Brunei has never wavered in its commitment to developing the oil and gas industry, said Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah during the 20th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday.
The minister was responding to LegCo member Yang Berhormat Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin on steps taken to ensure that oil and gas companies continue to invest in asset maintenance and find new operators to explore and develop marginal field.
Oil and gas companies will continue to review their costs of operation and introduce new technologies to enhance performance, he added.
Queries on how the Sultanate can benefit from free trade agreements (FTA) and whether businesses are prepared for the FTA were raised by Yang Berhormat Haji Salleh Bostaman, to which the minister said, “It depends on the company’s development. With the FTA, we have managed to penetrate markets such as Mexico and Chile, to export fertiliser.”
However, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have yet to fully utilise these FTAs, he added.
He assured that “once our MSMEs are ready, they can export their products. These FTAs are here to stay”.
On revenue collection from overseas companies, the minister said before they operate in the country, they must register with the Registry of Companies and Business Names (ROCBN) as ‘Sdn Bhd’ and submit their annual tax return to the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE).
Asked on Brunei’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business (EOBD), which stood at fourth place in 2020, and 16th in starting business, the minister said EOBD was dissolved by the World Bank in 2021 as certain countries manipulated their data. As such, the index was not accurate.
“However, the MoFE still takes key performance indicators of the EOBD to monitor our business environment and seek ways to improve our business ecosystem,” the minister said.
On the 11th National Development Plan, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew said the progress was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many private companies unable to carry out their projects due to foreign companies, workers and goods not being allowed to enter the country during the period.
“Many government projects could not be carried out. But the authorities held meetings with all ministries on development projects to seek ways to speed up the process. Meanwhile, for the 12th National Development Plan, steps have already been put forward to speed up the process,” the minister said.
On increasing national revenue through tax collection to reduce budget deficit, the minister said there are only corporate and withholding taxes.
“Some taxes practised in other countries are not available here. Before we introduce other taxes in the country, we should think of the implications especially for low income earners.
“These taxes are reviewed from time to time and we try to get feedback from the private sector and members of the public,” he added. – Azlan Othman
