Ling-Stuckey: Do not panic

TREASURER Ian Ling-Stuckey has told the people not to panic as the coronavirus will only have a “minor impact” on the economy.
He said there had been a lot of concern raised on the impact of the coronavirus on the country’s economy, people should understand that there would be an adverse impact in China and this would flow through to other countries.
“So there will be an adverse impact on Papua New Guinea, but this is likely to be measured, less than one per cent based on current international forecast,” he said.
“Analysts have dropped the growth forecast of the Chinese economy from six per cent in 2020 to five per cent and some even to four per cent. Different economies will be affected in different ways.”
Ling-Stuckey said for PNG, the main impact will be through restrictions on the movement of Chinese nationals.
“There may also be impact on our LNG and other contracts with China.
“There will also be minor impact through a reduction of Chinese tourists into the country.”
Ling-Stuckey said though this was not good news, it should be considered in a balanced way based on available information.
“There are a great number of uncertainties.
“But as the Chinese economy is expected to slow down by only one or two per cent, the impact on PNG is likely to be much smaller,” he said.