5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum & Trade Expo

Holiday Inn Resort, Port Vila, Vanuatu 28th February, 2017

Welkam lo Vanuatu

Photo by Alcina Charlie

Invest in Vanuatu...

Talk to us today!Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority

PMB 9011Laguna Building

Port VilaT: 24441/24096

w: www.investvanuatu.org.vu

• Political and social stability.• Growing infrastructural development.• Strongoffshorefinancialcenter.• Ideally situated providing market access to Australia, NZ and the

entirePacificregion.• A strong and reliable workforce.• Bilingual (English/French) speakers.• Reasonable labor rates.• SubmarinefiberopticcableenhancingICTservicesinVanuatu.• Multi-cultural society.

Vanuatu is growing and is inviting you to invest! Here’s why...

The Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority, VIPA, is the only agency established to facilitate foreign direct investment into Vanuatu.

We are your gateway to investing in the land of opportunities!

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 2017 3

5th Australia Vanuatu Business ForumTuesday 28 February 2017, 8:30am – 5:30pm

Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu, Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Invest in Vanuatu...

Talk to us today!Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority

PMB 9011Laguna Building

Port VilaT: 24441/24096

w: www.investvanuatu.org.vu

• Political and social stability.• Growing infrastructural development.• Strongoffshorefinancialcenter.• Ideally situated providing market access to Australia, NZ and the

entirePacificregion.• A strong and reliable workforce.• Bilingual (English/French) speakers.• Reasonable labor rates.• SubmarinefiberopticcableenhancingICTservicesinVanuatu.• Multi-cultural society.

Vanuatu is growing and is inviting you to invest! Here’s why...

The Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority, VIPA, is the only agency established to facilitate foreign direct investment into Vanuatu.

We are your gateway to investing in the land of opportunities!

MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY.1800 CARNIVAL AUSTRALIA Opening Cocktails &1930 BANK SOUTH PACIFIC Opening dinner, The Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu.

TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY.0745 ANZ BANKING GROUP Registration Desk Open & HOLDING REDLICH breakfast on arrival

0830 PACIFIC AIR EXPRESS PLENARY SESSION ONE

0830 WELCOME TO DELEGATES: Mr Gary Clifford, President, Australia Pacific Islands Business Council.

0845 KEYNOTE ADDRESSES: Vanuatu: The Hon Joe Natuman, Deputy Prime Minister. Australia: Ms Jenny Da Rin, High Commissioner to Vanuatu.

0935 THE VANUATU ECONOMY: Mr Simeon Athy, Governor, Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.

1000 BUILDING INVESTMENT IN VANUATU: Mr Lionel Kaluat, Chairman, Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority.

1025 INVESTMENT CASE STUDIES: Tourism: Mr Richard Barnes, Director, The Point Marina. Agriculture: Ms Cornelia Wyllie, Chief Executive Officer, Vanuatu Direct Ltd.

11:15 LUNCHEON REFRESHMENTS

1215 AUSTRALIAN TRADE COMMISSION PLENARY SESSION TWO

1215 TAKING VANUATU’S TOURISM INDUSTRY TO THE NEXT LEVEL: Ms Milissa Day, Senior Operations Officer, FCS IDA, International Finance Corporation Mr Jeremy Goodman, Director Supply Chain, Carnival Australia Mr Dixon Seeto, President, Fiji Hotels and Tourism Association.

1325 LAND REFORM: THE KEY TO INVESTMENT IN VANUATU: The Hon Ralph Regenvanu MP, Vanuatu Minister for Lands, Geology and Mines, Energy and Water Resources. Mr John Mulally, Principal, John Mulally and Associates.

