NCDC pays K40 million for Sir Hubert Murray Stadium construction

National Capital District Commission

National Capital District Commision City Manager Bernard Kipit has confirmed financing arrangement for the construction of the K40 million Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

Artist’s impression of the completed stadium

This is through part sale of the Sea Park land for K35 million, while the shortfall of K5 million will be met through Bank South Pacific financing.
Kipit said: "We have to be innovative in delivering much-needed infrastructure for the city, and particularly the incomplete stadium at the city centre.
"NCDC took over the incomplete Stadium and the contract with Curtain Bros, and executed new terms to resume the stadium construction at the cost of K40 million.

The current stadium.-Picture by ROCKY ROE

"This will see the completion of the stadium with the fully fitted western grand stand, car parking, fencing and other ancillary works to enable the stadium to be fully operational."
The buyer of the Sea Park land, Sea Park Development Ltd, owned by an Australian-based Chinese businessman Wilson Xue, will be required to invest at least K500 million under a covenant to transform the area.
This is required to protect the investment around Ela Beach and APEC Haus to convert the area as APEC Legacy precinct.  Pipit confirmed that the buyer had already made a deposit of K7 million to seal the deal in addition to paying stamp duty of K1.75 million.
Kipit said: "The second part of the sea park land that houses APEC Haus will remain owned by NCDC.
"Although we lost 4.19ha of the land for the stadium, NCDC is getting compensated with ownership of a new land in the water front known as Portion 2848, and in the process of securing ownership of another two parcels of land on the water front that will see NCDC’s stake increasing by about eightfold.
"NCDC will soon unveil the plan for the second phase of Ela beach and how it intends to deliver the plan.
"We will announce it when the title is received.
"Stadium will be delivered fully completed before APEC."
Pipit assured city residents: "Ela Beach precinct will be the master piece of infrastructure in our thrust of modernising the Port Moresby, and will be a hub for recreational and social activities and create true city vibe, day and night.

4 arrested over K100,000 bribery attempt of policeman

Police Media

Four persons, including a policeman,  have been arrested over another attempt to bribe police investigator Apollos Terry with K100,000 in cash.

Gordons Minor Crimes Unit officer-in-charge Apollos Terry with the K100,000 cash bribe during the briefing with Police Commissioner Gari Baki today. On the right of the picture is the K6500 cash found on a policeman.

Terry, the officer-in-charge of the Gordon Minor Crimes Unit, is currently heading an investigation into suspected human trafficking, uttering of Government documents and other related transnational crimes including suspected visa and passport racketeering.

Early this month, a Chinese national, Zhiyuan Cui, also known as Aaron, of Shandon Province, was arrested and charged when he tried to bribe Terry with K10,000 in cash.

Aaron is the managing-director of A & D Consultancy Ltd, a PNG-registered passport and visa agent.

In this latest bribery attempt, a man from Central allegedly gave Terry the K100,000 all in K100 notes and allegedly asked him to drop the case against Aaron Cui.

Apollos restrained the Central man and told him to call the person who gave him the money and arrange for a meeting. 

The person (named) came and was in the company of Aaron Cui. 

All have been detained and are currently being interviewed and are expected to be charged soon.

During the interview, the suspects alleged that two police detectives (named) had solicited K50,000 in cash from them to help stop the case. 

They were given K50,000 last week. 

Apollos' team arrested one of the policeman who denied the allegation. 

He had K500 in his pocket. 

He was locked up at the Boroko cells and K6000 cash was found at his residence at the Bagita Police Barracks in Port Moresby during a search. 
 More updates to follow.

APEC nations divided over statement on protectionism

by Takeyuki Hitokoto, the-japan-news.com
May 27, 2018

PORT MORESBY — Trade ministers from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum wrapped up a two-day meeting in Papua New Guinea’s capital on Saturday, but did not include language critical of protectionism in their joint statement.

Disagreements on trade policy ultimately led the language to be omitted from the joint statement, which requires unanimous approval.

A “commitment to fight against protectionist measures” was instead included in the chairman’s statement, which reflects majority opinion among the member states.

In the joint statement, the trade ministers said they “urgently call for the removal of market-distorting subsidies” by governments and related entities, but did not refer to opposition to protectionism.

The chairman’s statement specified a “commitment to fight against and to rollback protectionist and trade distorting measures,” and also emphasised the importance of “the effective and timely enforcement of WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules.”

A source involved with the negotiations attributed the gridlock over the joint statement to “U.S. and Chinese obstinacy on the wording.”

