Efforts to boost the role of the private sector in Brunei Darussalam are set to be stepped up with the government’s new budget, rolled out on April 1, that includes tax reductions and incentives aimed at supporting business development.The budget for 2012-13 will see state expenditure for the coming year increased from $4.61bn to $4.68bn as part of the government’s drive to expand private sector…
During the launch of The Report: Brunei 2011, Oxford Business Group CEO Andrew Jeffreys spoke to a large audience of media, contributors and local investment groups. The report highlights the extensive opportunities that exist in an economy that is shifting from Resource-rich to Value Added and features case studies of successful economic development and FDI, while candidly discussing the challenges…
New report considers Sultanate’s bid to balance exploration with economic diversificationThis morning, Prime Minister’s Office and Oxford Business Group launch the Report Brunei Darussalam 2011, the ceremony was officiated by Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Ali Bin Haji, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office. Among present were Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries,…
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen,Selamat datang!As most of you know my name is Paulius Kuncinas. For the last six years I have had the privilege and honour to be heading Oxford Business Group’s editorial coverage in Asia, which as you know has been primarily focused on fast growing ASEAN community of nations.We have faced a few bumpy years and the wider…
With a well-stocked energy sector, international buyers are lining up to access Brunei Darussalam’s liquefied natural gas (LNG). It will be up to officials to ensure that a balance is struck between fuelling overseas demand and supplying the local economy, and in particular, the country’s growing petrochemicals industry.Estimates put Brunei Darussalam’s natural gas reserves at around 390bn cu…
Recent weeks have seen the Sultanate take some important steps in boosting trade ties with both regional friends and more distant allies. This recent flurry of international links will be good for Brunei Darussalam’s trade position, and may also stand the Sultanate in good stead as it prepares to chair the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2013.Indeed, it was fellow ASEAN member…
With the government having announced ambitious plans to reduce and eventually eliminate the need to wait for state housing, Brunei Darussalam’s construction sector looks set for a busy few years.The industry is already experiencing something of a growth spurt, with figures released by the Department of Economic Planning and Development in late January showing that the construction sector was the…
A plan for Brunei Darussalam to become 60% self-sufficient in rice production by 2015 may at first glance seem an overly optimistic goal, but with a little assistance from several of the Sultanate’s neighbours, the country could be on the way to greater food security for its staple crop.The plan, announced by His Majesty the Sultan in 2009, was to expand the country’s cultivated area for rice from…
Having long given its support to regional and multilateral efforts to promote trade, Brunei Darussalam has recently been highly involved in negotiations for a new multilateral free trade agreement that could transform the economies of the Asia-Pacific region.The leaders of the nine Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries, after announcing in November that agreement had been achieved on the broad…
Brunei Darussalam’s economy closed out 2011 in good health, with GDP rising, inflation under control and plans to build on existing strengths and develop new opportunities. However, concerns remain over the slowing global economic growth and how this may impact the country.Final figures have yet to be issued, but by most accounts the Sultanate’s economy had a steady year in 2011. In October the…
