McLay spells out business drawbacks

 LAE Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is not mincing words when it comes to prospective overseas businesses wanting to start up business in the industrial city.   

Business prospects were good in Lae but the prevalence of crime was a factor to be considered, LCCI president Alan McLay said during a dinner hosted last Thursday for a delegation from Cairns, Australia,.

The business community has always stood to warn potential investors that they should be prepared to budget for extra security measures such as guards on their premises and properties.

The Cairns delegation comprised   members of the Australian senate and businessmen and women interested in  starting a business in Cairns’ sister-city, Lae.  

McLay said although the government was concerned and police were doing what they could to overcome the problem, the difficulties were caused by ever-growing number of settlements in and around the city from where crime stemmed.

He said with the rapid development in Lae in the past few years, constant electricity was also another challenge with the city facing constant blackouts. Nearly all major overseas companies needed stand-by generators and fuel was costing them extra.

LCCI said another challenging area for companies wanting to start business in the city were government regulations.

“There is so much red tape just to set up and keep companies going,” McLay said.

He said this was one area the government needed to look into in order to attract more foreign companies into PNG.   

 MP for Newcastle in Australia Sharon Grierson said the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG was an old one with deep ties which had developed historically.

She said this was an exciting time for PNG, with Australia watching the country grow in an “amazing and exponential way and is one of the bright sparks of the world.”

Grierson said in 2011, PNG was ranked the seventh fastest growing nation in the world.  

While in Lae, the delegation visited Lae Port to see new developments there as well as several government institutions.

They returned to Port Moresby on Saturday for the closing of Australia Week celebrations.