PNG drops in ranking

PAPUA New Guinea (PNG) has dropped from 108 to 120 on the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report, according to Deloitte consulting service partner Lyndel Melrose.
Melrose said this during a PNG Business Council forum in Port Moresby yesterday.
She said there were a number of reasons that caused the drop but mainly due to uncertainties from investors and other countries surpassing PNG with development initiatives.
“There have been a number of factors that have had an impact on that but essentially over a number of months, we have seen a number of proposed government reforms creating a fair degree of uncertainty within the market and also potential investors.
“These are things like the foreign investment bill, the mining act amendment and also other planned amendments to resource extraction laws, all of which are creating uncertainty in the market.
“That in its own right causes a repel effect and the idea of the Doing Business 2020 study is looking at how easy it is for people to come into this country and set up a business and operate and do what they need to do for a successful investment.”
Melrose said that those were some positive reforms by the government: “But the reality is that we have still dropped 12 places. “One of the things that’s been attributed to that in the Asia-Pacific is things have generally slowed down and the world is catching up and actually overtaking us.
“We are standing still essentially, which is why we have dropped in the ease of doing business.”
Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) managing director Clarence Hoot confirmed that PNG had gone further down.
“In 2008, PNG was ranked below hundred and it was the only time PNG was below the hundred,” Hoot said.