Govt assurance ‘positive news’

THE Government’s assurances of the future of the Wafi-Golpu mine and Papua LNG agreements is positive news, according to Kina Bank.
Kina Bank’s wealth management August synopsis released yesterday said the initial indication given by Prime Minister James Marape, the mining ministry and the Morobe government early last month was for the Wafi-Golpu project to go ahead.
“As the Government tries to address the consistent delays of the project, the Morobe Governor Ginson Saonu has mentioned that consultation with relevant parties still needs to be completed,” the synopsis said.
“The announcement on Sept 16 is expected to bring a clear way forward for the project and expedite discussions between parties to come to an amicable resolution.”
It stated that the Government’s stance on the future of the Papua LNG agreement was positive.
There were still major points that the state and Total needed to resolve, however, optimism in the market was high.
The synopsis revealed expected heavy competition for the K70 million in GIS (Government inscribed stock) to be offered this month.
“This is the last of the scheduled GIS auctions, and there is much uncertainty as to whether there will be more domestic GIS auctions.”