Established in 2001, the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) is a statutory board that seeks to diversify Brunei Darussalam’s economy and promote the country as the preferred investment destination. In order to achieve this, BEDB focusses on developing export-oriented industries and spinoff opportunities for local businesses while acting as a frontline agency to facilitate foreign direct investments (FDIs).
BEDB works closely with investors to understand their business needs. Among its services is to provide information on the local investment climate, developmental requirements, laws and regulations, cost of doing business and projectspecific information.
In terms of investment opportunities, there are five key areas recognised by BEDB: downstream oil and gas; manufacturing and other services; food; tourism and info-communications technology.
With the establishment of the Foreign Direct Investment and Downstream Industry (FDIDI) Steering Committee, the FDI Action and Support Centre (FAST) was formed in November 2015 to provide complete facilitation to investors in obtaining their project requirements.
As of May 2019, FAST became part of BEDB under the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE). FAST offers a fast-track approval process for high-value investments from coordinating and obtaining high-level approvals to expediting the set-up of business operations.
By collaborating with various organisations, BEDB has facilitated a number of large FDI projects in the country to spur economic growth. This includes a multi-billion-dollar oil refinery and aromatics plant on Pulau Muara Besar, and an ammonia and urea plant at the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (SPARK).
The support of BEDB and relevant government agencies ensure the facilitation of FDIs in Brunei. Investors can also benefit from incentives such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, credible coinvestment partnership, favourable tax regime, sound legal and regulatory framework, competitive utility rates and readily available infrastructure.
Copyright 2019 Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2019 All rights reserved.
