| James Kon |
GUANGXI Ruian Logistics (Group) Co Ltd from China will invest over $60 million to set up a Halal food and spice operation centre in Brunei Darussalam which will also see expansion of its production bases in Guangxi.
Construction work for the Brunei-Ruian Global Operation Centre for spice processing and trading will start soon and the centre will begin operation by late next year. The location of the centre will be at the BioInnovation Corridor in Brunei, said Chen Min, Board Chairman of Ruian Logistics.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between the Chinese company and the Government of Brunei Darussalam during the recently concluded China-Asean Expo Brunei Exhibition 2017.
Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance, inked on the dotted line on behalf of the Government of Brunei, while Ruian Logistics was represented by Chen Min.
Witnessing the signing were Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office; Chen Wu, Governor of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Yang Jian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam; and Nong Rong, Mayor of Guigang City, Ruian’s major spice processing base in Guangxi.
Also present at the ceremony were Wang Lei, Secretary-General of the China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) Secretariat; Jiang Liangsheng, Director-General of Department of Commerce and other officials.
The signing of the MoU follows a Letter of Intent (LoI) inked between the Strategic Development Capital under the Ministry of Finance of Brunei Darussalam and Ruian Logistics (Group) Co Ltd on September 12 during the 13th CAEXPO held in Nanning, China.
Established in 2014, Ruian’s core business is trading in spices and logistics. The group supplies 75 per cent of cinnamons and 40 per cent of star anise spices to the world. The company hopes that by establishing a trading centre in Brunei, it can leverage on the Sultanate’s Halal Certification to further penetrate the Muslim market.
Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance exchanging the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chen Min, Board Chairman of Ruian Logistics. Also seen in the picture are Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Yang Jian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam
Chen Wu, Governor of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. – PHOTOS: JAMES KON
It also plans to expand its processing operations in Brunei and looks into higher value products that can be used in the health supplements and pharmaceutical industry.
“With the processing plant in Brunei, we are looking at obtaining Brunei Halal Certification to export the Chinese spices to the Middle East market,” Chen Min told the Bulletin.
The signing will also forge the ‘One Centre, Three Bases’ strategy of Ruian, he added.
“We are establishing three bases in Guangxi, namely: Ruian-Brunei Spice Processing and Trading Industrial Park in Guigang, Ruian-Brunei Spice Processing Trading Border Base in Chongzuo China and Ruian-Brunei Spice Trading Market in Yulin. We will export our spices to Brunei for processing and with the Brunei Halal Certification, we will be exporting them to the Middle East.”
Guangxi, which shares the border with Vietnam, is currently an important producer of Chinese natural spices and raw material.
Addressing the opening ceremony of CAEXPO Brunei Exhibition 2017, Governor Chen Wu said, “China and Brunei is linked by sea and have a long history of friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in various fields have been increasing.”
Since 2004 when the first China-Asean Expo was held, the annual event has promoted friendly ties between Guangxi and Brunei, he added.
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of Asean and the 26th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brunei. The CAEXPO Brunei Exhibition will create a new platform for the Sultanate to get more involved in the CAEXPO and expand and enrich its economic and trade cooperation with Guangxi. The exhibition meets the shared aspiration of China and Brunei to further deepen the friendly bilateral relations and will allow Brunei to play a more important role in the China-Asean cooperation,” Governor Chen noted.
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