Papua New Guinea Business Confidence Improves for 2025 Despite Persistent Challenges, CEO Survey Reveals
PORT MORESBY – Business leaders in Papua New Guinea are expressing greater optimism for the economic outlook in 2025, according to the latest PNG 100 CEO Survey, despite ongoing hurdles in foreign exchange, security, and utilities.
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| Papua New Guinea Business Confidence Improves for 2025 Despite Persistent Challenges, CEO Survey Reveals [File photo: Mt Hagen Skyline] |
The annual survey, conducted by Business Advantage International in collaboration with Westpac, tracks business sentiment among Papua New Guinea’s leading companies. This year’s findings indicate a notable rise in confidence, with 65 per cent of CEOs anticipating higher profits in 2025 compared to 2024, while 25 per cent expect profits to remain stable. This marks a more positive outlook than the previous survey, where only 55 per cent foresaw profit growth.
Reflecting on 2024 financial performance, 40 per cent of CEOs reported that their profits exceeded expectations, while 30 per cent said they met their targets.
Investment intentions also appear strong, with 67 per cent of companies planning to boost capital expenditure in 2025, slightly up from 65 per cent last year. However, hiring expectations have seen a slight decline, with 56 per cent of businesses aiming to expand their workforce, down from 63 per cent in the previous survey. Meanwhile, just 2 per cent expect to downsize, a notable decrease from last year’s 8 per cent.
Despite the positive economic outlook, CEOs identified several persistent challenges that continue to hinder business operations. While concerns over foreign exchange availability, security, and unreliable utilities remain, the severity of these issues has lessened slightly compared to 2024. Forex challenges declined from 4.64 to 4.24 on a severity scale, while concerns over security and law and order eased from 4.39 to 4.15. Issues with utilities also saw some improvement, dropping from 4.26 to 4.04.
However, certain challenges have intensified, with business leaders citing worsening conditions in logistics, market research limitations, high real estate rental costs, increased competition, and difficulties in accessing capital.
Since its inception in 2012, the PNG 100 CEO Survey has provided key insights into business confidence and investment trends in the country. This year’s results indicate a cautious but growing optimism among business leaders, reflecting a hopeful trajectory for Papua New Guinea’s economic landscape in 2025.
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