Industries set to reveal real owners of extractive companies

Papua New Guinea is set to reveal real owners of extractive companies.
This comes after the conclusion of an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) roadshow on beneficial ownership disclosure in Madang recently.
A beneficial owner in respect of a company means the natural person(s) who directly or indirectly owns or controls a corporate entity.
A beneficial owner is always the living, breathing human being who ultimately profits from the company’s activities, or controls the company’s activities. It is never a company, other legal entity, or a nominee/proxy.
A roadmap is being executed by KPMG – the roadmap implementation manager – to develop a reporting matrix to feature beneficial owners in PNGEITI reports starting 2020, as required by the EITI global standard.
Head of National Secretariat of EITI Lucas Alkan said: “By 2020, companies applying for or holding a participatory interest in an exploration or production of an oil, gas or mining license or contract in an EITI country must report the details of the beneficial owner, (ie the human beings who own, control or substantially benefit from these companies and interests), as well as identifying any ‘politically exposed persons’ with a direct engagement in regulating, setting laws, tax rates, negotiating contracts etc.
“More than 50 EITI member countries have published their plans for how to disclose the real owners of companies in their extractive industries, which will require establishing legal and institutional arrangements for application, including establishing registers of such real owners.
“The Madang roadshow was part of implementation of a BO roadmap to identify an appropriate reporting process to enable PNGEITI name beneficial owners in its reports.
“We had presentations from Mineral Resources Authority, Department of Petroleum, Bank of Papua New Guinea, Investment Promotion Authority, PNGEITI National Secretariat, Institute of National Affairs and the BO Roadmap Implementation Manager KPMG.
“I commend the MSG constituents and other relevant State agencies for their presentations and discussions on issues relating to revealing beneficial owners in EITI reports and the approach going forward.
“As required by the EITI global best practice standard – to report the ‘beneficial owners’ in 2020 like other EITI implementing countries – I am positive that PNG will have been fully prepared by then to meet this important reporting requirement.”