Program

NB The livestream commences 8.50am (PNG/Australian Eastern Standard time), for a 9.00am start

9.00am Welcome and opening remarks

9.10am Message for PNG High Commissioner

• • • Her Excellency Winnie Kiap, Papua New Guinea’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

9.15am Opening address

• • • The Hon. James Marape MP, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, will talk about foreign investment.

9.30am Keynote address

• • • Saul Eslake, Economist, on global trends in trade an investment and how they will affect  Papua New Guinea. Includes Q&A with online audience.

10.15am Economic update

• • • Edward Faber, PNG Country Economist, Asian Development Bank will present the latest economic data on PNG and present the ADB’s forecasts for the coming year.

10.35am Papua New Guinea’s foreign investment regime/FDI update

• • • Clarence Hoot, Managing Director, PNG Investment Promotion Authority will present the latest foreign direct investment data from PNG and flag plans to improve ease of doing business in the country.

10.50am Australian support for Papua New Guinea’s  economy

• • • Senator the Hon Zed Seselja, Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific

11.00am Mining update

• • • Craig Jones, Chief Operating Officer PNG, Newcrest Mining will provide an update from PNG’s largest gold miner.

11.15am Understanding PNG’s investment climate [Interactive Panel]

Some of PNG’s most experienced and knowledgeable executives will provide their insights into current business conditions in Papua New Guinea.

• • • Ian Tarutia, President, PNG Chamber of Commerce and Industry
    • Robin Fleming, CEO, BSP Financial Group
    • Wayne Osterberg, Director, Advisory Services, KPMG

12.05pm Agribusiness opportunities in PNG’s Markham and Ramu Valleys

• • • Christian Reichel, Operations Officer, IFC will outline the enormous potential of two of PNG’s most fertile agricultural zones

12.20pm The potential for expanding ties between Samoa and PNG

• • • Her Excellency Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of Samoa will talk about her aims for her country and her vision for improving commercial ties with PNG and the rest of the Pacific

12.35pm Close

NB The livestream commences 8.50am (PNG/Australian Eastern Standard time), for a 9.00am start

9.00am Welcome and opening remarks

9.10am Keynote address

• Alfonso Garcia Mora, Vice President — Asia and Pacific, IFC

9.20am Telecommunications: what’s next?

• Ronald Prasad, Chief Commercial Director, Vodafone Fiji, on key technologies to drive innovation
• Paul Komboi, CEO, PNG Dataco will provide an update on PNG’s national telecommunications infrastructure

10.00am Connect PNG: PNG’s national infrastructure project

• David Wereh, Secretary, Department of Works and Implementation will outline the next steps in this ambitious plan to build development corridors across PNG.

10.15am A new strategy for Papua New Guinea’s ports

• Fego Ota Kiniafa, Managing Director, PNG Ports

10.30am Turning Lae into a regional shipping hub

• Robert Maxwell, CEO, ICTSI South Pacific will outline plans to transform PNG’s largest port into a regional transhipment hub.

10.40am Developing infrastructure in PNG’s provinces

• John Byrne, President, Lae Chamber of Commerce (Morobe), will speak about essential infrastructure development in Lae, PNG’s manufacturing centre and gateway to the Highlands
• Peter KenGemar, Project Director, Ihu Special Economic Zone will provide an update on the SEZ that is designed to service key resources projects in Gulf Province.

11.20am Trends in PNG’s real estate sector

• Mathew Care, Managing Director, Digital Classifieds Group/Haus Ples will provide an update on this increasingly important sector of PNG’s economy.

11.30am Investing in infrastructure in PNG [Interactive Panel]

• Her Excellency Erin Elizabeth McKee, United States Ambassador to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, to the Solomon Islands, and to the Republic of Vanuatu will talk about the US-backed ‘Build Back Better’ scheme and how it will impact PNG
• David Hill, PNG Country Director, Asian Development Bank will outline the ADB’s major investments in roads and SOE reform
• Robert Jauncey, Chief Investment Officer, Australian Infrastructure Finance Facility for the Pacific will outline the opportunities for the private sector from the AUD$2 billion fund.

12.30pm Close

NB The livestream commences 8.50am (PNG/Australian Eastern Standard time), for a 9.00am start

9.00am Welcome and opening remarks

9.05am Oil and gas: the major projects

• Wapu Sonk, Managing Director, Kumul Petroleum will talk about plans to reform PNG’s oil and gas regime and the new role to be played by PNG’s state-owned petroleum company
• Peter Larden, Managing Director, ExxonMobil PNG will provide an update on the PNG LNG project and plans to expand ExxonMobil’s PNG operations
• Leon Buskens, PNG Country Manager, Oil Search
• Daniel Toleman, Senior Research Analyst, Wood Mackenzie will provide the conference with the long-term outlook for LNG

10.00am Keynote address

• Wayne Gerard, (Chief Entrepreneur for Queensland) and Barbara-Anne Bensted (KPMG Australia’s Partner Digital Delta), on how large corporates and SMEs can work successfully together.

10.30am Running a business in PNG: the voice of experience

• • • Stan Joyce, Chairman, SP Brewery
    • Syd Yates, Managing Director, Kina Asset Management Ltd

11.00am USAID — PNG Electrification Partnership

The team from USAID will outline its 5-year US$57 million PNG Electrification Partnership (PEP).

• David Hatch (Senior Development Advisor for Papua New Guinea, USAID)
• Julinette Bayking (Senior PPP/Project Finance Advisor) and
• Brian Tarmey (Lead Finance Specialist and Transaction Advisor), USAID — PNG Electrification Partnership)

11.15am Towards 2050: the rising importance of renewable energy

• Christian Lohberger, President, Solar Energy Association of PNG will talk about the opportunities surrounding solar energy in PNG
• Sean Whittaker, Principal Renewable Energy Specialist, IFC will join us from Washington DC to present new research on wind power’s potential in PNG

11.45am Interview: Innovation and leadership in the time of COVID-19

• Greg Pawson, CEO, Kina Bank will outline the bank’s unique approach to technological innovation in financial services.

12.05pm Expanding Papua New Guinea’s capital markets

• David Lawrence, Chairman, PNGX will speak about the prospects for bringing more businesses onto the exchange and expanding the opportunities for investors

12.15pm The development of PNG’s SME’s sector [Interactive Panel]

• Sir Mahesh Patel, Director, CPL Group will talk about PNG’s largest retail group’s ten-year experience working to develop SMEs
• Sylvia Pascoe, Pascoe Promotions and Vani Nades, Managing Director, Emstret Holdings will talk about PNG’s SME ecosystem and its enormous potential

1.00pm Closing remarks