Americans on tour to seek business opportunities

By LEMACH LAVARI
A delegation of major American companies is on a three-day tour to seek business opportunities, says United States Ambassador to PNG Catharine Ebert-Gray.
The 11 delegates, accompanied by Ebert-Gray and staff from the US Embassy, met with Minister for Commerce and Industry Wera Mori in Port Moresby yesterday.
Ebert-Gray said the delegation had optimistic views about the country and were interested to see how they could engage in business.
She said that PNG’s tremendous resources wealth and emerging middle class were promising signs for growth.
Mori said the delegation had visited at an appropriate time when the government was moving towards diversifying economic base.
He said for so long, the economy had been dependent on the extractive industry.
Mori told the delegation that his ministry was involved in driving government agenda of moving away from depending on extractives.
He said this was to ensure the economy was not greatly dependent on oil, gas, gold and copper.
Mori said there were investment opportunities in coffee, cocoa and coconut in the country.
He said Government would be creating an industrial park on 500 hectares of land in Lae.
Mori said American manufacturing companies should invest in the country because of the availability of a low-cost workforce.
He said the energy sector provided a good opportunity for business in PNG.
Mori said the Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone (PMIZ) in Madang would require its own source of energy and was another opportunity for American investors.
American foreign commercial service trade specialist Dough Hartley said a key objective for them was to ensure that American companies were better informed about PNG.
“PNG is larger than Japan, New Zealand and Malaysia but many American companies don’t appreciate how big this country is,” he said.
“Add on the marine economic zones and it is clear that this (PNG) is a substantial economy in development. We want to do is to encourage American companies to come to PNG and actively look for opportunities to work with PNG.”