Bank of China set to open first branch in PNG and gain Pacific foothold
ABCThe Bank of China is on the brink of gaining its first full foothold in the Pacific, with an application to set up a branch in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby in the final stages of approval. Pacific analyst Jess Collins from the Lowy Institute told the ABC that state-owned Bank of China would be "under pressure to report to Beijing on the bank's clients and PNG's elite". Casino operations outsourced Australian officials and analysts are also concerned with how the Bank of China branch could interact with a new casino — PNG's first — due to open next year in Port Moresby. Mr Fridriksson said the casino would diversify tourism and help overcome negative perceptions of PNG by becoming an "icon of Port Moresby" akin to Australia's Sydney Harbour. "To start with, Bank of China's main business will be providing services to Chinese companies and nationals operating in PNG," he said.
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