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Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2023
Brunei’s economic growth in 2023 will
be supportedby the construction of the
second phase of Hengyi Industries Sdn
Bhd’s oil refinery and petrochemical
project, said Asian Development Bank
in its economic outlook on Brunei.
The country’s downstream sector
has been growing quite steadily with
Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, a joint
venture company between Zhejiang
Hengyi Group (China) and Strategic
Development Capital Fund (SDC)
(Brunei Darussalam). In 2019, Hengyi
Industries commenced the operations
of the Integrated Petrochemical
Complex, producing a variety of
petroleum
and
petrochemical
products.
As reported in July 2022, the
production since then has recorded an
approximately USD7.4 billion in export
value and provided an estimated 650
jobs to locals.
The Sultanate’s growth is largely
supported by the downstream oil and
gas sector as external demand firms
with a rebound in services activity
following the economy’s full re-
opening, according to the Centre for
Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) in
its economic outlook report in August
2022. These activities are expected
to offset the decline in oil and gas
production.
After some operational delay, Brunei
Fertilizer Industries Sdn Bhd (BFI)
began production of ammonia and
urea in January 2022. The following
month, BFI exported its fertiliser
products to Thailand and South Korea,
exporting a total of BND44.0 million of
granular urea to various countries in
April 2022.
Owned by the Government 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, the BFI project will embark
as Brunei’s new initiative to sustainably
grow the country’s downstream oil and
gas industry and it will be the largest
single train fertiliser plant in Southeast
Asia. In October 2022, it was reported
that a fertiliser production facility built
by thyssenkrupp in the Sungai Liang
Industrial Park had reached the final
stage and would soon be handed over
to its owner BFI.
With a production capacity of 3,900
tonnes of urea per day, the plant is
one of the biggest fertiliser facilities in
Southeast Asia and it will support the
Brunei Government’s diversification
strategy.
The downstream sector is expected
to become the main driver of growth
going forward, and with both Hengyi
and BFI in place, Brunei Darussalam is
poised to position itself as a chemical
hub in the region. The Sultanate
welcomes investment interest in
all sectors, particularly within the
downstream, food, tourism, services
and ICT.
Major Investment Initiatives
Brunei Fertilizer
Industries Sdn Bhd
(BFI) began production
of ammonia and urea
in January 2022. The
following month, BFI
exported its fertiliser
products to Thailand
and South Korea.
In 2019, Hengyi
Industries commenced
the operations
of the Integrated
Petrochemical
Complex, producing
a variety of petroleum
and petrochemical
products.