Chance to improve business

 THE 2018 APEC meeting presents Papua New Guinea with ways to improve the country’s ways in doing business, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says. 

Speaking during release of report Powering PNG into the Asian Century, by the ANZ Bank in Port Moresby yesterday, O’Neill said between now and then, PNG needed to go into major reforms.

“For starters, as an economy, and across all sectors, we simply must increase our capacity to be efficient, and to be competitive,” he said.

“Between now and when Papua New Guinea hosts APEC in 2018 – we have the opportunity to undertake major reform and enhance our capacity to compete.

“Through the APEC process, Papua New Guinea is increasing engagement and leading discussion on a range of areas that are central to our development. 

“This includes sectors such as transportation, marine resources, agriculture, SMEs and many more.

“But through APEC, we have the opportunity to improve the way we do business – this includes streamlining customs procedures, harmonising standards for electrical items and other products and enhancing business mobility.

“The key point that we must all take on-board is this – there are great opportunities for us in Asia, but there is no free ride.

“We must put in the hard yards – we must improve or economic sectors and we must improve our behind-the-border processes.

“We cannot expect favoured treatment just because we are a developing country in the Asia-Pacific. We need to produce more high-quality exports that are tailored to meet the specific needs of our rapidly growing Asian neighbours. We must lift our productivity right across the board – and we have no time to waste in doing so.”