Online business listing for efficiency

 THE online lodgement project is part of the Investment Promotion Authority’s (IPA) strategic vision to improve its service delivery, board member Professor Albert Mellam said. 

Speaking at the project launching in Port Moresby last Friday, Mellam said it aimed to increase formal sector employment and investment by improving the business climate. 

“With all the global standards and surveys ranking Papua New Guinea, IPA and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, have been working together to strengthen and build up IPA’s capacity to achieve its goals. 

“To realise these goals, IPA has focused on making a number of reviews on business laws administered under its jurisdiction and streamlining and improving their service delivery. 

“The project began with the review of the Companies Act and the Business Name Act two years ago to make processes simpler and to bring legal certainty to business owners and operators for their businesses to grow and prosper. 

“Our goal is for PNG to be recognised as a very good place to do business for a wide range of industries, not just resources and we need the right legislative and procedural framework to encourage business development.

“The proposed legislation was approved by the National Executive Council last october and is now with the First Legislative Council for the drafting of the instructions.” 

Mellam said the legislative review was necessary as it paved way for the introduction of the project.

“IPA personnel have also been trained in their various capacities to administer the system and understand how to interact with it.

“With this, let me take the opportunity to acknowledge our partners in this project — the IFC for their advisory support, the New Zealand High Commission for the funding training for our staff, Foster Moore Ltd, the suppliers of the software and the New Zealand companies for their support in providing expertise and training.”