By Rachel Lee
Korean businesspeople have visited Brunei to explore the potential of its cosmetics industry, among others, as the Brunei government looks to diversify its economy.
The ASEAN-Korea Centre, with the Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, hosted the Investment and Market Research Mission and the Product Development Workshop in Bandar Seri Begawan on July 20-22.
The aim was to boost investment and trade between Brunei and Korea in a number of high value-added industries such as biotechnology, cosmetics and e-commerce.
“The Brunei government has put its policy emphasis on industrial diversification from an oil-dependent economy, with the aim to accelerate national economic growth,” ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Young-sun.
“In line with these efforts, I believe that the two programs can support the Brunei government’s efforts to diversify industries of the nation and boost more value-added industries. I hope those programs can serve as a stepping stone for Brunei and Korea to continuously build a win-win relationship.”
The “Brunei-Korea Investment Forum” provided potential Korean investors with the latest information on the investment climate in the biotechnology, cosmetics and information and communications technology sectors on July 21.
Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Dr Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board and Kim Young-sun, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, spoke at the opening session.
Representatives from the Brunei Economic Development Board and Darussalam Enterprise gave briefings on the investment climate and opportunities.
The “Product Development Workshop” was held on July 22 to explore investment opportunities in the e-commerce sector and support capacity-building of local companies and SMEs.
An overview of Brunei’s e-commerce market was given by Yang Mulia Muhd Norshafiee Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Jalil, Deputy Permanent Secretary of IT, E-Government and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Korean experts then gave lectures on the “Korea E-commerce Forecast: O2O Shopping Platform Case,” the “Introduction of Global O2O Platform & Success Case,” “E-Commerce Globalization — Case of SK Planet” and “E-Commerce Market of Global Logistics in Korea, Japan and China.”
The ASEAN-Korea Centre is an intergovernmental organization established in 2009 with an aim to promote exchanges among Korea and the ten ASEAN Member States.