By Martha Louis – EM TV News, Lae
Bank of PNG Governor, Loi Bakani, said the PNG economy will continue to face difficulties due to the downturn and low export revenue.
Slow growth in key global economies, that in turn triggered low prices, continue to affect revenue inflows. The slow growth in the economy is expected to continue throughout this year.
The state of the economy has forced the national government to adjust this year’s budget. This is to try and stay within the budget and not to over spend.
Bakani said the decline is expected to continue throughout this year. The drop has also put a lot of pressure on the country’s foreign exchange.
Business operations in the city will also be affected. Businesses will have difficulty in importing goods and as a result will be forced to scale down operations.
Business houses will have to make adjustments in order to reduce the amount of stock they will sell.
While the decline is affecting the country, demand for banking services is increasing.
Today, Westpac opened its new branch at the market area in Lae. The new bank will allow both retail and commercial customers to do their business.
But the decline will also affect the banks lending services greatly.
Meanwhile, employment rates in the Highlands, NGI and Southern regions have declined.
But in Morobe and in the Momase regions they hasve increased in the Central Bank September Quarterly Report. But then again, Morobe is also suffering a decline in mining sector employment.
