| Rokiah Mahmud |
WIDENING the scope and reach of Brunei’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a new centre was launched yesterday.
The Longrich Centre Brunei Darussalam which aims at promoting self-employment among locals was inaugurated by Dr Haji Kamaruddin bin Dato Seri Paduka Haji Talib, Chairman of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Brunei Darussalam (NCCIBD).
The centre will act as a platform for Brunei SMEs to promote their products locally as well as abroad.
The chamber will seek to expand on local self-employment through the new centre in Kampong Tanjung Bunut, while promoting locally-made products for export.
The launching ceremony also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between Mollo & Co and Longrich Bioscience Brunei Darussalam.
In a speech, Captain (Rtd) Zailan bin Pehin Dato Mohd Don, Advisor to the NCCIBD in his capacity as the Principal Mentor of the Cottage and Youth Initiative Programme (CYiP), described the NCCIBD as a means of providing assurance and confidence for both foreign and local enterprises to set up business in Brunei Darussalam.
CYiP is a private sector initiative under NCCIBD. It currently houses 19 brands at the iCentre and Mollo Spice of Mollo & Co is one of them.
Mollo Spice was established to create a purely local brand and high-end health products to cater to the local and international markets while Longrich is one of the largest and most advanced centres for research, development, manufacture and sale of cosmetics and healthcare products in China.
“The current task is to promote Brunei’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the global and local market,” he said. “The available market is insufficient to propel SMEs to contribute towards the GDP, and Brunei must widen its scope to include the rest of the region.”
He pointed out that there is a tendency for SMEs to differ according to their respective countries and economic conditions. “In Brunei, SMEs are considered as small-scale dealers and retailers, instead of the production industries that they are in China.
Captain (Rtd) Zailan bin Pehin Dato Mohd Don, Advisor to the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Brunei Darussalam, representing Mollo & Co and Charlie Qian Junbiao, International Marketing President of Longrich Bioscience Brunei Darussalam during the signing of the MoA
Captain (Rtd) Zailan bin Pehin Dato Mohd Don, Advisor to the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Brunei Darussalam and Charlie Qian Junbiao, International Marketing President of Longrich Bioscience Brunei Darussalam in a group photo at the event. – PHOTOS: ROKIAH MAHMUD
Captain (Rtd) Zailan speaking at the ceremony
The official launching of Longrich Centre Brunei Darussalam
“In China, SMEs contribute 60 per cent to China’s industrial output and create 80 per cent of its jobs. Meanwhile, in Thailand, the unemployment rate is at 0.56 per cent, because many of the citizens are self-employed. This is mainly due to the flow of foreign direct investments (FDIs) to Thailand and its tourism markets, which create sustainable downstream services for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), leading to both employment and self-employment.
“Overall, the benefits of SMEs in the economic development of several countries are the same: Creating jobs and self-employment, stimulating industrial development and trade, and supporting the domestic economy.
“Given Brunei’s location at the centre of Asean and BIMP-EAGA, it will surely see the benefits of partnership on production capacity in Halal products,” he said. “With the establishment of the Brunei Free Trade Zone (FTZ), a Halal fulfilment hub will be developed within the FTZ to cater to both local and international products for re-export. It will capitalise on the strong Brunei Halal certification mechanism, as well as the vast growth of global Halal markets.”
Captain (Rtd) Zailan represented Mollo & Co during the signing of the MoA, while Longrich Bioscience Darussalam was represented by Charlie Qian Junbiao, its International Marketing President.
The MoA signing was witnessed by the guest of honour, the Chairman of NCCIBD.
The launching ceremony concluded with a presentation of pin awards to the Longrich leaders of Brunei Darussalam.
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