Thursday, June 5, 2008
Papua New Guinea Agribusiness Investment Opportunities
Papua New Guinea is an investment destination that is increasingly gaining attention from those looking for business opportunities in Asia. Rich in resources specifically mining, fisheries and agriculture, the economy has been performing strongly mainly due to the high demand for commodities. One of the areas that does show potential is agriculture.
The driving force behind commercial agriculture in Papua New Guinea has always been the export crops namely coffee, cocoa, coconut (copra), oil palm and kernels. Other export commodities include tea, cardamom, rubber, chillies and pyrethrum as well as the great number of varieties of tropical fruits and vegetables. There is considerable potential for expansion and development of many more crops for export, including the export of fresh fruit and vegetables and processed or downstream products.
Specific investment opportunities dwell in coffee, oil palm, cocoa, coconut/copra and all spice crops. The government of PNG has made some special incentives for those interested in agribusiness projects with a special tax rate of 20 per cent for agribusiness projects and tax breaks.
One of the recent sucess stories is palm oil. Several key investors have developed projects in parts of PNG that have been well suited for palm oil. With significant land available for production and a high palm oil price, producers such as New Britain Palm Oil Limited have done well in PNG. The company is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange and it is PNG's largest palm oil producer.
Other significant investment opportunities remain in PNG, but agribusiness certainly is a promising sector for astute investors.
Labels: agribusiness, agriculture, business opportunities, investment, palm oil, papua new guinea investment, png, png investment
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Profits with Vietnam's Privatizations
Vietnam has witnessed tremendous growth driven by accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and market-orientated economic reforms launched by the Vietnamese government. Coupled with the rising costs in China, investors are turning their attention to Southeast Asia's newest miracle economy.
According to the the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), the Vietnamese economy will continue to thrive, attaining a high growth rate of 8.7% in 2008.
The labour cost differentials between China and Vietnam are significant. Today it costs about $125 a month to hire a moderately skilled factory worker in China but in Ho Chi Minh City the monthly wage for factory workers is $65. The US giant Intel recently passed up the opportunity to expand the two factories it has in Chengdu and Pudong in China and has instead set-up a $600 million chipset factory near Ho Chi Minh City. A sign of growing confidence in the economic reforms.
As the pace of reform continues, many of Vietnam's SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) are being privatized. Most of these SOEs are actually small or medium sized companies that are seeking outside investors. In most cases the new owners are insiders of the firm and aquired their equity stake in a process resembling a management-employee buyout, with favourable conditions for the employees. Many of these SOEs are in the export orientated sectors including such as agriculture and food processing. These companies are actively seeking outside investors to further develop the business in Vietnam's new economic boom.
At AsiaBusinessInvestor.com we have listed a few of the current opportunities for investors.
Labels: investment, reforms, vietnam, vietnam privatizations
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