Call to clear foreign currency demand

THERE will always be a demand for foreign currency in Papua New Guinea because the country is still import-dependent, says Bank of Papua New Guinea Governor Loi Bakani.
Bakani said what mattered was to clear the demand for foreign currency. “When we clear some of these orders, the following months, orders will be brought back into the market,” he said.
“For instance Air Nuigini, after they pay for December, they need to pay for January, February, and March to sustain the operation.
“We will never ever balance demand and supply. In the case of PNG, because we are always demanding things from overseas, demand will always be higher than supply.
“What matters is that if you can clear it within one month, that we consider the normal functioning foreign exchange market.”
Bakani said 2018 had been a good year. “The domestic foreign exchange market is gradually normalising with improvements in foreign currency inflows and BPNG intervention,” Bakani said.