Monthly Economic & Commercial Report of Brunei Darussalam
ASEAN-India Pact to boost trade target
His Majesty, the Sultan of Brunei, while addressing the Plenary Session of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi expressed the belief that the finalization of ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement would further intensify trade and investments and help achieve two-way trade target of US$100 billion. He added that the trade target of US$70 billion had been surpassed this year.
Publication of Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook 2011
2. The Department of Economic Planning has released the Brunei Darussalam Statistical Yearbook (BDSYB) 2011. According to it Brunei’s trade in 2011 stood at $19.3 billion after exports grew by almost a third and imports went up by 10.4 per cent last year. Its exports exceeded imports by $11.9 billion, pushing up its trade surplus by 36.4 per cent from $8.7 billion in 2010. Exports rose 29.1 per cent to $15.6 billion in 2011 from $12.1 billion in 2010, with crude oil and LNG contributing the most. Crude oil exports roles 30.2 per cent to $7.9 billion, while LNG went up 29.4 per cent to $7 billion.
3. The main countries of Brunei’s exports were Japan ($6.7 billion), the Republic of Korea ($2.5 billion) and Australia ($1.5 billion). Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials were Brunei’s highest exports amounting to $14.9 billion, up from 2010’s $11.5 billion. Machinery and transport equipment was the second highest export commodity recorded at $276 million, an increase from 2010’s $217 million. Breaking down by country, Brunei’s biggest customers were: Japan ($6.7 billion), South Korea ($2.5 billion), Australia ($1.5 billion) and India ($1.2 billion). Imports, meanwhile, rose 10.4 per cent to $3.6 billion.
4. The main countries or origin of Brunei’s imports were Singapore ($857 million), Malaysia ($817 million), the U.S. ($445.5 million) and China ($276 million).
5. The population of Brunei in 2011 census stood at 393,372, an increase of 60,488 from the 2001 census. The Malays at 258,465 was the largest racial group, followed by the Chinese at 40,534, and then other races which comprised 94,373. The annual rate of increase stood at 1.7 per cent.
Government moves to protect consumers
6. With the approval of His Majesty, the Chief Justice announced the commencement of the Small Claims Tribunal Order 2006 and the Small Claims Tribunals Rules, 2012 from 1 January 2013. The Small Claims Tribunal is for the resolution of small claims not exceeding $10,000 between consumers and suppliers arising from contacts of sale of goods, provision of services or damage caused to property not exceeding $10,000 in value. Proceedings before the tribunal are conducted in a private setting and in an informal manner without the presence of advocates with attempts to settle the dispute amicably before an adjudicator hears the evidence and submissions of the parties and decides the case on its merits.
Brunei climbs up in car ownership
7. According to statistics given out by the Department of Economic Planning and Development, Brunei maintains one of the highest car ownership rates in the world. There were 148,186 vehicles registered with the Land Transport Department in 2011. With Brunei’s current population standing at 393,372 this means there are 2.65 people per vehicle, which is 30 per cent more than that of 2010. This puts Brunei ninth in the world in terms of vehicles per capita.
Local employee issue limits SME growth
8. Small businesses in Brunei are having difficulty in managing and maintaining local employment which has become the main obstacle for the growth of small businesses. Most local employees do not stay long with small businesses as they are often attracted to the more stable jobs found in the government and larger corporations such as banks.
Chinese firm builds Brunei’s biggest bridge
9. State-owned Chinese construction company, the Third Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd (THEC) has constructed the largest bridge in Brunei at the Telisai-Lumut highway project site. Spanning 600 metres, the bridge is part of the ongoing18.6 km dual carriageway project managed by the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
Source: Commercial Section, Embassy of India, Bandar Seri Begawan