In response, Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Rimbink Pato, who chaired the meeting, offered a compromise reflecting the two countries’ stances in which the wording would be omitted from the joint statement but included in the chairman’s statement.

The United States has imposed restrictions on steel and aluminum imports, while China has countered with tariffs on U.S. products.

As part of an ongoing trade dialogue, the United States has held off on imposing tariffs in response to China’s infringement of intellectual property rights, but friction persists between the two countries.

Japan and other countries targeted by the U.S. steel restrictions have called for a level-headed response to the move in line with WTO procedures.

At the meeting, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen criticised the United States, saying that China has upheld the WTO’s authority and opposes protectionism and unilateralism.

The United States in turn defended the legitimacy of its trade policies.

State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kosaburo Nishime, who represented Japan at the meeting, said, “Amid the difficult realities facing the global economy, there have been market-distorting measures,” implicitly criticising the Chinese government’s excessive subsidies and preferential treatment of state companies.

Should U.S.-China trade friction grow more severe, other countries could be affected by a contraction in trade.

The United States is considering new tariffs on automobile imports for national security reasons, prompting concerns over the impact of such a move on global trade.

However, the APEC trade ministers’ meeting did not produce effective countermeasures.

At last year’s trade ministers’ meeting, only a chairman’s statement was issued due to U.S. objections to wording in the joint statement.

UN representatives visit earthquake-hit communities

Port Moresby, May 25, 2018 – UN representatives visited earthquake affected communities in Hela, Southern Highlands and Western provinces from May 22-23 to see, first-hand, the impact of the earthquake and UN response activities in the field.

Gianluca Rampolla, UN Resident Coordinator in PNG along with David Mcloughlin, Country Representative, UNICEF PNG and Robert Dekker, Emergency Coordinator, UN World Food Programme (WFP) met with communities in some of the most severely-affected communities to talk about their needs and also distributed food and other relief items.

Talking to the UN team, a community representative in Seana Falls, Southern Highlands, said “This disaster has brought great suffering for the people in the Highlands. But it is also an opportunity to draw attention to remote communities like ours which remain disconnected from the rest of the country. We are happy that we were not forgotten.”

“Our houses were bagarap (damaged) during the big quake and food gardens were destroyed by landslides. All the adults and children including my son were very afraid that the ground would fall away”, recounted Robin Dern a village spokesperson in Huya, Hela.

Dekker said: “By using helicopters, we’ve been able to reach the most remote and food insecure communities in isolated mountainous areas cut off by the earthquake. The scale of the damage caused by the earthquake and the needs of those nearest the epicenter are significant. Our partnerships with local communities, government authorities and the private sector mean we’ve been able to reach those most in need.”

Speaking with communities, Mcloughlin, said: “I am deeply touched to witness the manner in which each member of the community has stayed together so strong to support each other and rebuild during such devastating times…. whilst at the same time being sensitive to the special needs of young children, pregnant mums, the sick and the elderly.”

Concluding on his visit, Rampolla said: “I would like to express my solidarity with the affected communities. I am happy and humbled to see that the UN has been able to reach out and help people at this time of need. I am deeply inspired by the resilience of the people and their resolve to rebuild their lives in such challenging circumstances.” He further said: “I would also like to sincerely thank Oil Search for their tremendous relief efforts and excellent support to the UN’s humanitarian work”.

The earthquake that hit PNG on February 26, destroyed livelihoods and infrastructure and affected 270,000 people. The UN, in close coordination with the Government, humanitarian community and private sector, launched a humanitarian response in March 2018 to meet the immediate needs of the most affected communities in Hela, Southern Highlands and Western provinces. So far, the UN has reached more than 21,990 people with food assistance, 27,000 people with clean water and 2,930 people with shelter and non-food items. Air operations led by WFP has enabled United Nations agencies to reach remote communities with critical humanitarian assistance despite the logistics and security challenges involved in road transport.

2,600 children benefitted from the safe temporary learning spaces, 8,362 children were immunised for measles/rubella and 5,800 children were screened for severe acute malnutrition. 600 women were provided dignity kits.

The UN continues to support the PNG Government with humanitarian and logistics coordination for the earthquake response, working closely with the National Disaster Centre and the Office of the Emergency Controller.

