Asia Economy

With a wealth of oil and natural gas reserves beneath its territory, Brunei Darussalam has been able to maintain a comfortable trade surplus and ranks among the top-five countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita in spite of producing little else domestically. According to the World Bank, introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community could boost annual income growth by 0.5-1% of GDP and...

Driven mainly by offshore oil and gas infrastructure, Brunei Darussalam had an estimated stock of $14.2bn of inward foreign direct investment as of the end of 2013, equal to around $35,000 per capita. The country actively recruits foreign investment, offering generous tax incentives to targeted projects that bring in high-paying jobs, help diversify the economy, add value to existing oil and...

With one of the world’s largest endowments of hydrocarbons reserves relative to the size of its population, Brunei Darussalam has naturally built its economy around the production and export of oil and gas. However, like many of the world’s traditional oil and gas producers, the Sultanate now faces the challenge of maturing fields. The non-energy private sector accounted for 23.3% of GDP in...