Currency depreciation in Papua New Guinea in the 2000s has had a major impact on Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL). In an effort to maintain hard currency value of the non-Bougainville assets, BCL has directed much of its kina holdings to assets valued in hard currency. The ability to do this is severely constrained by Papua New Guinea exchange control policy and practice, while, domestically it is difficult to find investments that meet the company's requirements for security and value retention. Nonetheless BCL has made a good start to diversifying its investment portfolio and now holds a mix of government bonds, bank term deposits, and offshore and onshore shares. The major asset of the company remains the Panguna ore body however it is difficult to value and impossible to manage when access to the mine site is still not available. Until the net worth and future of Bougainville 's assets are determined it is difficult for the Board to commit to a long-term plan for BCL.

The reduction in profit in 2002 was also partly due to the worldwide retraction of capital growth in equities. Over the longer term, better capital growth is expected which, when combined with the currency hedge effect, should ensure healthy kina returns and better hard currency value than would have if cash only investments had been maintained.