Accurate information on the economy and business environment is crucial for investors to make informed business and investment decisions. Information creates awareness of the business and investment environment, which are needed by both existing and potential investors. It is therefore a good idea to develop and maintain an accurate database of all companies in each province. This will ensure proper scrutiny of business operations as well as enabling timely compilation and dissemination of pertinent business information. The information will enable companies to develop realistic business plans and strategies. This survey program is consistent with IPA’s effort to make available accurate business information.

The survey covered a total of 43 companies in the Southern Highlands province, particularly from Mendi, Ialibu and surrounding areas. Of that 6 were considered unusable for this report as they were incomplete and that some important information were missing. Hence, only 37 were used for analysis in this report, comprising of 31 citizen companies representing 83.8 percent whilst the remaining 6 companies or 16.2 percent were foreign owned.

In terms of economic activities, as in other highlands provinces wholesaling and retailing are common businesses. They together represent more than 72 percent of all companies surveyed. Coffee industry and construction activities are next representing 5.4 percent each.

Overall, there are few foreign companies operating in the province, hence the statistics on employment, sales and investments are correspondingly low in comparison to citizen companies. As expected investment in wholesale and retail sectors recorded the highest accounting approximately 99 percent of all investments recorded for the province.

In terms of capital investments, stocks dominate representing 68 percent of total capital investments recorded for the province The survey also attempts to identify the level of sales made by companies operating in various types of business activities. The figure is not reflective of all businesses operating in the province, as some districts were not covered by the survey