| Azlan Othman |
AUTORITI Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) hosted a briefing on the Secured Transactions Order (STO) and the Collateral Registry System (CRS) yesterday at the Ministry of Finance.
The briefing was presented by Sheree McDonald, a senior solicitor from the New Zealand Companies Office, who shared her experiences on managing the Personal Property Security Register (PPSR) in New Zealand.
According to McDonald, the PPSR system has similar roles and functionality as the upcoming Collateral Registry System of Brunei Darussalam.
Since the launching of the PPSR in 2002, it has proved to be a vital tool for business in New Zealand by allowing creditors to register their security interests in leased goods or collateral, and protect these goods in case their customers go bankrupt.
She added that more than 25 million searches have already been made on the register’s search engine, including 15 million searches on whether money is owed on a vehicle.
In launching the CRS, the Secured Transactions Order 2016 will also be introduced, which will allow businesses and individuals to leverage their movable property as collateral to the loans.
Banks will also be encouraged to give out loans, as the loan will be secured against the assets and can be enforced in cases of non-payment.
With the launching of the CRS and the enforcement of the STO in December 2016, businesses in Brunei Darussalam will be able to fully utilise this option.
The initiative is part of a series of reform measures which is expected to improve Brunei Darussalam’s position in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking, and is supported by the PENGGERAK (Delivery) Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office and the EODB Steering Committee.
The STO provides for the creation, perfection, registration, priority and enforcement of security interests in personal property.
The CRS is a modern, fully electronic and notice-based registry system which serves to notify parties of existing security interests in personal property, and to establish priorities between creditors.
The presentation was attended by officers and clients from several government agencies, banks, law societies and businesses, including Small and Medium Enterprises.
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