BBYB 2023

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74 Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2023
Ease of Doing Business
To start a business in Brunei Darussalam,
all businesses must be registered with
the Registry of Companies and Business
Names (ROCBN). Registration can be
completed online at
by providing the required details and
documents and making the payment.
A business entity can be registered as
a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a
company. Soleproprietorship is abusiness
owned by one person. Meanwhile, a
partnership consists of between two to 20
partners. As for companies, there are two
main types: private (Sdn Bhd) and public
(Bhd), with one of the differences being
the number of shareholders. For more
information, users can visit the Ministry of
Finance and Economy website.
Employers can advertise job openings
via JobCentre Brunei (JCB) website at
. Upon
receiving job applications, companies
may review the applicants and proceed
with interviews. Companies may also
request for suitable candidates directly
from JCB for any specific requirements
such as work experience or field of study.
If an employer does not find a suitable
local candidate after two weeks of
posting vacancies, the employer can
apply for a foreign worker licence via the
Department of Labour to hire foreigners.
For more information on doing business in
Brunei, the businessBN website provides
business related guidelines, government
procedures, legislation and other
essential information. Entrepreneurs and
business owners may also speak directly
with a customer service representative
by visiting the Business Support Centre in
Anggerek Desa.
Business environment
Brunei’s efforts towards improving
the regulatory domestic business
environment corresponds with its
performance in the World Bank’s Doing
Business 2020. The report provides a
general outlook on the Ease of Doing
Business in a country, based on the
performance of 10 indicators.
Brunei maintained its first rank in the
‘Getting Credit’ category, in line with their
strong credit mechanisms. The country
has also implemented two new reforms
whereby substantive improvements
have been seen in the local regulatory
frameworkfortheindicatorson‘Enforcing
Contracts’ and ‘Resolving Insolvency’.
Overall, Brunei’s Ease of Doing Business
score increased from69.6 to 70.1, ranked
66 out of 190 economies.
Upon concluding the 2022 Article IV
Consultation with Brunei Darussalam in
September last year, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) executive directors
commended the Sultanate’s authorities
for adopting policies to cushion the
impact of theCOVID-19pandemic aswell
as for an impressive vaccination rollout.
The directors observed that a strong
economic recovery is underway, with
further lifting of COVID-19 restrictions,
investments in large petrochemicals
projects, and higher oil and gas prices. The
directors also welcomed several initiatives
to improve the efficiency of public
spending, streamline untargetted subsidy
and social spending, rationalise public
employment and mobilise revenue.