McLay: Security a must in business plan

National, Normal
Source:

Then National, Wednesday 12th September, 2012

By ELLEN TIAMU
NEARLY all companies thinking of starting businesses in Lae have to factor in the cost of security into their business plans, Lae Chamber of Commerce president Alan McLay said yesterday.
McLay was responding to some concerns expressed by businesses at the Advantage PNG business conference in Port Moresby that law and order problems in PNG were compelling businesses to spend millions of dollars each year on security.
McLay said Lae, which was considered the business hub of the country, was no exception.
“Whenever I am approached by investors that wish to establish themselves in Lae, I always advise that this is a cost that must be factored into their business plans,” he said.
“While companies in Lae are conducting relatively good business, there are high costs involved in operating here and which have always got to be considered – one, of course, is the cost of security.”
McLay said security was a large expense for most companies in Lae although there were other infrastructure-related problems such as power as there were a large number of blackouts and load-shedding.