Business-bill not quite as usual

By Sam Vulum

While many business houses are reviewing their future in Papua New Guinea follow ing the recent political crisis, one major player in the steel processing industry shut down its operations fear ing for the safety of its employees.

Stocks related to PNG revealed mixed reactions on March 21 when reports of rioting and looting spread from Port Moresby to Lae, Mount Hagen, Goroka and Kundiawa.

And amid all these, the Investment Promotion Authority has assured investors that the recent events had no effect on the economy with the kina remaining stable.

The PNG Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on March 27, amid celebra tions to mark the end of the 10-day stand off between protesters, soldiers and the government, that a number of business houses were reviewing their operations to decide whether they should continue in PNG or leave.

Chamber president Michael Mayberry

told Post Courier that while many firms were reviewing their operations, the costs incurred by businesses continued to rise.

Mayberry declined to comment when asked if any of those businesses were members of the chamber, adding that the chamber’s members had been asked to be calm. He said although the organisation was concerned about the rising costs from the loss of business, they were also con cerned about any possible impact on the value of the kina.

Retailing giant Steamships Trading

Company, which has several business divi sions in the National Capital District, said that while the events had been disruptive to its operations, it was hoped that the effects would be short-lived and trading patterns would return to normal.

Managing director Chris Pratt said,

“Obviously, during times of uncertainty,

people defer discretionary spending and there has been a negative impact on the group’s automotive and hardware divi sion.”

Australian mining giant BHP Company

Limited had shut its Port Moresby process ing centre in PNG. BHP chief John

Prescott was reported on March 24 as say ing that the steel processing centre had been shut down and 10 to 15 employees had been evacuated. But he said the situa tion at its giant Ok Tedi copper mine was normal.

Prescott made the comments days before BHP Steel’s warehouse in Lae was burnt to the ground in a suspected arson attack.

The destroyed property included an administration block, storage area, work shop and a container truck.

The situation, however, did not worry Anglo-Australian miner RTZ-CRA, which indicated that conditions were still con ducive to foreign investment.

RTZ-CRA chief executive Leon Davis said, “The laws of the country are still con ducive to foreign investment but what is happening in Bougainville and the central government of PNG is of obvious concern to us.”

The miner’s assets include its 53.6 per cent shareholding in Bougainville Co Ltd (BCL) and a 17 per cent stake in the huge Lihir gold mine, which is scheduled to start production before the end of this year.

BCL was the former operator of the giant Panguna copper mine on Bougainville, which was shut down in 1989 because of the activities of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. Davis said the investment in BCL was still impor tant for RTZ-CRA.

“It’s still a very, very important asset... and we would still like to go back there,”

Davis said. He said reopening the mine was not a lost cause but it would take a political settlement to do it.

Commenting on the crisis, Oil Search Limited, a PNG-based oil group with offices in Sydney, said it would keep its offices in PNG open despite the unrest.

“Our view, and I think we share it with other operators, is that we don’t see it as necessary to evacuate our staff,” managing director Peter Botten said.

“There have been no problems at all with our production and exploration and, at the present time, the level of tension is really only restricted to Port Moresby.”

Placer Pacific Ltd spokesman lan williams said the company continued to monitor the situation, but “at this stage we have no plans to evacuate the staff’. ■