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INVESTMENT POTENTIAL
Technology has advanced rapidly over the past years,
becomingthefocalpointinourlives.TheGovernment
of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan
Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien,
Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam
has been quick to adopt new technologies, boosting
the ef ciency of its services and processes.
E-Government National Centre
Formed in April 2008 under the Prime Minister’s
Of ce (PMO), the E-Government National Centre
(EGNC) plays an integral part in the government’s
continuous effort towards achieving the
e-Government initiatives with four key drivers.
The rst key driver is to modernise the civil service
and government machinery while becoming
customer-focussed and friendly. The second is
to build a more transparent and accountable
government, enabling better participation from
the community and citizens. The third and fourth
are to meet the challenges of globalisation and to
better prepare for future crises.
EGNC functions as the centralised organisation
that concentrates on information technology
(IT) in the civil service. The centre oversees the
development of IT personnel and centralises
procurement of IT equipment, in addition to
providing common government-wide applications
and shared IT services among all ministries.
The centre also designs strategic plans for
information and communications technology
(ICT) across the government and sets up the
measurement framework, providing support for
various e-Government governance forums such as
the E-Government Leadership Forum.
In terms of research and new developments in
ICT, the centre looks into the provision of technical
advice for the government’s IT projects, feasibility
studies and cost bene t analysis.
Digital Government Strategy 2015-2020
The Digital Government Strategy 2015-2020
is driven by Brunei Vision 2035 – having well-
educated people, a high quality of life and a
dynamic, sustainable economy.
Information technology (IT) plays an important
role in the country’s bid to achieve this vision. IT
enables the seamless ow of information across
the government, citizens and businesses, leading
to greater transparency and better insights for
informed decision making. The digital strategy
aims to lead the digital transformation in the
country, making the public services simpler, faster
and more accessible.
To achieve the vision, six focus areas have been
identi ed: service innovation; security; capability
and mindset; enterprise information management;
optimisation; and collaboration and integration.
Also identi ed are the following six programmes:
digital services; implementing universal access
for government systems; strengthening securities;
enhancing stakeholder engagement; optimising
digital assets; and developing enterprise
information management capability.
Digital Economy Council
The Digital Economy Council was established to
replace the functions of the Brunei Darussalam
National IT Council and drive the country towards
becoming a Smart Nation.
In June 2020, the Digital Economy Council
launched the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025
for the next ve years. Guided by Maqasid Syariah,
the objectives of the masterplan are: a vibrant and
sustainable economy; a digital and future-ready
society; and a digitally conducive ecosystem. The
masterplan is aimed at supporting Brunei Vision
2035.
To achieve the masterplan’s goal, four thrusts
have been identi ed: industry digitalisation;
government digitalisation; a thriving digital
industry; and manpower and talent development.
The strategic thrust of industry digitalisation
focusses on the need to evaluate the readiness of
stakeholders to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution
(IR 4.0) technologies and to undertake a
comprehensive awareness programme, especially
for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Meanwhile,governmentdigitalisationemphasises
on the important role of the government in
facilitating economic growth, especially in the
implementation of a digital identity ecosystem,
innovation of public experience and evolvement
of cloud usage.
The third thrust of a thriving digital industry shines
light on the application of technologies to nurture
and sustain growth for the improvement of the
local digital sector.
Lastly, the fourth thrust calls for the need to equip
local talents with the capabilities required for
rapid advancement in technology.
With the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025,
the Digital Economy Council focusses on the
implementation of key projects under nine priority
clusters expected to have signi cant impacts on
economic growth.
The priority clusters are logistics and
transportation, energy, business services, tourism,
nancial services, health, agri-food, education and
Halal industry.