1415 PANEL SESSION: MANAGING BANKING, FINANCE AND TAX ISSUES: Mr Martin St Hilaire, AJC Accounting; Govenor Simeon Athy, Reserve Bank of Vanuatu; Mr Stuart Beren, Bank South Pacific; Mr James Hudson, Bred Bank; Mr Geoff Toone, National Bank of Vanuatu; Mr Rufus Pinto, ANZ Banking Group. Ms Gayle Stapleton, Stapleton Pacific (Facilitator)

1515 BRED BANK AFTERNOON REFRESHMENTS

1615 ORIGIN ENERGY PLENARY SESSION THREE

1615 PACER PLUS: Dr Edwini Kessie, Chief Trade Advisor.

1640 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK – FUTURE WORK PROGRAM IN VANUATU: Ms Nancy Wells, Senior Country Coordination Officer, Extended Mission-Vanuatu, Asian Development Bank.

1705 AUSTRALIAN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE WORKING TO SUPPORT BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: Ms Susan Ryle, Deputy High Commissioner and Development Counsellor, Australian High Commission, Port Vila.

17:30 END OF PLENARY SESSIONS.

17:35 CLOSING DRINKS.

18:35 END CLOSING DRINKS

19:00 CLOSING DINNER, HOSTED BY VANUATU MINISTER OF FINANCE, THE HON. GAETAN PIKIOUNE

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 20174

Major Sponsor VIPA Inside Front Cover

Silver Sponsor Origin Energy Page 4

Platinum Sponsor ANZ Page 5

Gold Sponsor Bred Bank Page 7

Gold Sponsor Holding Redlich Page 8

Platinum Sponsor BSP Page 11

Silver Sponsor Austrade Page 13

Silver Sponsor Pacific Air Express Page 14

Platinum Sponsor Carnival Australia Inside Back

COMPANY NAME

Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority Philip AYONG

Vanuatu Chamber Of Commerce & Industry Mark SALELOUI

Solar Pumping Solutions Kim HARDING

Ramada Resort Port Vila Denis MASSE

R.c. Manubhai & Co Ltd Suresh CHAND

Oils Of Paradise Vanuatu Rona GARAE

Iririki Island Resort & Spa Jayne KINGHORN

First National Real Estate Anne DONCHOS

Australia Pacific Technical College Nick CROSLING

Actions Fasteners Pty Ltd Raymond HOLLIS

Advertisers

Exhibitors

Cover Photo Credit : Island welcome, Lumete Guesthouse, south west bay, Malekula. Photographer: Alcina Charlie (Vanuatu Photo Library)

Handbook Contents

Program P 3

List of advertisers P 4

List of exhibitors P 4

Speaker Profiles - Keynote P 6

Speaker Profiles - Economy P 6

Speaker Profiles - Investment P 7

Delegates List P 8-9

Speaker Profiles - Investment, Tourism P 10

Speaker Profiles - Land reform, Finance P 12

Speaker Profiles - PACER Plus P 13

Speaker Profiles - ADB, Aus High Comm P 14

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5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 20176

The Vanuatu Economy

The Hon Joe Natuman MP is a ni-Vanuatu politician, member of the Vanua’aku Pati, and is currently Deputy Prime Minister. He is a graduate of the University of the South Pacific, and was also an exchange student at the University of Papua New

Guinea. In the 1980s, he worked in the highest ranks of the civil service, culminating with the position of First Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office from 1987 to 1991, at the time of Prime Minister Walter Lini. He then worked as assistant registrar at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, until 1995. He entered national politics when he was elected MP for Tanna, representing the Vanua’aku Pati, in the 1995

general election. He has been continuously re-elected since, has held various Ministerial portfolios over this time.

Ms Jenny Da Rin is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and was most recently Assistant Secretary, Pacific Bilateral & New Zealand Branch. She also served as Senior Adviser to the Minister for De-

fence (2010) and Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (2009-10). Ms Da Rin holds a Master of Laws from the Aus-tralian National University and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr Gary Clifford is President, Australia Pacific Islands Business Council. Gary is the founder and managing director of Pa-cific Air Express, the south pacific re-gion’s first international cargo airline. Pacific Air Express has provided sched-

uled and charter freighter services linking the Solomon Is-

lands, PNG, Vanuatu, Nauru and other pacific islands with Australia since 1993, and presently uses two Boeing 737-300 freighter aircraft for this work. Gary went to the Solo-mons in 1984 as a young pilot, and has over 7000 hours logged flying in Solomon Islands and connecting interna-tional routes. These days his time is spent managing the airline and developing new air freight routes in the region.

