Myanmar keen on joint ventures with Brunei
Facts and figures: Myanmar's Premier Thein Sein (L) and Brunei's Health Minister Pehin Dato Hj Suyoi listening attentively to the economic briefing. Picture: Rudolf Portillo
Thursday, January 17, 2008
ONE of the challenges that Brunei needs to learn is to speed up its approval process so as to not lose out on future foreign investors wishing to do business with Brunei.
During a briefing with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein and his delegation, Dato Timothy Ong, Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board gave a presentation, at the Empire Hotel & Country Club, on Brunei's current and future projects and highlighted its mission to diversify away from its dependency on oil and gas.
At the end of the presentation, the prime minister and his delegation showed a keen interest in the projects, namely the Sungai Liang Industrial Park and the Pulau Muara Besar port hub.
The future and current projects include branching out into non-oil and gas industries such as renewable energy, ecotourism, aquaculture, Islamic financial services and information and communications technology.
"Brunei's focus seems to be focused strongly on oil and gas, but that is only because we feel that we should start at our strength and Brunei has an international reputation on oil and gas; but we are aggressively looking for other industries," said Dato Ong.
Another industry that he said Brunei could develop on is the manufacture of halal food products.
"Manufacturers could make halal food in Brunei for export to Muslim countries". The chairman went on to highlight one of the things that make the Sungai Liang Industrial Project a special industrial area is that it will provide a single point for approval for foreign investors to apply for approvals instead of having to go around to the various ministries around Brunei to do so. "All countries have the challenge of coordination with the involvement of different government agencies, that is why there is a special commercial law that is being used all around the world in economic zones to help facilitate foreign investments," he added.
However, it does not mean that the government agencies are left out with the chairman explaining that BEDB spends much time meeting with government agencies. "Persuasion and partnership is the key to making everything work," he said.
Brunei currently has plans to develop the industrial park to manufacture not only methanol, but acetic acid and biofuel for export. But if there is a demand for the products in Brunei, the chairman assured the delegation that there will be distribution for them within the country. "Even if we sell the products at a price equal to other countries, it would still be cheaper for the local market to purchase them because it saves on transport fees," he added.
Of the Pulau Muara Besar port hub, the chairman said that Brunei currently has the smallest port on Borneo, and Brunei would like to see the hub become the largest.
Currently, the Muara Port occupies space on shore, and BEDB hopes to use the island opposite the port, Pulau Muara Besar, which will have a quay length of ,5000 metres. "There are now nine companies interested from around the region who have expressed interest," said Dato Ong.
Part of the development will include the export processing zone to accommodate industries such as aluminum smelting, halal food distribution, petrochemical, oil refinery, logistics and warehousing. The export processing zone will also bring opportunities for SMEs to support ports operation and create employment opportunities.
A member of the Myanmar delegation revealed that it is interested in joint ventures with Brunei on industries such as fishing, ecotourism and energy.
The Brunei Times
During a briefing with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein and his delegation, Dato Timothy Ong, Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board gave a presentation, at the Empire Hotel & Country Club, on Brunei's current and future projects and highlighted its mission to diversify away from its dependency on oil and gas.
At the end of the presentation, the prime minister and his delegation showed a keen interest in the projects, namely the Sungai Liang Industrial Park and the Pulau Muara Besar port hub.
The future and current projects include branching out into non-oil and gas industries such as renewable energy, ecotourism, aquaculture, Islamic financial services and information and communications technology.
"Brunei's focus seems to be focused strongly on oil and gas, but that is only because we feel that we should start at our strength and Brunei has an international reputation on oil and gas; but we are aggressively looking for other industries," said Dato Ong.
Another industry that he said Brunei could develop on is the manufacture of halal food products.
"Manufacturers could make halal food in Brunei for export to Muslim countries". The chairman went on to highlight one of the things that make the Sungai Liang Industrial Project a special industrial area is that it will provide a single point for approval for foreign investors to apply for approvals instead of having to go around to the various ministries around Brunei to do so. "All countries have the challenge of coordination with the involvement of different government agencies, that is why there is a special commercial law that is being used all around the world in economic zones to help facilitate foreign investments," he added.
However, it does not mean that the government agencies are left out with the chairman explaining that BEDB spends much time meeting with government agencies. "Persuasion and partnership is the key to making everything work," he said.
Brunei currently has plans to develop the industrial park to manufacture not only methanol, but acetic acid and biofuel for export. But if there is a demand for the products in Brunei, the chairman assured the delegation that there will be distribution for them within the country. "Even if we sell the products at a price equal to other countries, it would still be cheaper for the local market to purchase them because it saves on transport fees," he added.
Of the Pulau Muara Besar port hub, the chairman said that Brunei currently has the smallest port on Borneo, and Brunei would like to see the hub become the largest.
Currently, the Muara Port occupies space on shore, and BEDB hopes to use the island opposite the port, Pulau Muara Besar, which will have a quay length of ,5000 metres. "There are now nine companies interested from around the region who have expressed interest," said Dato Ong.
Part of the development will include the export processing zone to accommodate industries such as aluminum smelting, halal food distribution, petrochemical, oil refinery, logistics and warehousing. The export processing zone will also bring opportunities for SMEs to support ports operation and create employment opportunities.
A member of the Myanmar delegation revealed that it is interested in joint ventures with Brunei on industries such as fishing, ecotourism and energy.
The Brunei Times
Business Besides Oil
