00:00Look, it sounds like it's very close indeed.
00:05We understand that the licensing fee has now been paid.
00:08So all that has to happen now is the Bank of PNG, the Reserve Bank of that country,
00:12has to give the green light.
00:14Now exactly when that's likely to happen, we don't know.
00:18Justin Tuchenko, as you mentioned, the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea, is saying he
00:21hopes it can happen within the next couple of months before the end of this year.
00:25If not, he says, it could happen perhaps early next year.
00:29Now there's no absolute guarantee that the BPNG does give it the green light, but the
00:33broad expectation across the PNG political class is that this will happen, not least
00:39because the government has made it clear it's such a big priority.
00:42And PNG's government is really enthusiastic about this.
00:46They say that once the bank opens up a full branch, at the moment it's only got a representative
00:51office in Port Moresby, but when it opens up a full branch, it will open up all sorts
00:55of economic opportunities for the country, including making it easier for local businesses
01:00to trade in Chinese currency.
01:03They say that if they do that, then it will be easier for them to bring down the prices
01:07of everyday goods because they'll be able to purchase in bulk in Rwimimbi.
01:11All of this, they say, means it will be a huge economic boon for the country.
01:16Looking at the bigger geopolitical implications, Steve, why does it matter?
01:21Yeah, it matters for a couple of reasons.
01:24First, Australian analysts and officials are a little bit less rosy in their assessment
01:28of what this might mean.
01:30The first thing is that the Bank of China doesn't operate by the same rules that Western
01:35banks operate by, and in particular, there's a level of concern amongst analysts and officials
01:40about the strength of money laundering or anti-money laundering measures taken by the
01:46Bank of China, for example.
01:48The system is much more opaque, and so there's much less confidence amongst those people
01:53who look at these transactions closely that things like money laundering will be watched
01:58and monitored appropriately.
02:00On top of that, you've also got, perhaps by coincidence, a new casino, P&G's first opening,
02:06at least in theory, next year, the so-called Parga Hill development.
02:09Now, this is a massive, sprawling development that means not just a casino opening but also
02:14essentially a whole special economic zone with far looser customs and other restrictions,
02:20as well as hotels and a cruise ship berth.
02:23The concern amongst people who watch these things closely is that the combination of
02:27a country with relatively weak financial controls with a new bank that doesn't play by the same
02:33rules as Western banks and a casino could provide a hub for financial crime and other
02:39illicit activity, particularly money laundering.
02:42This has happened in other countries, including in Southeast Asia.
02:45The anxiety in places like Canberra is that a similar thing could happen in Port Moresby.
02:51Now, it's worth saying that P&G's government has fiercely denied that this is a risk, as
02:55have the Parga Hill developers.
02:57They say that the rules will be enforced.
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