Welcome to Delegates

Keynote Addresses

Mr. Simeon Malachi Athy commenced

his tenure as Governor of Reserve Bank

of Vanuatu on 15th November, 2013. Gov-

ernor Athy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in

Economics from the University of Papua

New Guinea (1991) and held various positions within the

RBV from 1991 to 2003, including the position of Director

the Research and Statistics Department. He joined the Gov-

ernment of Vanuatu public service as Director General to

the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. He was

duly transferred in the same position to the Prime Minister’s

Office in mid-2008 and held that position until his success-

ful appointment to the position of Governor of the RBV. Mr

Athy served in several capacities in the public sector, in-

cluding among others, Chairman of the Millennium Steering

Committee that oversaw the construction of two major na-

tional roads in Vanuatu in late 2000; Having served both in

the RBV and in the public sector over the last twenty two

(22) years, his wide expansive range of experience serves

him well in his current role as Governor and Chairman of the

Reserve Bank and its Board of Directors.

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 2017 7

Mr Lionel Kaluat became Chairman of the VIPA BOD in 2004. Mr. Kaluat is the Commissioner of Labour. Prior to becom-ing chair of the VIPA BOD, Mr. Kaluat as-sumes chairmanship responsibilities in a number of committees in both public and

private sector, and, as chairman of the VIPA BOD, Mr. Kaluat represents VIPA in several national committees, including as chairman of the country’s Tripartite Labour Advisory Council In his capacity as chairman of the VIPA BOD, Mr. Kaluat has been actively engaged in the design and execu-tion of a number of Government revenue initiatives. The

three common ones being “Permanent Residence Program (PR), the capital Investment and Immigration Program (CIIP) and the “Vanuatu Ecomonical Recovery Program” (VERP). Mr Kaluat has been and remains VIPA’s focal point when dealing with customary land issues on Efate. He was or-dained as Chief of his clan “ Naflak Nmaal” in 1989 in his community and is still an active member the Eurakot Coun-cil of Chief of Pango Village where he comes from on South Efate. His popularity amongst and respect from the commu-nities makes him a very excellent spokesman for VIPA, es-pecially when foreign investors are in search of accessing land for their projects.

Supporting Investment in Vanuatu

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 20178

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Delegates List

FIRST NAME SURNAME COMPANY POSITION COUNTRY

The Hon Joe NATUMAN Government of Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister VanuatuMs Jenny DA RIN Government of Australia High Commissioner to Vanuatu VanuatuThe Hon Ralph REGENVANU Government of Vanuatu Minister for Lands, Geology & Mines, Energy & Water Resources VanuatuSimeon ATHY Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Governor VanuatuAdrian WEEKS Australian Trade Commission (AUSTRADE) Trade Commissioner Pacific AustraliaAndrew AVENELL Rhodes Projects Services Pty Ltd Project Manager AustraliaAndrew BULMAN Bridge Procurement & Services Pty Ltd Director AustraliaAnnalise KNIGHT IFC Finance and MArket Consultant AustraliaAnne DONCHOS First national Real Estate Principal VanuatuAnnie Rose COOPER Oceania Freight International Pty Ltd OWNER AustraliaAnton DRAZEVIC Folklore Managing Director AustraliaAstrid BOULEKONE Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce & Industry General Manager VanuatuBrad BOWMAN Cardno Ltd IDA Branch Manager - Pacific AustraliaBryan DEATH TMS Ltd Owner VanuatuCornelia WYLLIE Vanuatu Direct Ltd Chief Executive Officer VanuatuDaniel CUSACK CCB Envico Construction Manager AustraliaDanielle BAILLY Antipodes Australia Manager AustraliaDenis ETOURNAUD BLUESCOPE President Director General New CaledoniaDixon SEETO President Fiji Hotels and Tourism Association Fiji