Interview: PNG's active participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative to bring enormous opportunities for int'l, regional cooperation

by Yang Jingzhong, xinhuanet.com
May 27, 2018

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea, May 27 (Xinhua) -- "Papua New Guinea (PNG) 's active participation in the construction of China's Belt and Road Initiative will greatly promote the economic and social development of PNG, and bring enormous opportunities for international and regional cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to PNG Xue Bing told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

With various APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meetings to be held in PNG this year, the country has attracted unprecedented attention from the international community.

Speaking with Xinhua on the 24th APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting on Friday, Xue said that as the largest and most populous country among South Pacific island countries with abundant natural resources and unlimited development potential, PNG is playing an increasingly important role in international and regional affairs.

The Chinese people had travelled across the oceans to work and live in PNG since 200 years ago, said Xue. In recent years, the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges and deepened political mutual trust.

"China supports the economic and social development of PNG, while PNG respects China's core interests and adheres to the one-China policy," Xue said.

PNG appreciates China's Belt and Road Initiative and believes that such an international public product will bring a promising prospect for global development, he said.

According to Xue, PNG is carrying out a "Look-North Policy" and its core is looking to China. The South Pacific country hopes to board the Belt and Road "express train" to achieve sustainable development.

In 2014, China and PNG established a strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development, which has charted the course of the development of bilateral relations. Two years later, the two countries signed several cooperation documents including a framework agreement on development cooperation on production capacity to bring their cooperation into the Belt and Road "express lane."

And earlier this month, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank approved the application from PNG to join the bank, which has accelerated the pace of PNG to participate in the Belt and Road construction.

"PNG is located in the vast South Pacific region as well as the southern extension strip of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. There is the great potential for the two sides to expand cooperation within the Belt and Road framework," Xue said.

PNG is rich in vast natural resources, including mineral reserves, forests, agricultural and fishery resources, with the fishery sea zone covering an area of 2.4 million square-km.

"All of these are priority areas for the two countries to enhance industry cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative," Xue said.

He said that many Chinese companies have come to PNG for investment and development, and developing agricultural industry parks is one of the most important cooperative projects. Over these years, Chinese experts have been stationed in PNG to guide and assist local people in growing upland rice, which has achieved continuous good harvest.

"I travelled to the Eastern Highlands for a harvesting ceremony this year, seeing people were so jubilant for the harvest and I was deeply moved," Xue said.

Both countries are also working together to build industrial parks. For example, PNG has abundant fishery resources, and Chinese enterprises are helping PNG build ports and fish-processing plants.

Xue said that Chinese enterprises pursue to give full play to their advantages in infrastructure construction and production capacity cooperation in PNG. In addition, there are also broad prospects for bilateral cooperation in the fields of education and culture.

So far, China has provided more than 440 PNG students with scholarships to study in China. They have studied in different universities across China, and many of them have played an important leading role in various fields since their return to PNG. The PNG government strongly hopes for expanding this program.

Besides, the national airline of PNG Air Nuigini is set to open direct flights between Port Moresby and Shanghai this year. It is expected that there will be a huge increase in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries as well as a surge in the demand for cultural exchanges and Chinese-language talents.

Chinese enterprises have employed over 7,000 local employees in PNG so far and the number keeps increasing. Major PNG universities including University of Papua New Guinea and Lae University of Technology, are actively communicating with China partners in a bid to establish Confucius Institutes or open Confucius Classrooms.

"With the further development of China-PNG relations and the increase in people-to-people exchanges, the friendship between our two peoples will definitely be further deepened," Xue added.

Opinion: APEC to lead the way in fight against protectionism

CGTN
OPINIONS Wang Peng


Editor's note: Wang Peng is an Associate Researcher at the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University of China and the Charhar Institute. His areas of research include CPC building, Chinese foreign policy and Asia-Pacific international security. The article reflects the author’s opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Rimbink Pato opened the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting on May 25. This meeting aims to urge greater leadership in APEC to tackle uncertainty and enable more inclusive growth throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC stands at a crossroads

Thanks to the past decade of cooperation and development, APEC has now become the most energetic and attractive economic cooperative organidation in the world. However, along with this great and sustained development, new problems and obstacles have emerged.

Taking stock of challenges across the changing landscape of global trade, the trade ministers from the APEC member economies attended the meeting in order to keep trade moving and open opportunities for people in all countries of the region.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders pose for a group  photo in Shanghai, China on Oct 20, 2001./VCG Photo

In addition, the APEC region are also convened in the midst of rising sentiments in some quarters against the multilateral trading system, rapid global warning caused by deteriorating climate change, as well as the rapid development of information and communication technology that has created a whole new dimension of international trade.

