Interest of foreign investors increases

Business

THERE is an increase in number of overseas investors who have indicated interest in investing in the country, according to the Investment Promotion Authority.
Acting managing director Clarence Hoot said investors in different sectors had shown interest despite the challenging economic conditions.
“According to statistics, we are still getting a lot of interests coming in, our status still going up,” he said.
“There is a lot of variations – meaning many companies already established in Papua New Guinea are getting into additional business activities.”
He said a group of European investors was visiting Bougainville.
“There have been some interesting times lately,” Hoot said.
“There is a group of potential investors from Europe visiting Bougainville interested in the chocolate and cocoa that they make out of Bougainville.
“We also attended a chocolate festival last month in Bougainville which drew a lot of interests from Europeans.
“So that is a potential area and we’re aware that there are strong interventions from our partners, international partners such as the World Bank and Australian government.
“These are areas where government should focus its support towards. And I’m hoping that it does in the oil palm industry.”
He said improving such areas would be a catalyst for change in the communities and lives of the people involved.