Middle class growth’s engine room: Council

The National Business

Papua New Guinea’s middle class is the engine room for growth in the resource sector as they are not only active consumers but big investors as well, according to the PNG Business Council.
Council president Nuni Kulu said during the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum webinar in Port Moresby yesterday on the ExxonMobil project and its real socio-economic impacts in Port Moresby yesterday.
“The growth of the middle class during the construction phase of the PNG LNG was tracking double digits,” she said.
“There was growth in non-project related sectors including property, retail services, agriculture, tourism and the ICT sector.
“It is important to highlight, even in recent times with the Covid-19, the growth on personal loans, housing loans and other items, while large corporate lending was flat, small and medium enterprises lending was on a gradual upward trend as well, what is important to note is positive trend occurred.”
Kulu spoke of the ripple of multiplier effects of a project such as the PNG LNG and BSPs helping of landowners in the Edai Town project.
Kulu is the Bank South Pacific’s digital general manager.
“The middle class are still resilient in pursuing growth, no doubt as projects kick start in the coming years, we will certainly see them coming in full force and spend,” she said.
“We are seeing personal loan portfolios, year on year, currently to the tune of over K900 million, housing loan over K645 million and SME landing has reached over K60 million, and with an exponential growth in recent figure.
“The Government and the market should be providing incentives to incubate (business) ventures.

One thought on “Middle class growth’s engine room: Council”

  • I do not think PNG has a Middle class. We have the Rich Business and Political class, the poor working class, poor unemployed dependent class and Agricultural subsistence class.
    The SME funding should be targeting small businesses and Agriculture but as usual only people connected to Politics and those with big name wantoks will get money. The majority will get nothing.
    Same thing as been happening last 45 years and is a get rich gimmick rolled out by the ruling political and business class every year. Big shame and big Lies by these people.

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