Brunei Darussalam

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.

While overall growth in Brunei Darussalam’s economy slowed in 2012, expansion in the non-oil and gas sector suggested that some of the Sultanate’s diversification efforts are gaining traction and should pave the way for government plans to target value-added production.

The government in Brunei Darussalam is moving to speed up business processes and improve communication between the public and the private sectors amid calls for the introduction of measures to boost foreign direct investment (FDI).

While Brunei Darussalam’s Energy Department is pushing for full localisation of human resources in the oil and gas sector, firms say the transient nature of the industry and a lack of experienced locals makes this a challenge.

A surge in Brunei Darussalam’s mobile data traffic usage at the beginning of 2012 has heightened expectations over the impact that 4G technology will have on the telecommunications sector.

Plans to boost high-tech farming initiatives and enter into agribusiness deals with neighbours bode well for Brunei Darussalam’s long-term food security ambitions. However, challenges such as limited land and human resources will prove hard to overcome.