PNG market drops by 7pc

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU
PNG’s stock market value has declined by 7 per cent since the beginning of the year, says PNG National Stock Exchange (PNGX) chairman David Lawrence.
Lawrence told The National yesterday that PNGX had been doing little trading lately.
“PNG is the largest economy in the South Pacific behind Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“For historical reasons, the PNG stock market under-represents the size of the PNG economy.
“As a result, PNGX is currently an illiquid market, meaning there is little trading. We haven’t seen any change in trading volumes since the beginning of March to the end of April.
“Overall, the market value has declined 7 per cent since the beginning of March.
“This compares to the Australian All Ordinaries index which is down 13 per cent over the same period.”
Markets around the world have reported a decline in trading as a result of the Covid-19 and related impacts.
Reuters yesterday reported that Australian shares fell nearly 1 per cent on the day, extending the previous session’s sell-off.