loi m bakani : the online finance finder portal launch speech by mr loi m bakani, governor of the bank of papua new guinea and board chairman of the centre for excellence in financial inclusion, at the online finance finder portal launch in collaboration with business link pacific ( blp ) and centre for excellence in financial inclusion, port moresby, 11 august 2021. * * * 1. acknoldegements salutations ladies and gentlemen 2. finance finder 1 ) firstly, let me thank you for the warm welcome and kind courtesies extended and for your presence at this important gathering to launch the online finance finder portal, which i understand is the first of its kind in the country. 2. finance finder 2 ) our appreciation to the business link pacific and centre for excellence in financial inclusion for making this project launch a success. let me also thank the financial institutions who took up the invitation to be part of this exciting journey : the commercial banks, micro banks and the finance companies. 3 ) png financial inclusion strategy and policy identify sme lending as a priority area and have taken steps to assist and promote the lending activities in the last financial inclusion strategy 2016 – 2020. 4 ) with the intrusion of the pandemic covid - 19, many businesses have adversely been impacted, especially the msme sector. the situation has also called to utilize technology to access financial services, a shift from the traditional ways of service delivery. 5 ) lack of information is identified as a key problem in having access to financial services for smes in papua new guinea. thesme loan product guidethat was developed by cefi last year was the first step in providing information on sme lending. finance finder is taking it one step further by providing the information available online. financial institutions can update the information on a regular basis to provide updated information always. 6 ) the finance finder portal serves as a tool for customers, i. e. msme owners, to search for the product that meets their requirements or needs in order to grow their businesses. the portal can be accessed through the cefi website, and linked to the business link pacific ’ s website. 3. other supporting development 7 ) i wish to highlight two important development projects which the bank is developing and will soon to be rolled out : a ) sme accelerator programwith one of the key outputs being the credit guarantee facility. the purpose of this initiative is to ensure the credit

leonard wilson kamit : the 2003 dividend to the government speech by mr leonard wilson kamit, cbe, governor and chairman of the board of the bank of papua new guinea, on the occasion of the payment of the 2003 dividend to the government, port moresby, 14 september 2004. * * * introduction the minister for finance and treasury, honourable bart philemon m. p, members of the board, executives of the bank of papua new guinea, ladies and gentlemen. the central banking act ( cba ) 2000 specifies the objectives and functions of the bank of papua new guinea. besides our core functions of managing monetary policy, supervising the financial system, ensuring an efficient payments system, promoting macroeconomic stability and economic growth in papua new guinea, the central bank also has a special relationship with its shareholder, the government. the bank is mandated to provide to the government advice on financial and banking matters, and liaise closely with the treasury department on macroeconomic matters. our relationship with the government involves acting as its banker and financial agent, as the official depository, perform general agency functions, liaise with international financial institutions and provide short - term advances to meet cash - flow mismatches. the bank of png has a board that ensures that the governor and management perform in fulfilling the duties so prescribed as well as strive to make profits and declare dividends to its shareholder. i am pleased to announce that the central bank has a very dynamic and vigilant board, which ensures that the bank ’ s policies and operations are prudent and sound. the membership of the board as prescribed under the central banking act has representation from the civil and business community with explicit governance responsibilities. the board members are : mr l wilson kamit cbe – governor & chairman mr benny popoitai mbe – deputy governor, management & operations rev samson lowa – president, png council of churches mr john mahuk – president, png trade union congress mr michael mayberry – president, png chamber of commerce mr patrick kolta – president, png institute of accountants mr kostas constantinou obe – managing director, lamana hotel ltd mr robert igara cmg – chief executive, png sustainable development program ltd the late koiari tarata iso, cbe – secretary, department of treasury ( now vacant ) to ensure that accountability, structural and governance matters were strengthened in the bank, the board established an audit committee. the approved a charter for the audit committee covers the responsibilities,