Buoyed by hydrocarbon revenues, Brunei Darussalam’s economy has continued to grow, enabling a new push to greater diversification and creating job opportunities for locals. The government maintains strong fiscal and current account surpluses and is showing an appetite to direct this toward future growth and diversification. Indeed, with oil and gas making up more than two-thirds of the economy, the…
Lodged between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei Darussalam is located on the north-west coast of Borneo, in the South China Sea. The Sultanate has a young population, with around 54% of Bruneians under the age of 30. The country also has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the region, hitting just over $48,000. This ranks Brunei Darussalam second only to Singapore within the 10-nation…
While growth in Brunei Darussalam’s economy has slowed in recent years, a rising contribution from the non-oil and gas sectors, particularly agriculture, indicates that efforts to accelerate diversification are producing results.Figures released by the Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) in January showed that while the Sultanate’s GDP registered quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth…
An overhaul of driving regulations and the launch of a national transportation master plan are hoped to improve links in Brunei Darussalam as the country aims to play a central role in a regional trade grouping. However, convincing Bruneians to choose public transport, rather than their vehicles, appears to be a major challenge.In February, the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) held a…
High-speed internet services should act as a key driver in Brunei Darussalam’s bid to attract investment and transform itself into a knowledge-based economy, although industry experts say further regulatory reform will accelerate ICT uptake and boost penetration.The Sultanate has made significant progress in rolling out faster and more efficient connection speeds, with growing demand for the services…
Retailers in Brunei Darussalam are being urged to step up their role in the battle against piracy as reforms targeting the sale of illegal counterfeits gain pace. The Sultanate hopes a nationwide crackdown, together with an anti-piracy awareness campaign, will prove instrumental in improving both the investment environment and retailers’ bottom lines. However, critics say there is still room to strengthen…
The launch of a major seafood processing plant highlights the progress the Sultanate is making in its plans to diversify from oil and resources and position itself as a centre of value-added industry. However, a shortage of available land to further develop the industry sector has been identified as a limiting factor.In December 2012, the Multipurpose Marine Resources Processing and Business Centre,…
The Islamic banking segment strengthened its position within Brunei Darussalam’s financial services industry last year on the back of rising demand that led to the launch of a new bank and major bond issuances. Having moved early to establish sharia-compliant services, the Sultanate is now well placed to carve out a niche for itself as an international Islamic banking centre. However, the industry…
While overall growth in Brunei Darussalam’s economy slowed in 2012, expansion in the non-oil and gas sector suggested that some of the Sultanate’s diversification efforts are gaining traction and should pave the way for government plans to target value-added production.The Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) announced in December that GDP growth contracted to 1.6% in 2012, down…
The government in Brunei Darussalam is moving to speed up business processes and improve communication between the public and the private sectors amid calls for the introduction of measures to boost foreign direct investment (FDI).The Sultanate has fared well in recent international appraisals of its business climate, rising four places to 79th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2013 survey, released…
