| Azaraimy HH |
BRUNEI Darussalam is focussing on developing industries that can capitalise on the country’s strengths to grow the economy.
The country has created priority investment clusters that include Halal products; Innovative, Creative and Technology Industries; Logistics; Tourism; and Downstream Oil and Gas, Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), said yesterday.
He was speaking while officiating at the opening ceremony of the two-day programme jointly organised by the Asean-Korea Centre (AKC), the Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT).
In describing Brunei’s conducive and much improved business environment, he said the country has entered a new phase of economic development in its renewed efforts to move the economy away from relying on the oil and gas industry.
A Korean investment and trade mission is in Brunei from July 21-22, 2016 for the two-day programme that aims to help facilitate potential investment, trade and collaboration between the two countries in biotechnology, cosmetics, ICT and e-commerce. The business delegation is led by the Secretary General of AKC, Kim Young-sun.
The programme is also attended by representatives from the local business community, banks and universities. The Korean business representatives will provide up-to-date information to interested Bruneian parties on making smart investment decisions. There will also be site visits, bilateral meetings and opportunities to network between Brunei and Korean business representatives.
Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board. – PHOTOS: AZARAIMY HH
Secretary General of Asean-Korea Centre (AKC), Kim Young-sun
Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board, in a group photo with the Korean delegates and government officials
Among the topics of interest for attendees are on e-Commerce and the rise of the O2O (Online to Offline/Offline to Online) era. The world has experience the rapid spread of smart devices as well as cloud-based working environment, this has resulted in customers and buyers being able to connect wherever they are and whenever they want. This platform then builds the opportunity to offer a valuable service that is affordable and convenient especially for Brunei businesses that are just starting or wish to go beyond the current local market. Attendees will learn from the experts on how they can apply and implement it. The importance of strategy on a global scale and marketing tactics will also be shared by the Korean representatives.
Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew congratulated the AKC for taking the initiative to facilitate investment and trade between Brunei Darussalam and Korea where emphasis for this mission has been placed on the promotion of high value-added industries such as cosmetics, ICT, Biotech, and e-commerce.
He said, “We (Brunei) have reformed the way of doing business by taking initiatives to ensure that the business ecosystem and environment is conductive and simplified for start-ups and investors. We continue to work towards further improvement in our Ease of Doing Business ranking. In prior years, we were ranked in the 100s but as of last year, we have improved to the 84th place. Of course, we will strive to improve on our ranking in the coming years in order to provide an easier and more conducive business environment for all our local businesses as well as overseas investors,” he said.
He said that one of the steps Brunei has taken is streamlining business processes by cutting down red tape and bureaucratic processes. Business registration can now be done online and businesses can be set up within a time frame of only 24 hours.
“We have also established Darussalam Enterprise or in short DARe, to promote and monitor the progress of our small and medium enterprises (SMEs). DARe has programmes to offer assistance and to boost our local SMEs. We have also established the Business Support Centre, a one-stop centre where businesses can seek assistance or information for their businesses. All the approval processes are centralised at this one-stop centre to cut down processing time significantly.”
Through this improvement, the aim is to increase and strengthen the private sector in the local economy and to attract more foreign investors into the country, Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew added.
He said the Brunei Government is committed to attract more foreign direct investments or FDIs to the country.
“In a New Year titah in January 2016, 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 unveiled crucial economic reforms to diversify Brunei’s economy with the setting up of the FDI and Downstream Industry Committee. This is to streamline the approval process for all FDI projects, and also to provide investors with single point of contact for project implementation. His Majesty also called for renewed endeavours to improve the country’s exports beyond the oil and gas sector, such as the agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and services sectors including logistics and tourism amongst others.”
Kim Young-sun spoke about investment and business opportunities between Brunei and Korea that the Asean-Korea Centre is keen to promote.
He said this week, the Asean-Korea Centre is organising two programmes in Brunei, one of which is on investment and business opportunities.The second is on e-commerce, which will be held today at the International Convention Centre in Berakas.
During the workshop, the Korean e-commerce, marketing and logistic experts will be presenting how to promote the understanding of the ecommerce industry.
Kim Young-sun also spoke about the strategic location of Brunei Darussalam in relation to the Asean region and the potential of Brunei Halal branding.
He believed Brunei has well-organised guidelines on Halal consumer products, including on bio-technology and cosmetics.
In an interview, a delegate from the Korean cosmetics industry, Park Young-il, President of the Dong Yang Corporation, said one of the main areas Dong Yang wants to study is Halal cosmetics.
He said Dong Yang has no experience in dealing with Halal products to market in Brunei and the region, so he is keen to explore the Halal market.
He said the cosmetics products Dong Yang is producing is organic and natural but he has little knowledge of Halal requirements here. As there are billions of Muslim consumers in the world, he is keen to study Halal cosmetics products and explore opportunities for business operations in Brunei Darussalam.
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