Alii Palau Airline’s inaugural flight opens a new gateway to Palau

After several delays, the Alii Palau Airline’s first flight to Palau became a reality Thursday last week.  At 6:40 AM on Thanksgiving Day, 23 November  2023, Drukair, a Royal Bhutan Airline, chartered by Alii Palau

Read More

Raise PNG wage rate, says CPL founder

A prominent businessman has urged the PNG Government to increase the minimum wage to enable grassroots people to survive in these tough economic times. City Pharmacy Ltd Group founder, Sir Mahesh Patel, said the base

Read More

27 Fiji greenpreneurs graduate, receive 350k in grants

Twenty-seven micro, small and medium enterprises in Fiji have been awarded US$350,000 in grants to further develop their businesses sustainably. They are part of the Pacific Greenpreneurs Incubator and Accelerator

Read More

First aircraft in Air Niugini’s new fleet arrives

Air Niugini Boeing 737-800 next generation series aircraft will service the airline’s domestic and international operations, says acting chief executive officer Gary Seddon. “We are exceptionally proud to welcome

Read More

Trends in food and beverage manufacturing

A global view Consumer concerns over cost, health and environmental sustainability are driving innovation in the global food and beverage manufacturing sector. Supply chains are being influenced by shortages of raw

Read More

From Samoa with alofa

“Our vision is to take Samoa products to the world,” says Nathan Wilson, Director of Wilex Samoa. “That was the founder, my father Tangaloa Eddie Wilson’s vision, to create a gateway for the Samoan people to get

Read More

Supporting Pacific cacao farmers

“We are chocolate and cacao manufacturers, but we call ourselves community cultural development practitioners which is what we all studied, none study chocolate making. The more beans we move, the more money goes into

Read More

Kava exports are multi-million Kina commodity, says PNG Minister

Papua New Guinea has the potential to surpass Fiji and Vanuatu in kava exports, which is becoming a multi-million Kina commodity, said International Trade and Investment Minister, Richard Maru. Maru said that kava was

Read More

Air Niugini purchase six new planes for refleet programme

“This one is for you” as pen was put to paper with the country purchasing six new Airbus A220 aircraft costing in total K1.11 billion (US$300 million) which forms part of the fleet replacement programme for Air

Read More

Fall of a Fijian trafficker exposes previous government’s blind eye to meth

The imprisonment of a prominent Fijian businessman on drug charges is just one sign of the Pacific island country’s increasing role as an international trafficking hub.    Key Findings: Until recently, Aiyaz

Read More

PNG eyes China for more ‘cheaper’ loans

Cheaper loans will be a key agenda for PNG officials when Prime Minister James Marape leads a delegation of government and business leaders to China for bilateral talks next week. The Post Courier said Treasurer Ian

Read More

SPBD businesswomen lauded at annual awards

The Vodafone Arena in Suva last week was full-packed with radiant businesswomen celebrating their efforts at the 12th annual South Pacific Business Development awards. SPBD Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Greg

Read More

Fiji National Provident Fund acquires popular Garden City Complex

Fiji’s National Provident Fund has acquired the popular Garden City complex at Carpenter Street in Raiwai.  The property, which sits on a freehold land area of 3 acres and 1.7 perches, is located just 2.5

Read More

Fiji and Australian Business Councils to address post COVID recovery

Government and business professionals from Fiji and Australia will convene at the 27th Australia-Fiji Business Forum in Sydney next week. After a two-year hiatus, the Australia-Fiji Business Forum will be held for the

Read More

PNG resource boom to last 30 years: Trade Minister Maru

Papua New Guinea is expecting a resource boom from next year because of at least five multi-billion kina projects in the pipeline, says International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru. “We don’t have just

Read More

Minimum wage rise increases private sector burden: Vanuatu Opposition

The newly introduced VT300 (US$2.49) minimum wage has increased the burden of the private sector, especially the small medium sized enterprises. This is one of the arguments that the Opposition bloc has cited in the

Read More

How an ex-commando trainer from Singapore is changing tourism in the Pacific

While the superpowers and regional actors jostle for influence in the Pacific Ocean, Singapore and an ex-commando trainer may play a key role in changing the tourism landscape there. In September, the new Alii Palau

Read More

The business of bilas

Caleb Jarvis’ passion for Papua New Guinean art and craft started when he lived there as a young child, surrounded by, as he describes them, historical, functional, cultural and spiritual objects. “I lived in an

Read More

Survey reveals F$2.09 billion in Fiji tourism earnings in 2022

Fiji’s tourism industry earned a total of $FJ2.09 billion (US$1.045 billion) between April and December last year, according to new survey results released this week. The Fiji 2022 Annual International Visitor Survey

Read More

China-backed AIIB secures World Bank deal

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing’s answer to the World Bank, has approved one of its highest-profile international partnerships, just weeks after it was accused of being infiltrated by China’s

Read More

PNG Cannery may generate K1.2 billion

Papua New Guinea Government and corporate partner RD Corporation will start talks on a fish cannery which is expected to generate about K1.2 billion (US$335 million) in annual revenue, says Prime Minister James Marape.

Read More

Thriving stock exchange eyed in PNG

Companies are not currently obliged to list on the Papua New Guinea stock exchange (PNGX), but a thriving stock exchange in the country can act as a catalyst for broader economic growth, says chairman David Lawrence. On

Read More

Too little to avert crisis, Puma Energy received US$12.7 million of foreign exchange in PNG

Puma Energy received about US$12.7 million (about K45.8 million) of foreign exchange (FX) on Friday, but this is still not enough to buy fuel needed to address the looming shortage in Papua New Guinea, the company’s

Read More

New craft beer brewery Inu Hake, offering different local flavours on Niue

Ihu Hake craft beer in local flavours like honey, vanilla, coconut and pineapple offers a different taste for locals and tourists on Niue. After many years of having only imported beer on the island, a locally owned

Read More