AUTORITI Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), in cooperation with the Belait District Office, recently held an AMBD Financial Literacy Roadshow at the District Officer’s residence in Kuala Belait where AMBD presented a number of talks to the mukim penghulus and village heads as well members of the Mukim and Village Consultative Council in the Belait District.
The objective of this roadshow was to increase awareness on the roles and functions of AMBD as the central bank of Brunei Darussalam, as well as to increase financial literacy in the country.
The series of talks opened with an introduction to AMBD followed by a talk titled ‘Know Your Currency’. This talk shared the ways in which members of the public can identify counterfeit notes, as well as sharing with them the laws under the Currency Order, 2006.
AMBD also elaborated on the Currency Interchangeability Agreement (CIA) between Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Singapore. Under the CIA, in each country the currency issued by the other country must be accepted, at par and without charge, by the monetary authorities and banks. However, the currencies can be accepted by shops as “customary tender” for any payments in the other country. This was followed by a talk titled ‘The Value of Your Reputation and Assets’ which explained the roles and responsibility of the Credit Bureau of the AMBD and the Collateral Registry System of the AMBD.
The Credit Bureau provides a Credit Report, a report which contains the customer’s entire credit history and is used by banks and financial institutions to assess loan applications. Meanwhile, the Collateral Registry System is a unified registry that compiles, amongst others, Bills of Sales, Company Charges and registration of hire purchase for motor vehicle.
The roadshow continued with a talk on the Total Debt Service Ratio (TDSR). During this talk, AMBD explained about the TDSR, a policy issued by AMBD which sets a maximum limit for monthly loan repayments at 60 per cent out of the borrower’s monthly income, for those earning a monthly salary between BND1,750 and BND9,999.
The roadshow concluded with a talk called ‘Be Financially Smart!’ which aimed to equip the attendees with the ability to manage and plan their finances, which included achieving financial goals, protecting wealth through insurance/Takaful, and the importance of having an emergency fund. It further emphasised on how to manage debt wisely; spending prudently; and to be aware of the characteristics of financial scams. The presentation ended with some financial ‘rules of thumb’ such as to actively save at least 10 per cent of monthly income and have an emergency fund worth three to six times of the monthly expenses.
AMBD’s most recent commemorative products, which are the products in commemoration with the Golden Jubilee Celebration of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s Accession to the Throne and the 50th Anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, were also displayed and sold during the event.
The briefing was the first of a series of roadshows held by AMBD to all four districts in the country. Similar roadshows will also be held in the Brunei-Muara District, Tutong District and Temburong District.
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