Chinese Businessmen Express Keen Interest In Brunei Projects
By Asri Razak

Nanning, China - Brunei Darussalam's sales pitch in China has earned it a number of expressions of interest from Chinese investors and significant business deals.

Five Chinese investors have shown keen interest in Brunei's downstream industries and more than 10 investors are eyeing projects in the sultanate's construction and utility sectors, said Abdurrahman Abdul Aziz, senior project officer at the Brunei Economic Development Board.

Bruneian company First Emporium yesterday signed a US$1 million memorandum of understanding with the Guangxi Agriculture Department. The agreement involves the import of honey limau (oranges) from Guangxi.

These are among results of Brunei's effort to attract more Chinese investors through the conduct of the Business and Investment Opportunities Forum yesterday.

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Iiamid Hj Mohd Jaafar, told Chinese investors at the forum here yesterday that Brunei, which is still highly dependent on the oil and gas sector, is striving to diversify its economic activities into other industries such as agriculture, fisheries, and the processing, of halal food.

He said 99 per cent of Brunei's overseas trade is rooted in the oil and gas industry, and the nation aims to diversify businesses, including the tourism industry.

Last year alone, a total of 30 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad and in future Brunei Darussalam wants a significant share of this market.

He said that in years to come, its non-oil businesses were expected to grow significantly. Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheik Mohamed, chief executive officer of the Brunei Tourism Board, said that last year Brunei received 43,000 Chinese tourists. He said this was up from previous years' figures.

However, Brunei wants to make the most of Chinese tourists' visits by creating avenues through which such visits could lead to more Chinese businessmen investing on projects in Brunei.

He said Brunei had sought the services of the World Travel Tourism Council to provide the nation `with a Tourism Satellite Account.

The TSA, costing US$150,000 and vital to further develop the nation's tourism industry, will improve the tourism industry's contributions to Brunei's economy.

The account, scheduled for completion in December, will show detailed expenditures of tourists in the sultanate, he said.

The account is widely used in neighbouring countries Singapore and Malaysia, said Jamaluddin.

Speaking to the participants of the forum, Momin Sawal, head of the Promotion and Facilitation of Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, said Brunei is an attractive investment destination because individuals are free from tax obligations, and foreign investors can expect government support, educated local workforce, strategic location, stable and healthy social circumstances, excellent infrastructure, as well as a development philosophy that adheres to principles of sustainable development.

During the business forum, potential investors were also briefed on the advantages of Brunei industries, which include agriculture, manufacturing and food processing, and the development of a Brunei halal brand that will be developed by the ministry in cooperation with other concerned government offices, he said.

"This is the nation's bid to take a piece from the global US$150 billion halal market," said the ministry official. Meanwhile, Mu Hong, vice governor of Guangxi, said that Brunei is a "rich and beautiful country".

He said that with the establishment of a free trade area between China and. the Asean, Brunei can be promoted as an ideal investment destination. There are 17 Chinese projects in the sultanate with a total value of US$30 million.  -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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