islands.

□ Png Cigarette Sponsorship

THE Papua New Guinea Government and executives of cigarette companies made a breakthrough in their negotiations on sponsorship. Health Minister Tim Ward said it had been agreed that cigarette com panies would continue to sponsor sport ing and cultural events in PNG. But the companies had been told to use “brand names” only and not specifically the names of the cigarettes.

The PNG Government has been criti cised by sporting bodies following the pas sage of the Tobacco Product health control law in Parliament in November, prohib iting all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion in PNG.

Mr Ward said agreement had been reached by both parties about restrictions on advertising, government health warn ings on cigarette packets and related mat ters. The cigarette companies were given 12 months to comply with the law.

□ Farming Skills In W. Samoa

WESTERN Samoa’s Prime Minister, Vaai Kolone, called for agriculture to be taught at the country’s schools. Agriculture is not in the present curriculum and the Prime Minister said this could be one reason for a recent decline in farm production and a rise in unemployment. He said land de velopment was the backbone of Western Samoa’s economy and agricultural ex ports earned about 80 per cent of its rev enue each year. The slump in agricutural production is a major worry for the Government, especially with an election due early this year.

□ Kiribati Bank Shows Profit

THE Bank of Kiribati, in which Aus tralia’s Westpac Banking Corporation has a 51 per cent interest, recorded a profit of more than $A53,000 for the year ending last September.

Westpac’s chief manager for the Pacific Islands, Mr Jim Huey, said the figure is a reduction of 6.8 per cent over the previous year. But, despite the profit drop, deposits for the year rose by three-point-five-per cent to nearly $22 million.

□ Png Coffee Edict

THE PNG Government approved a reg ulation limiting foreign shareholding in coffee exporting companies and agencies.

Agriculture and Livestock Minister Mr Gai Duwabane told the National Parlia ment that they must be 90 per cent nation ally owned by next October 31. Penalties for non-compliance could include a re duction in coffee quotas. Of the 10 coffee exporters, one, Kumul Kopi, is 100 per cent owned by Papua New Guineans.

□ Fiji Chamber Of Commerce

ABOUT 120 Fijian businessmen, meeting in Suva, formed the Fijian Chamber of Commerce, with the aim, according to

Suva lawyer Mr Qoriniasi Bale, head of the interim committee, of supporting and helping Fijian participation in business.

He said Fijians had a bad record of busi ness managemment, and the chamber hoped to do something about it.

□ Post Courier Profit

POST Courier Ltd, of Papua New Guinea, has announced a consolidated after-tax profit of K 589,949 for the nine months ended June 30. The financial year ending, following the takeover by News Corpora tion Limited in February, was changed from September 30 to June 30 to satisfy the requirements of the Companies Code.

□ Solomons Ps Shake-Up

SOLOMONS Islands’ Cabinet approved plans to create a “cost-saving” public service by “critical internal reform” and a change in status of certain ministries con sidered suitable either for privatisation or a transformation to statutory authority.

□ Tuvalu Poultry Progress

SINCE A British-funded poultry farming project began in Tuvalu in January, 1985, with a nucleus of 50 imported birds, more than 4500 layer chicks have been sold to local farmers.

Progress is also reported from the broiler unit, and there is a growing interest in backyard poultry farming.

□ Wingti’S Business Message

PRIVATE investment had a vital role to play in the development of Papua New Guinea’s agriculture, the Prime Minister Mr Wingti said in Port Moresby. He added that foreign expertise and technology would be welcome in the country for many years to come.

Mr Wingti was clarifying his govern ment’s position in relation to foreign in vestment in the agricultural sector. In November, the Agriculture and Livestock Minister, Mr Duwabane, told foreign companies involved in the coffee and co coa industries they must be localised by the end of 1988 or face forfeiture of licences or expulsion from the country.

It is understood Mr Wingti was an gered by the Minister’s remarks and re primanded Mr Dewabane.

The Prime Minister said that in creased local ownership of businesses and enterprises in all sectors was an “under standable aspiration”. However, there was a limit on the amount on local capital available for investment in existing companies.

Mr Wingti said foreign investment had an important role to play in the rehabili tation and redevelopment of many run down plantations. He said the smallholder and the plantation sectors had existed side by side for a long time and he wanted this relationship to continue. □