Govt getting less than 5pc from K4bil SOE turnover

KUMUL Consolidated Holdings chairman Paul Nerau says the turnover of State-owned enterprises is around K4 billion every year but the dividend paid to Government is less than five per cent.
Nerau made the statement during the swearing-in of the new chairman of PNG Power Limited Peter Nupiri and two new board members in Port Moresby yesterday.
Nerau said there were 11 State-owned enterprises which came under KCH, including PNG Power.
He said the Government, through KCH, expected dividend payments from these public companies.
“I have been the chairman of the Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) since 2014,” he said.
“Now I am the chairman of KCH when the restructure takes place.
“We have turned over K4 billion in a year for the SOEs but I don’t get a five per cent dividend payment. That is a very big issue for all SOEs because the Government expects us to pay dividends.”
Nerau said PPL made big turnover every year but the problem of not making a profit was an issue which needed to be addressed by the new board and executive management.
“And at the end of the day, PPL must be able to make a profit and pay dividends to the Government,” he said.
He congratulated new board chairman Peter Nupiri, new director Maureen Boniepe Mori and acting PPL managing director Carolyn Blacklock on their appointments to the PNG Power board.