Unrest-hit New Caledonia airlines in search of new markets

New Caledonia‘s domestic carrier Air Calédonie is set to launch a bi-weekly international connection to neighbouring Vanuatu.  The new link is set to start operating from 3 October with two return flights, one

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Regional Kava Strategy launched: Tonga’s Princess urges protection against cultural misappropriation

Tongan Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tuku’aho has issued a passionate call for the protection of kava’s cultural and economic value at the launch of the Regional Kava Development Strategy on Wednesday, emphasising

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Opinion: As Western banks leave the Pacific, a new player emerges

Australian banks are gradually withdrawing from the Pacific Islands, leaving the region at risk of being totally disconnected from the global banking system. Bendigo Bank is exiting Nauru, while Westpac has floated

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BPNG to continue Kina intervention

The Bank of PNG says to ensure a gradual and stable adjustment of the nominal exchange rate over time, it will continue to intervene to support the crawl-rate and reduce outstanding orders in the foreign exchange

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Arkansas lawmakers approve emergency rule to grant SNAP benefits to Marshallese migrants

A legislative subcommittee on Thursday approved an emergency rule to comply with a new U.S federal law that extends certain public assistance programme benefits to migrants from the Marshall Islands. Arkansas is home to

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Kiribati, Niue and Tuvalu struggle to keep up with high cost of living

Purchasing basic commodities, such as food, has been a big challenge for residents of Kiribati, Niue and Tuvalu, which are most affected by global inflation, according to the Asian Development Bank’s latest economic

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Opinion: Free(r) movement at the Forum

The annual Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) always has a wide-ranging agenda. This year the FEMM, which was held at the start of August in Suva, endorsed the now-finalised but yet-to-be-released

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Fiji Cabinet removes duties on EU goods under iEPA

Fiji’s cabinet has approved the implementation of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) with the European Union (EU) and decided to remove duties on certain goods from EU countries. This move is part of

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Jet fuel import facility to be online by 2025: Kumul Petroleum Holdings 

Kumul Petroleum Holdings (KPHL) expects its new jet fuel import facility at Motukea Port to come into operation by the first quarter of 2025, KPHL Managing Director Wapu Sonk told the 2024 Business Advantage PNG

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Migrant workers feeling the impact of New Zealand’s economic crisis

Hundreds of jobs in the New Zealand meat sector have been “discreetly” lost over the last 18 months and this is due to a decline in livestock breeding numbers, industry officials say.  In January last year, the

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More gold to be mined, says PM Marape

Papua New Guinea has an estimated 100 million ounces of gold that is yet to be mined, says Prime Minister James Marape. Marape said this when closing the three-day Geoscience, Exploration and Extraction Conference 2024

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Economic diplomacy: Banking on the Pacific

Rebuilding regional banking is unlikely to pay dividends without an underlying business revival. Australia’s oldest bank changed its name from the Bank of New South Wales to Westpac in 1982, reflecting apparent

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