OBG’s report on Brunei 2009 launched

by Melvin Jong

THE Prime Minister’s Office and the Oxford Business Group (OBG)
yesterday launched “The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2009?, a publication
to attract potential foreign investors into the country by highlighting
Brunei’s long-term development plans and significant increase in
economic activity.

The publication, the third in the series also to further enhance
Brunei’s profile around the world in a continuous effort to
provideliable information of the country. It also marks the culmination
of more than six months of groundbreaking field research by a team of
analysts from OBG, assessing trends and developments in all major
sectors of the economy, including energy, industry, finance, banking,
tourism, transport and real estate.

OBG is a global publishing, research and consultancy firm which
publishes economic and political intelligence on the markets of Asia,
the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. This year’s report
includes a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for foreign investors,
together with a wide range of interviews with the most prominent
political leader such as His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of
Brunei Darussalam and His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Other high profile personalities from international politics and
business, including Prince of Wales Prince Charles, Australian Minister
for Trade Simon Crean and General Manager of Total E & P Deep
Offshore Borneo Louis Hauzé, also gave their views on the development
of Brunei’s economy.

According to information provided by the Prime Minister’s Office and
the OBG, “The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2009? examines the various
achievements that Brunei is rolling out and its ambitious
diversification plans, particularly the move to invest into the
petrochemical sector.

“The report offers detail coverage of the ongoing activity at the
sites where developments are taking shape, such as a methanol
production plant which is expected to be the first in a line of
projects at the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (Spark),” they said.

“The report also charts the latest trends in other sectors,
including agriculture, which has received much policy attention in
2009,” they added.

OBG has also provided an in-depth analysis of the government’s plans
for an agro-technology park and its bid to increase the Sultanate’s
presence in the international Halal market, while considering the
investment opportunities that these and other projects are set to bring.

OBG’s Country Director in Brunei, Neslihan Aydagul, said that, with
the economic sea-change taking place here, the report will be
invaluable to members of the global business community as they make
their investment decisions.

“As Brunei embraces a new era, we are well aware of the importance
of collaborating with local partners that can provide us with accurate,
credible information,” she said.

“I am confident that the contributions made by our partners have
ensured that “The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2009? will provide
potential investors with a first-class view of the exciting
opportunities available in the Sultanate,” she added.

Last year, more than 65,000 copies of the second publication of the
report were distributed to OBG subscribers worldwide, out of which
approximately 26 per cent was sent to Europe, 24 per cent to Asia, 21
per cent to the Middle East, 19 per cent to the Americas and the
remaining 21,500 copies to Brunei itself.

On hand to launch the publication was Minister of Energy at the
Prime Minister’s Office Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd)
Dato Seri Pahlawan Hj Mohammad Hj Daud, at the Empire Hotel and Country
Club in Jerudong. (Melvin Jong)

The Brunei Times