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 2017 9

Delegates List

FIRST NAME SURNAME COMPANY POSITION COUNTRY

Douglas PATTERSON Island Properties Owner VanuatuFrancesca GRILLO Francescas Beach Club Owner VanuatuFrederic BELLEVEGUE BRED Bank Head of Lending VanuatuGary BURTON Etmat Bay Owner VanuatuGary CLIFFORD Pacific Air Express Managing Director AustraliaGayle STAPLETON Stapleton Pacific Partner AustraliaGeoff TOONE National Bank of Vanuatu Managing Director VanuatuGeorge DECHAINEUX Ramada Resort Port Vila Managing Director VanuatuHolly COLE Folklore Director of Marketing and Strategy AustraliaJames HUDSON BRED Bank General Manager VanuatuJayne KINGHORN Iririki Island Resort & Spa Sales & Marketing Director VanuatuJeremy GOODMAN Carnival Australia Director - Supply Chain AustraliaJimmy ANDENG IFC Country Coordinator AustraliaJohn VIVIAN IFC Senior Financial Sector Specialist AustraliaJohn MULALLY John Mulally and Associates Principal AustraliaJohnson WABAIAIT Vanuatu Project Management Unit Director VanuatuJonathan LAW Law Partners Principal VanuatuJulie MIEHE Holding Redlich Partner AustraliaKeith WILSON Churches of Christ Medical Santo Executive Committee VanuatuKim HARDING Solar Pumping Solutions Director AustraliaLionel KALUAT Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority Chairman VanuatuLyn COX Churches of Christ Medical Santo Executive Manager VanuatuMark DUNN Origin Energy Vanuatu Ltd General Manager VanuatuMartin ST HILAIRE AJC Vanuatu Managing Partner VanuatuMatthew HARDING Australian High Commission Counsellor VanuatuMegan WILLIAMS Care International in Vanuatu Gender & Program Quality Manager VanuatuMichael FULLELOVE Sunstate Cement Operations Manager AustraliaMilissa DAY International Finance Corporation Senior Operations Manager AustraliaMona MATO Pacific Islands Trade & Invest Export Services Manager AustraliaNancy WELLS Asian Development Bank Senior Country Coordination Officer VanuatuNarcisse SUMTOH Bluescope Lysaght Vanuatu Director Manager New CaledoniaNick MORGAN Excentricity Director AustraliaNick CROSLING Australia Pacific Technical College Country Manager Vanuatu VanuatuNik REGENVANU BSP Vanuatu Head of Business Banking VanuatuNitij PAL ANDE + Co. Principal AustraliaPablo KANG Dept Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Assistant Secretary AustraliaPeter SHARRY Axiom Water Technologies Pty Ltd Director AustraliaPeter Tari MERAKALI Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Deputy Governor VanuatuRajeev RAMANKUTTY Sunstate Cement General Manager AustraliaRaymond VUTI Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority Acting Chief Executive Officer VanuatuRaymond HOLLIS Action Fasteners Pty Ltd Owner AustraliaRichard BARNES The Point Marina Director VanuatuRufus PINTO ANZ Bank Vanuatu Country Manager VanuatuSam NAMURI Ministry of Public Utilities Acting Director General VanuatuSantos VATOKO BRED Bank Senior Project Manager VanuatuSara KING IFC Tourism Consultant AustraliaSergio De SONNEVILLE SDS T/as General Maintenance Director VanuatuShaun WESTCOTT Solar Pumping Solutions Export Manager AustraliaSonya GRAY Australian High Commission First Secretary VanuatuSteve FRICHOT Iririki Island Resort & Spa General Manager VanuatuSteve HARDING Solar Pumping Solutions General Manager AustraliaSteve SIRO Office of the Chief Trade Advisor Trade Policy Officer VanuatuStuart BEREN BSP Vanuatu General Manager VanuatuSusan RYLE Australian High Commission Vanuatu Deputy High Commissioner/ Development Counsellor VanuatuTony SULLIVAN International Finance Corporation Investment Officer Solomon IslandsVicki JOE Law Partners Principal VanuatuWillie LUEN Trade Development Officer Trade Development Officer VanuatuFrank YOURN Australia Pacific Islands Business Council Executive Director AustraliaNina MARCELLIER Australia Pacific Islands Business Council Events AustraliaMinnie EDMANLEY Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority Research and Marketing Officer VanuatuMia CUSACK Australia Pacific Islands Business Council Communications Manager AustraliaLillian CHAPMAN Australia Pacific Islands Business Council Secretariat Australia

