MRDC - Mineral Resources Development Company: Trustee of the People's Resources of Papua New Guinea

Friday 5th November 2010: Port Moresby, NCD

SPEECH BY MINERAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (MRDC) LIMITED CHAIRMAN MR SIMON TOSALI ON THE OCCASION TO LAUNCH THE NEW LOOK WEBSITE

Minister for Finance and Treasury and Ialibu- Pangia MP Peter O’Neil, MRDC Board of Directors, Directors of MRDC Subsidiary Companies, Managing Director Augustine, Invited guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. MRDC is privileged to have your presence here this evening to launch our new-look website. MRDC plays a major role as trustee of the nation's wealth for and on behalf of the landowners and the affected provincial governments. In the global mineral and petroleum market, MRDC also has a role to play to promote PNG as an attractive investment destination with a very fair tax regime, offering investors opportunities to come and develop our vast resources. We also want to make sure investors feel that their investments are safe when they spend their millions and billions of kina in the country.

MRDC has grown from its humble beginnings to become a leading corporate organisation in PNG with a diverse portfolio of both domestic and international investments. We are proud of these achievements. With the emergence of the Liquefied Natural Gas projects, MRDC is taking the lead in ensuring that landowners become active participants in the project and not just collectors of royalty and equity. MRDC now manages 2.7% direct equity interest on behalf of our subsidiary companies Petroleum Resources Kutubu, Petroleum Resources Gobe and Petroleum Resources Moran.

Apart from the existing mining and petroleum companies that we look after, the following companies have been established and will be managed by MRDC to participate in the PNG LNG Project, Gas Resources Kutubu Gas Resources Gobe Gas Resources Moran Gas Resources Hides Gas Resources Gigira Gas Resources Juha Gas Resources Angore We welcome representatives from the respective companies who are with us tonight. This is just one of many examples of what we are doing to make landowners become part owners of the mining and petroleum projects. MRDC would like to work with all stakeholders so that our landowners’ wealth is enhanced and benefits continue to flow even after the life of the projects.

“MRDC has done its part in the development of PNG, giving confidence to the financiers and investors to invest in the mining and petroleum industries in the country. “The World Wide Web is playing an important role in the way information is communicated to the masses and at MRDC understands the importance of keeping its beneficiaries and stakeholders informed of what they are doing. “We invested in this state–of–the-art tool to be accessible by national and international stakeholders.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, MRDC is in discussion with key stakeholders in the management of MOA funds to ensure a smooth transition of the management of these funds from the Department of Petroleum and Energy to MRDC. The National Executive Council approved the transfer of the functions of managing, accounting and implementation of the MOA projects to MRDC. This new task is an added responsibility to MRDC and we are well prepared to take on the new role. MRDC has proven over the years of its capability to manage funds prudently and deliver infrastructure projects on time and budget and with our added responsibility we assure Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare tonight that we will deliver on the projects identified to be funded under the MOA commitments.

The upgraded website we are launching today has got all the information that is needed by the landowners and investors who are considering PNG as their next investment destination. We wanted to make it as easy as possible so that our landowners can easily access it and read information on the progress of their companies. We would also encourage investors to access our website to gain more information about opportunities available in PNG for them. We have dedicated a team of officers who will continuously update the website and we will make sure any information that needs to be online will be placed online on our website. Thank you.