PNG a potential market for NZ

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The National, Monday September 14th, 2015

 THE opening of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) office in Port Moresby indicates that PNG is increasingly a market of real interest to New Zealand companies, an official says.

NZTE general manager Peter Fenton made the comment last Friday during the official opening of the office by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

Peter Hobbs was appointed as New Zealand Trade Commissioner for Papua New Guinea. 

“We are committed to a market here in PNG. We are setting up an office, we’ve employed a trade commissioner and we’re committing resources. You will continue to see the growth of New Zealand businesses in this market,” Fenton said. 

“PNG is the largest market in the Pacific and also the fastest growing.

“PNG is New Zealand’s second largest Pacific trading partner, and a two-way trade, now being worth over NZ$300 million (K545 million) in goods alone.

“Already those linkages are here and with NZTE working intensively with 23 companies in this market, with further 12 companies interested in working in this market in the future.

“We’re looking forward to working with the local communities here and investing in them,” Fenton said.

NZTE is New Zealand’s business development agency and is an element of the Government’s business growth agenda, to drive and support export led growth. NZTE has 38 offices around the world.

Minister for Sports and National Events and Moresby South MP Justin Tkatchenko, who represented the Government during the occasion, said PNG’s experiences with New Zealand companies have been immense.

“Especially with the (2015) Pacific Games, we have project managers, architects, and construction companies all from New Zealand, producing an absolutely fantastic job, producing one of the best Pacific Games this region has ever seen,” Tkatchenko said.

“Its interesting fact this year, over NZ$307 million (K558 million) worth of trade was done between NZ and PNG, that’s quite a big amount of trade that has been made which shows our relationship can only grow stronger.”