New techniques, new engines of growth, and new mechanisms of trade system, are all double-edged swords. They may offer new opportunities to restart a fairer globalidation, or increase the already severe inequality among nations in the world, and hence put sand in the wheels of international trade. A major one among those problems is the rising of protectionism.

As the chair of the APEC business advisory council suggested, now the APEC stands at a crossroads. One road takes us to open markets, dynamic flows of goods, services and investment. The other takes us back to protectionism. How should APEC use its strength to stop holding back progress?

Creating new pillars for APEC: China and the B&R Initiative

Looking back on history after World War II, America and a number of international regimes, organisations, norms and institutions that were created and led by American hegemony have shaped globalisation for more than 70 years.

But now, the leader, America under the administration of Donald Trump, has begun to abandon the principles, values, and institutions that it once upheld. Trump and his supporters view international trade as a zero-sum game, and instead are seeking a so called "reciprocal mode" and "favorable balance of trade". In doing so, they do not hesitate to wage a trade war against America’s economic partners, or even its allies, such as Japan, South Korea, the EU, and so forth. APEC as a multilateral framework promoting international trade is not favored by the Trump administration, which prefers the bilateral approach.

Darcy Lai, Managing Director and Regional Head of Global Banking, Corporate and Institutional Banking at Greater China & North Asia of Standard Chartered Bank, attends the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, China on Sep 11, 2017./VCG Photo

Therefore, it is urgent for APEC to find or create new pillars to deepen its economic integration in this changing world. A possible answer is China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

A deep cooperation between countries that favor B&R initiative within the framework of APEC may offer a key driver of global economic growth, create jobs for our people, reduce poverty and ensure that no one is left behind, as many ministers agreed at the meeting.

Especially, underscoring the importance of narrowing digital divides, it is widely accepted that APEC countries have to work together to ensure that economic development is sustainable and inclusive. And in this field, the various programs of digital infrastructure buildings proposed by China’s B&R Initiative may provide the most practical aid for those economies.

What is more, considering ways forward in APEC to improve regional connectivity and market integration, the B&R projects may also ease the business across borders and participate in trade by widening access and use of digital technologies.

In this vein, the minister’s meeting this year has sent a strong message to the global community that all members of APEC are confident in creating and maintaining a free, non-discriminatory and all-inclusive multilateral trading system, with higher levels of necessary infrastructure buildings and fairer norms and institutions regulating the international trade among them. This will provide a great opportunity to the people of APEC countries, as well as declaring leadership on a global level.

APEC Meeting: Importance of inclusiveness in economic growth

by Netralnews.Com, en.netralnews.com

PORT MORESBY, NNC – The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers meeting, on May 25-26, 2018 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, resulted in several agreements.

Among other things, the expansion of access for the participation of all levels of the Asia-Pacific community in economic and trade activities; optimisation of digital technology utilisation; internationalisation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); strengthening connectivity across the region; and the creation of inclusive and sustainable growth.

Representing the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Director General of International Trade Negotiations at Ministry of Trade Iman Pambagyo welcomes various APEC initiatives and emphasises the importance of inclusiveness in economic growth.

"The development of internet and digital technology has greatly changed the pattern of global activity, including trade. We want all the people of Indonesia to benefit the economy as much as possible because these changes can encourage welfare equity," said Iman in a press release on Saturday.

According to him, the digital economy brings opportunities as well as challenges for all APEC economies, including Indonesia. "Indonesia is well aware of today's digital-based economic phenomenon. Going forward, we do not want to fall asleep and instead will prepare a variety of policies that benefit, as well as provide certainty and security," said Iman.

He added that in this case, Indonesian MSMEs and e-commerce platform plays an important role. "MSMEs represent almost 99 percent of Indonesian business people today. Through the right incentives, such as the facilitation of fast-growing e-commerce activities, our MSMEs will be able to increase their competitiveness and penetrate the global market optimally."

In addition to issues on digitalization and inclusiveness, in terms of trade, APEC also continues to accelerate the pace of achieving the 2020 Bogor Goals, fostering regional economic integration and connectivity in the Asia Pacific region.

The year 2020 will be an important moment for APEC. Departing from a deal 26 years ago in Bogor, APEC's big priority is to reduce various trade and investment barriers. The first phase for advanced economies has been made in 2010. Two years from now, achievements in developing economies should be able to complement APEC's success to create open and free trade and investment in Asia Pacific.