Sluggish economy sees stock listings slip

The National Business

By CLARISSA MOI
STOCK listings on the Port Moresby Stock Exchange (POMSoX) has been in a decline since 2009 because of the performance of the country’s economy, says Securities Commission chairman Christopher Hnanguie.
He said currently there were 15 businesses listed on the POMSoX.
Hnanguie attributed the decline to two reasons:

  • Some investors came into the country when the gross domestic product (GDP) was high and left soon after; and
  • Some the companies were not adhering to rules and regulations of POMSoX.

“If you see the country’s economy trend for the past 10 years, the correlation between the performances of gross domestic product (GDP) versus the investment climate had been very critical,” he said.
Hnanguie said when the gross domestic product growth had gone up, the investment level had also gone up.
He said when the gross domestic product growth had gone down between 2009 and 2010, the
investment level had also gone down.
“There were some big investors who came in for projects, but after the projects were over, they returned to their countries,” Hnanguie said.
He said the trade level had been in decline since 2008 because companies listed in the Port Moresby Stock Exchange were also listed in other economies such as the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).