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 201710

Investment Case Studies

Taking Vanuatu’s Tourism Industry To The Next Level

Ms Cornelia Wyllie is no stranger at see-ing opportunities and making the most of them, having spent 29 years as an agri-cultural entrepreneur, food processor, and a connector of people. Cornelia is the CEO of Fine Foods ltd, founder of

Sowers and Growers, a program that mentors Ni Vanuatu farmers, and the creative designer of Rainbow Botanic Gar-dens. She also exudes a warm motherly figure to many. Cor-nelia has more than 30 years of living and working in Vanu-atu and a wealth of knowledge of the challenges that face new comers. Prior to starting her food processing busi-ness, Cornelia spent 10 years developing Vanuatu Direct Ltd an import export business and 15 years as a horticulturist. Apart from the full time commitment of running Fine Foods Ltd Cornelia is a regular writer for the Independent weekly

paper, Councilor in the Chamber of Commerce, and ex-tremely passionate about connecting the dots for others.

Mr Richard Barnes has been living in Va-nuatu for the last 9 years having moved from The Cayman Islands where he worked in Banking and Property Valua-tion for seven years. Richard is a New Zealander and keen water-sportsman

and is a Director and co-owner of Vanuatu Property Valua-tions, an Independent Property Valuation and Advisory company in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Richard and his wife jumped at the opportunity to join their partners in The Point Marina Subdivision Development having lived next to the site of the Marina which was formerly an abandoned quarry for the last five years.

Ms Milissa Day supports investment across fragile, conflict affected states (FCS) and low income IDA members across the East Asia and Pacific region. She builds regional and investment staff knowledge and resources to increase the

number of projects and value of total investment portfolio. She provides technical support and access to global knowl-edge and resources to assist transaction teams, advisory staff and country teams to deliver meaningful projects in the most difficult markets. Milissa has twenty years of ex-perience in post-conflict and fragile environments including Timor-Leste, Kosovo, Indonesia and Somalia. In 2010, she joined IFC as Timor-Leste Resident Representative, Milissa led engagement for IFC’s first ever investments in the coun-try and for reform projects which resulted in costs savings of over USD$20 million. Prior to joining IFC, Milissa worked for Development Alternatives, Inc., the World Bank and Women’s World Banking on microfinance development, both at industry and institutional levels. Milissa’s educa-tional background includes a Masters from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in political economy from the University of California, Irvine.

Mr Jeremy Goodman is the Director of Supply Chain at Carnival Australia. Prior to joining Carnival Australia, Jeremy was the Group Procurement Manager at Ar-dent Leisure Group. Starting his Procure-ment career as an analyst with the Accor

Hotel Group, Jeremy rose to senior roles within the Accor Procurement team, before moving to Quest Serviced Apart-ments as Procurement Manager, and then Mummu Media as General Manager. Jeremy is a Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Specialist with 12 years’ experience primarily in the hospitality industry, looking after both direct & indirect sourcing. Jeremy has a keen view to develop strategic part-nerships to maximize value within supply chains. Jeremy’s key interests & experience include the areas of food & bever-age, IT&T, travel & marketing, and has a strong passion for the travel & hospitality industries.

