Brunei mulls privatisation of industrial sites for investors

Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar said the move would potentially attract more investors than the government alone could.
“In the future, we would very much prefer the private companies to run and operate the industrial parks compared to the public sector as it would lead to better efficiency and bring in business for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“We want to be able to allow the private companies who have the financial and operational resources to build and operate the industrial parks which would help the local SMEs to grow and boost the economy,” he added.
The minister was speaking to The Brunei Times on the sidelines of the recent China-Asean Expo in Nanning.
A state-owned Chinese port operator, Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group, recently signed a terms sheet with Darussalam Assets to operate the Muara Port with a view to setting up and managing industrial parks around the port area.
According to the Brunei Economic Development Board website, Darussalam Enterprise under the Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO) currently manages 17 industrial sites that are earmarked for export-oriented businesses.
“After that, it is up to the local entrepreneurs to leverage on the connections and network that the privatised industrial parks would bring to grow their business,” the minister said.
He drew on his first-hand experiences during a working visit to countries where such a model has proven to be a success in transforming the economy into a high-tech and modern one from previously relying on its natural resources.
“We went on a working visit to Costa Rica, a country that was formerly an economically unstable country in the past whose economy had then been dependent on exporting a few limited products, to see their industrial parks,” he said.
“There, we saw that for example, they now produce some of the most highly-prized and sophisticated medical and surgical instruments in the world thanks to these industrial parks being run by the private sector,” he said.
He said such a model of success in transforming the economy was due to the limited input of the public sector in developing the industrial parks.
“They (Costa Ricans) have done it all without the government or a specific ministry overseeing the businesses and industry.
“They only have a non-profit investment promotion agency to attract foreign direct investments and an institution in charge of exporting Costa Rican goods to assist entrepreneurs,” he added.
YB Pehin Dato Hj Mohd Yasmin said Costa Rica was still depen-|dent on its agricultural products when it started transforming its economy.
“Now, they are exporting over 4,000 types of goods and services including its tourism industry for a gross domestic product of over US$50 billion (Bt1.74 trillion),” he said.