is compiled into the quarterly economic bulletin and other bank publications that are sought from within png and abroad. i can assure you that our qeb is read in cities like washington d. c., canberra, tokyo, and manila, to name a few. the surveys assist the central bank keep abreast of developments in the real economy. the result of the surveys enables us at the central bank to design monetary policy, and importantly, provides another source of information for the government to compile its estimate of gross domestic product ( gdp ). whilst we can obtain information from headquarters, there is always input from actually visiting the regional centres and getting ‘ first hand ’ information. at present, a total of 496 companies are included in the survey sample covering six regions and eight industries. of these, 24 companies that have headquarters in mt. hagen participate in our survey, while others are covered by their head offices in port moresby or lae. i look forward to your continued cooperation in providing the required information in the surveys. the western highlands province is an important contributor to the country ’ s balance of payments performance, mainly through coffee. the board members, bank officials and i had the opportunity to visit one of the successful tea factories in this province, and are very encouraged by their products. it is important that producers and exporters continue to make use of any ‘ window of opportunity ’, with better commodity prices and stable economic conditions. this will ensure sustainability of the current improved macroeconomic environment. i wish to take this opportunity to also thank bank officers in mount hagen, especially those working at the currency distribution centre ( cdc ) in the bsp, the police and escort personnel in our cdc operations. on behalf of the board of the central bank, the two deputy governors, and the management and staff of the central bank, i would like to once again thank the western highlands provincial government, the chamber of commerce, staff of the highlander hotel, and all those who have made our stay here in mount hagen a very pleasant one. thank you and god bless.

agency of the png micro - finance & employment project in 2000. this project is co - sponsored by the asian development bank, ausaid, the government of png and the central bank. the contribution and assistance from commercial banks in this project is through the institute of banking and business from where the micro - finance competency centre operates. the institute is jointly owned essentially by the banks and bank of png. a pilot micro - bank which was launched in wau, morobe province, in 2004 has shown strong signs of growth by expanding its operations into the city of lae after one year of commencement. this venture is technically owned by the png institute of banking and business. just recently, we issued a licence to the papua new guinea micro finance company limited, which is owned by papua new guinea sustainable development program limited, the bank south pacific limited and the international finance company ( ifc ), the investment arm of the world bank. this is a vote of confidence as it is the first time that the ifc is directly involved in our country as an investor or lender. all these initiatives are not in direct competition with the existing financial institutions, but are seen as complementary to the financial system. we have also used our legislation to deal with financial institutions not complying with the regulations, some of whom have been placed under statutory management with the aim that they will trade themselves out of their difficulties. may i also warn against the fast - money schemes or pyramid schemes. the central bank continues to work with the law enforcing agencies to get rid of these illegal schemes, which have created financial problems for many of our people. the police force has been helpful in this matter and i acknowledge and thank them for their assistance. we have also taken out advertisements listing the licensed financial institutions and warning the public on the illegal schemes, however the central bank can only do so much – we need the public ’ s support – your support and the support from the media – to help us stop and prosecute the operators of these schemes. 4. acknowledgements may i take this opportunity to thank the business houses and community in mt. hagen and the western highlands province for your support in participating in the business and employment surveys conducted by the bank – the support and co - operation that goes back some thirty years. your continued support in providing us with up - to - date information enhances the accuracy and quality of our reports and forecasting for the formulation of monetary policy. the input together with that from other sources