New artistic cooperative to be launched at BINA

By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Koperasi Seni Kebangsaan Berhad will be officially formed next Sunday April 13 at 1.45 pm in the Brunei Industry Development Body (BINA) Hall, Beribi, Jalan Gadong.

Prospective members will be invited to attend the launching of the new cooperative where they would listen to briefings on the cooperative formation and the projects to be participated by it.

The chairman of the sponsor committee will deliver an address and supplementary cooperative regulation will be discussed for any changes deemed necessary.

At the first meet, committee members of the cooperative will be formed too.

The prospective members may also be exposed to the cooperative's development plan as well as ways to improve administrative assistance; encouraging interaction and cooperation with the private sector and for the cooperative to venture into other potential business sectors such as manufacturing, marketing, insurance, wholesales, etc.

The new cooperative will be guided by the Cooperative Development Department, which was formed in 1974 to enhance community's unity as well as social and economic status of people.

With its subsequent merger with the Industrial Unit, the primary function of Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources to become BINA continues as it was.

But more emphasis will be put to promote and develop cooperatives that are more competitive and dynamic.

More than 166 cooperatives have been registered with 14,500 members.

Recent data showed that these cooperatives are only involved in limited lines of business ventures such as transportation, fishery, agriculture, consumer, school and multi-purpose with a net profit gain of about B$2 million as of 1998.

Having gone through these developments, BINA has restructured its cooperative development section and has taken few steps.

Some of these steps are being undertaken towards enhancing awareness and level of cooperative's expertise and professionalism.