Brunei Darussalam Financial Services

Insurers in Brunei Darussalam are aiming to increase penetration rates in a number of key segments of their industry, looking to boost growth in what is already a highly competitive operating environment. However, to do so they will likely need to lift the sector’s profile among their potential client base.

The Islamic banking segment strengthened its position within Brunei Darussalam’s financial services industry last year on the back of rising demand that led to the launch of a new bank and major bond issuances. Having moved early to establish sharia-compliant services, the Sultanate is now well placed to carve out a niche for itself as an international Islamic banking centre. However, the industry will need to address a number of challenges, led by a shortage of skilled workers, if it is to fully support the segment’s development.

Despite declining profits in 2011, Brunei Darussalam’s banks are looking forward to a period of financial stability and new products, as tighter lending rules put in place by the government have created a clean slate for new, better-regulated credit activity.

Brunei Darussalam has long identified Islamic finance as a sector that can be developed to its advantage, both to serve the banking needs of its domestic economy and as an avenue for economic development at the international level. To achieve these objectives, however, it will need to step up investments in human resources.

The Sultanate’s sharia-compliant insurance sector is looking to expand its market share, stepping up efforts to promote takaful products and increase the range of policies on offer, with the sector likely to see greater segmentation as a result.

Brunei Darussalam’s Islamic financial sector is set to expand in the coming years, following a series of advances that will strengthen its operational and regulatory base and bridge some of the gaps that have restricted the development of new products and services.