BSP

LIHIR INVESTMENT FUND ACQUIRES BSP SHARES

MRL Funds Management, acting as trustee for the Lihir Investment Fund (LIF), has acquired 200,000 BSP shares.

As the market leader in PNG’s banking sector, BSP has seen significant growth over the last two years, with net profit after tax (NPAT) increasing by 31.5% between 2023 and 2025. This momentum carried over into the 1st quarter of 2026, with unaudited NPAT increasing by 14.6% compared with the same period in the prior year.

While the PNG economy has been dealing with various domestic and international challenges, BSP has demonstrated it has the capacity, capability and experience to continue growing in a difficult economic environment.

MRL Funds Management believes BSP is well positioned to take advantage of any upturn in the fortunes of the PNG economy.

BSP’s competitive advantages are well established and include:

• Operating the largest branch and ATM network in PNG

• Strong institutional relationships

• Being the dominant intermediary in the critical foreign exchange market

BSP is a dependable income-generating investment, with interim and final dividends paid each year around the end of the 1st and 3rd quarters respectively. Over the last nine years, which includes the Covid-19 pandemic, BSP has increased the total dividend on six occasions. Based on the purchase price, if BSP maintains its 2025 dividend in 2026, the dividend yield will be 6.77%, which exceeds the weighted average rate on the 10-year GIS issuance in June 2026 (6.72%).

BSP is the LIF’s first listed equity investment, marking a significant milestone in the fund’s strategy of building a broad and diversified portfolio of assets. Listed investments can be challenging for individual investors to access, as a brokerage account is required to buy and sell shares.

With this acquisition, MRL Funds Management continues to build a portfolio that balances stability and growth for the benefit of LIF unitholders.