PNG invest mission to SI

Source:
The National - Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A PAPUA New Guinea investment mission will visit the Solomon Islands on Feb 25-28 to look at investment opportunities in the island-country.The mission will have about 20 chief executives and senior officers of major business companies in PNG and will be accompanied by the Solomon Islands High commissioner to PNG, Bernard Bata’anisia.The Solomon Islands would also use the opportunity to strategically market itself as a potential destination for investment and to take advantage of the businesses and spin offs from the huge LNG project in PNG.Service industries, tourism and fisheries will feature prominently in the seminar.Bata’anisia said generally PNG was becoming an important partner for Solomon Islands in terms of trade and investment, economic relations, development cooperation and assistance.He said because of PNG’s strategic and economic links between Asia and Pacific region, the Solomon Islands government wished to work closely with the government to take advantage of these economic opportunities.Over the years, the level of PNG investment in Solomon Islands has grown substantially and last year, over 30 companies have registered with a total investment of around SBD$1.3 billion (K550 million), thus creating employment for more than 1,000 Solomon Islanders.Bata’anisia said while in Honiara, the mission will attend a two-day investment seminar during the weekend, where they will have first- hand briefing and information on areas for investments, land issues, taxation laws and incentives provided for investors, as well as visiting the various sites for investment.After the seminar, the investment mission will also visit the Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil Ltd, one of the major PNG investments in Solomon Islands.