| Danial Norjidi |
A WHOLE-OF-NATION approach in cultivating and growing the business ecosystem requires a healthy and cooperative collaboration between both the government and the private sector, said Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mat Suny bin Haji Mohd Hussein, the Minister of Energy and Industry.
He made the statement yesterday at the Borneo Bulletin Yearbook (BBYB) 2018 networking session that marked the BBYB’s 25th anniversary.
He said, that events like yesterday’s networking session are an opportunity “for various stakeholders to come together and engage with each other as we work towards building a conducive, pro-business, and pro-investment ecosystem in Brunei”.
“Simply put, this is putting into practice a whole-of-nation approach in cultivating and growing the business ecosystem – it requires a healthy and cooperative collaboration between both the government and the private sector.
“While we recognise the improvements that Brunei has recorded in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report over the past three years, we need to do more together and ensure that these improvements are reflected and felt on the ground, particularly by our micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
“In this vein, I urge businesses to work together with DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) and the Ease of Doing Business Secretariat under the Energy and Industry Department.”
He highlighted that there are various avenues through which they can provide support and engage in dialogue. He shared, as an example, that businesses can seek help to resolve business-related issues at the one-stop centre that is the Business Support Centre under DARe.
The minister also said that enterprises looking for resources to grow their businesses are also very much encouraged to tap into DARe’s various existing capacity-building programmes, which offer advisory support, financial support schemes, and human resources training.
He noted that DARe and the Ease of Doing Business Secretariat are also at the forefront of socialising business-related initiatives, be it through the BusinessBN platform that offers a one-stop portal for government reforms and resources linked to business processes, or through the BizBrunei media platform that highlights the narratives and growth of local MSMEs. Additionally, there are a number of focussed dialogue sessions, organised by DARe, open for businesses to participate.
“This year alone, these dialogue sessions have socialised the Competition Order 2015 and the Builder’s Licence Registration,” he said. “I encourage the business community to partake in these sessions as they are opportunities to directly voice feedback, issues, and concerns to the relevant government representatives. Needless to mention, we must endeavour to ensure these two-way dialogues are held regularly and in a constructive manner.
“These socialisation efforts have also been supplemented by publications such as the Borneo Bulletin Yearbook, which has played an immense role in highlighting government initiatives and the investment and business environment,” he said. “I am also appreciative of the fact that the Borneo Bulletin Yearbook has chosen to highlight some of the success stories in the oil and gas industry in this year’s edition.”
“We are pushing strongly for further development in oil and gas as we must continue to build on our strengths in this industry to drive economic development in Brunei Darussalam. We are working closely with the oil and gas companies to promote and develop our local talents via our Bruneisation drive and ensure opportunities for local companies, including startups.
“May our collective efforts come together in promoting the opportunities that Brunei has to offer in line with our Vision 2035,” he added.
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