Micah urges private, state entities to join forces

 By SHIRLEY MAULUDU

Minister for Public Enterprises and State Investments Ben Micah has urged private entities to collaborate with established state entities such as the National Petroleum Company PNG (NPCP) to better develop and manage oil and gas resources in the country.  

During the launching of NPCP’s official website yesterday, Micah said that will now make the government established companies more transparent for the benefit of its stakeholders as well, with the information that it (NPCP) will be sharing with them.

He said there was room for public-private partnership within the hydrocarbon industry, with NPCP as a government established company in the industry.

“We want to encourage companies and foreign investors, even local investors, domestic investors, to go into partnership with NPCP in all aspects of the industry.

“The policy position that I will be bringing out in a state participation and state involvement in business is very simple.

“We want to do partnership with private sector.

“We want to do partnership with our own people as holders of stocks in soon to be floated public companies, from pumping (of liquefied natural gas (LNG) all the way to the market.”

Micah commended NPCP for the initiative taken to recruit local graduates from the country’s universities to work in the company.

He said this will bring maximum benefits to the people as well as growing government-owned companies such as NPCP.