| Danial Norjidi |
THE Brunei Government’s ambitious diversification agenda is poised to receive a massive impetus with two Korea-focussed business programmes opening doors to local entrepreneurs to help them constructively contribute to accelerate national economic growth.
The Investment and Market Research Mission and the Product Development Workshop were launched yesterday by the Asean-Korea Centre in association with Brunei Darussalam’s Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT).
The Asean-Korea Centre is an international organisation mandated to promote economic and socio-cultural cooperation between Asean member states and Korea.
The three-day event is designed to facilitate investment and trade between Brunei and Korea in high value-added industries such as biotechnology, cosmetics, ICT, and e-commerce, the centre said in a press statement.
In order to provide potential Korean investors with the latest information on the investment climate in Brunei, the ‘Brunei-Korea Investment Forum’ in the sectors of biotechnology, cosmetics, and ICT will be taking place today.
At the opening session, Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) and Kim Young-sun, Secretary-General of the Asean-Korea Centre will be delivering a speech.
In the following session, representatives from BEDB and DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) will hold briefings on the investment climate and opportunities, followed by a question and answer session chaired by Adi Shamsul bin Haji Sabli, Permanent Secretary (Industry) at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In addition, Korean delegates will gain a first-hand view of the investment climate of Brunei’s biotechnology, cosmetics, and ICT sectors by visiting relevant organisations such as Simpor Pharma, Rimba Digital Junction, and BioInnovation Corridor on July 22.
There will also be a ‘Product Development Workshop’ that is aimed at exploring investment opportunities in e-commerce sector and supporting capacity-building of local companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in that sector.
A presentation on the overview of e-commerce market in Brunei will be given by Muhd Norshafiee Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Jalil, Deputy Permanent Secretary of IT, E-Government and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, which will be followed by lectures by Korean experts on Korea E-commerce Forecast: O2O Shopping Platform Case, Introduction of Global O2O Platform & Success Case, E-Commerce Globalisation – Case of SK Planet, and E-Commerce Market of Global Logistics in Korea, Japan, and China.
Local companies and SMEs are expected to attend the workshop whereby they can enhance competitiveness through those lectures thus gain more access to the Korean market.
“Brunei government has put its policy emphasis on industrial diversification from an oil-dependent economy with an aim to accelerate the national economic growth,” Kim Young-sun.
“In line with these efforts, I believe that the two programmes can support the Brunei government’s efforts to diversify industries of the nation and boost more value-added industries,” he added. “I wish these programmes can serve as a stepping stone for Brunei and Korea to continuously build a win-win relationship.”
The post Brunei diversification in focus as Koreans scout for projects appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.