Mr Dixon Seeto was born and raised in Suva. He studied Airline Management in the United Kingdom while attached to British Airways in London. Upon his re-turn to Fiji, he worked for the National Carrier and held various senior positions

in Air Pacific. From 1987 he joined the private sector travel industry in senior management positions, including the

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5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 201712

Land Reform: The Key To Investment Growth In Vanuatu

Taking Vanuatu’s Tourism Industry To The Next Level

Managing Banking, Finance and Tax Issues

The Hon Ralph Regenvanu MP holds de-grees in Development Studies, Anthro-pology and Law and has been the Mem-ber of Parliament for Port Vila since 2008 (three legislatures). Between May 2013 and June 2015 as Minister for Lands and

Natural Resources in the Government he was the main driv-er behind a major overhaul of the land laws which came into effect in early 2014. He resumed the position of Minister of Lands in the current Government after the January 2016 snap election. Prior to his entry into politics, Regenvanu served as the director of the National Museum and Cultural Centre of Vanuatu, for eleven years (1995-2006).

Mr John Mulally is the principal of the law firm John Mulally & Associates in Sydney. During over 50 years of legal practice he has acted in transactions in all States of Australia and in New Zea-land, Vanuatu, Thailand, Indonesia, Ma-

laysia, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, State of New York, United Kingdom, France, the Russian Federation, Belarus and the Ukraine. He advised the Russian State Land Reform Committee on the establishment of a land titling system for the Russian Federation. He wrote the Strata Titles Act and other legislation for Vanuatu. John has drafted recommend-ed changes to several Vanuatu’s current land laws.

Tapa International Group of Companies and Warwick Inter-national Group of Hotels. He joined the Hexagon Group of Hotels as the Group Managing Director in 2004 and is re-sponsible for the three hotels in the Group and also its fu-ture development program.Mr. Seeto has been on various Government Boards and advisory committees which mainly involve tourism, civil aviation and travel. These include Civ-

il Aviation Authority of Fiji, Air Terminal Services and the Fiji Visitors Bureau. He is the President of the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association, Past President and current Board Member of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation, and President of Fiji China Friendship Association, amongst many other positions that he holds. He was a Senator in the previous Government.

Mr Stuart Beren has extensive experience in banking with over 18 years in the indus-try. Prior to working in the Pacific, Stu-art’s banking career was predominately focused in the commercial and corporate Property Finance sector where he ran the

Auckland office for ANZ. Stuart has spent 4 years in Vanuatu and most recently over saw the successful transition from Westpac to BSP. In mid-January this year, Stuart joined the RBV delegation to attend the FATF/APG workshop and is ac-tively involved in championing private sector NCC inclusion.

Mr James Hudson is the General Manager at BRED Bank Vanuatu where he has worked for the past 10 years. BRED Bank is part of BPCE Group, the 2nd largest banking group in France with a global net-work across 46 countries supported

by108,000 employees and 8,000 branches serving 35mln

customers. Previously, James has worked in Australian, Asian, Eastern and Western European banking markets. James grew up in Vanuatu calling the archipelago home and fostering a strong understanding of the local business envi-ronment as well as a commitment to its development.

Mr Rufus Pinto is the current Country Head of ANZ Vanuatu and New Caledonia, reporting to ANZ Regional Executive Pa-cific, Tessa Price. Mr Pinto transitioned into the role in August 2016 from his role as CEO for ANZ Kiribati. He is an experi-

enced banker with a career spanning over 15 years in banking and financial services in India, Australia and the Pacific. Originally from India, Mr Pinto has worked across various banking areas over the course of his career, including Retail, Commercial, Private and Corporate/Institutional. Mr Pinto also has oversight responsibility over ANZ Kiribati.

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 2017 13

Mr Martin St-Hilaire, Managing Partner of the firm AJC Vanuatu (www.ajc-vanuatu.com) is a qualified Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) member of the In-stitute of Canadian Chartered Account-ants. Holding a Master’s degree in Busi-

ness Administration (MBA) from Laval University, Quebec, Canada, Martin has extensive experience in Accounting, Au-dit and Financial Management, having previously worked for « big four » accounting firms in Canada (Arthur Andersen/Deloitte) and New Caledonia (KPMG). Martin has been a Va-nuatu Resident since 2003 and he is currently the Chairman of the Vanuatu Financial Centre Association (www.fca.vu). AJC provide Audit, Accounting and Business Advice to Vanu-atu Businesses and foreign investor.

