PNG Microfinance Ltd (PML), one of the main microfinance institutions (MFI) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), has begun to air a weekly radio programme to inform the public on its activities, in particular the types of financial services it provides and how they can be accessed. It will feature a format of interviews with management and staff and will be aired every Wednesday, from 7pm-8pm, on FM100 from the capital, Port Moresby.
The programme is the first of its kind in Papua New Guinea, but could prove to be an ideal way of communicating with the rural population in the country who make up 80% of the 5.8 million overall and who have least access to financial services institutions, which are mainly located in the urban centres.
PML was established in 2004 and is sponsored by PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd. (PNG SDP), with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Bank South Pacific (BSP), the largest commercial bank in PNG, being the two other lead shareholders. According to the MixMarket, PML has a gross loan portfolio of over USD 2 million, total assets of USD 10.3 million and a debt / equity ratio of 456%. Its return on assets is -19.71%. According to the local paper, The National, at the end of September 2007, the MFI had 120,000 depositors.
Amy Rennison, MicroCapital writer
Additional Sources:
The National:
http://www.thenational.com.pg/102507/Business3.htm
Microfinance Gateway:
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/content/article/detail/44358
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