Ms Gayle Stapleton is a leading business woman and finance expert in the South Pacific and after numerous Chief Execu-tive roles with ANZ Bank, she established Stapleton Pacific. Stapleton Pacific is a niche business financing Australian Busi-

nesses, Investors & Expatriates across the Oceania Region. Stapleton Pacific is an accredited member of Australia’s larg-est independent finance group which means stability, credi-bility and access to more than 30 lenders. Gayle is located in Brisbane, Australia and Vanuatu, the South Pacific. Gayle has 30-years experience in the finance sector and she has worked across Australia (Qld, NSW and Victoria) and seven countries in the South Pacific - Vanuatu, Samoa, New Caledonia, Tonga, Guam, Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Mr Geoff Toone became the Managing Di-rector of The National Bank of Vanuatu in January 2017. Prior to joining the National Bank of Vanuatu Geoff spent three years in Papua New Guinea as Managing Direc-tor of Westpac PNG. Geoff is highly expe-

rienced in the financial services industry. He was formally leading the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Victo-rian and Tasmanian office based in Melbourne. Prior to that he was a senior executive in National Australia Bank Busi-ness Banking Division.

Dr Edwini Kessie has a Doctorate Degree in Law from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia and Masters’ Degrees in Law from the University of Toronto, Canada and the University of Brussels, Belgium and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law

from the University of Ghana. He is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Courts of England & Wales, New South Wales, Australia and Ghana. Dr. Kessie is on leave from the World Trade Organization, where he worked for over 18 years

in different capacities. He has been the Chief Trade Adviser for the Forum Island Countries since 2012. In this capacity, he provides technical advice on a broad range of trade is-sues to the Forum Island Countries and support them in their PACER Plus negotiations with Australia and New Zea-land. Dr Kessie conducts lectures, and participates in many international conferences and has written a number of arti-cles on international trade issues. His principal areas of interest are regional integration, trade and development and dispute settlement.

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AUS TRAD E SERVICES

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 201714

Nancy Wells is a Ni-Vanuatu and holds

the position of the Senior Country Coordi-

nation Officer in Vanuatu in the Asian De-

velopment Bank’s Extended Mission in

Vanuatu. She comes to this position after

having served over six years as the Development Coordina-

tion Officer working for Asian Development Bank (ADB) and

the World Bank (WB) Group in the then Joint ADB/WBG Joint

Vanuatu Liaison Office. Prior to this, she worked as a Direc-

tor’s Adviser to the ADB Board of Directors in the ADB’s

Headquarter in Manila for three years. Her previous experi-

ences were gained in the Vanuatu Government. She used to

work as a Government Statistician in the Ministry of Finance

and Economic Management and also held various positions

in Government bodies, committees and was part of interna-

tional bodies such as the Pacific Heads of Statisticians

working group over the years from 1990 – 2006. She holds

Masters Degrees in International Relations & Development

Studies and Business Administration from University of East

Anglia, Norwich in UK and The Ateneo University in Manila,

Philippines. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from

James Cooks University in Townsville, Australia.

Asian Development Bank

Ms Susan Ryle took up the role of Aus-

tralian Deputy High Commissioner and

Development Counsellor to Vanuatu in

December 2016. Ms Ryle oversees Aus-

tralia’s aid program to Vanuatu, which is

valued at an estimated $62.5 million in 2016-17, and sup-

ports economic and infrastructure development, health, ed-

ucation, community safety and resilience, and cyclone re-

covery. Ms Ryle holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of

Asian Studies and a Master’s degree in strategic affairs and

development from the Australian National University.

Australian Development Assistance Working To Support Business and Economic Growth

www.carnivalaustralia.com

5th Australia Vanuatu Business Forum 201716

Australia Pacific Islands Business Council - w: www.apibc.org.au e: info@apibc.org.au p: +617 3348 5142 Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority - w: www.investvanuatu.org e: medmanley@vipa.org.vu p: +678 24096

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