Answer to Written Question PT081

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abd. Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim

YANG BERHORMAT PEHIN ORANG KAYA LAILA SETIA DATO SERI SETIA AWANG HAJI ABD. RAHMAN BIN HAJI IBRAHIM asks YANG BERHORMAT Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan Ekonomi II to state what programmes have been and will be implemented by Darussalam Assets to increase the participation and competitiveness of local businesses, including MSMEs, as there are many sectors dominated by foreign businesses such as retail and construction? Are there plans to reduce costs as well as improve their management capabilities and skills?

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan Ekonomi II

Darussalam Assets (DA) and the DA Group of Companies are always committed to supporting the development of local businesses in strengthening the national economy, as well as ensuring employment opportunities especially for local people.

To further increase participation and further strengthen the competitiveness of local businesses, including MSMEs, to contribute to the national economy across various sectors, there are several initiatives implemented by Government Linked Companies (GLCs), including also the involvement of companies in programmes managed by the Kerajaan Kebawah Duli and the authorities.

These include, among others and are not limited to, the following:

• In increasing the involvement of local enterprises in the property sector, Armada Properties Sdn Bhd (Armada) has developed a Local Business Development (LBD) framework in 2020 based on the national LBD Policy Framework. It is used in the company’s service procurement process where local employment targets are mandatory criteria for all suppliers interested in providing related services to Armada. In addition, Armada also offers incentives to suppliers that meet or exceed local employment targets, including suppliers actively involved in training the local workforce during the evaluation stage, in order to further encourage the development of local workforce skills.

Armada also offers the LBD Incubation Programme, which provides opportunities for local entrepreneurs, particularly MSMEs, to enhance their skills and knowledge in line with industry standards to enable them to become more successful in a competitive economic environment. Under this programme, Armada provides business opportunities, training, continuous support and performance evaluation to participating entrepreneurs.

• In supporting MSME involvement in the food services industry in Brunei, PDS Abattoir Sdn Bhd (PDS) continues to play an important role through the importation of frozen meat at competitive prices. This benefits various restaurants, eateries and MSMEs throughout the country. To meet increasing demand, PDS has also resumed the importation of frozen chicken to support the needs of local food premises. The 174-hectare paddy cultivation area in Kandol, leased from the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (KSSUP), is now fully operated by Wasan Milling Company Sdn Bhd (WMC) following the merger of PaddyCo Sdn Bhd’s operations into WMC, which took effect at the end of May 2025. As the farm area in Kandol is still in its early phase, WMC is actively building expertise in operational management while understanding cultivation needs and the surrounding ecosystem. As part of this effort, WMC is conducting trial planting, in collaboration with KSSUP, using various types of fertilisers obtained or produced by local companies/operators, in an effort to identify the best inputs and methods to achieve productivity and long-term sustainability. The results and findings from the trial planting are also shared by KSSUP with local farmers.

• Royal Brunei Catering (RBC) and Ghanim International Corporation Sdn Bhd (Ghanim) have also contributed to MSME development through the provision of support services such as product development, documentation assistance as well as sharing industry knowledge to ensure food safety and quality standards are complied with. Although capacity at present is still limited, it is hoped that the opportunities that can be given to MSMEs will expand, particularly when the factory in Salambigar is expected to resume operations by the end of 2025. It is hoped that the modern facilities to be provided will be utilised by MSMEs for the production and expansion of their products.

• Meanwhile, for the DA Group of Companies operating in the logistics sector, related tenders will usually first be opened to local companies before being advertised to international suppliers. International suppliers will only be involved if the required specialist services cannot be obtained from local companies within the country, or due to cost-saving requirements. This is among the efforts undertaken to ensure local companies are given priority to participate in tender offers. In addition, contracts awarded to international suppliers will also be subject to conditions that priority be given to local companies to carry out any subcontract work offered.

• And in the telecommunications sector, Unified National Network (UNN) is also actively pursuing localization initiatives by setting a minimum requirement of 50% local workforce for vendors, and giving additional marks to vendors with 70% local workforce in the tender evaluation process. At present, 80% of vendors contracted by UNN are local vendors; where 65% of the total vendor workforce overall consists of local workers.

• For further information as well, apart from IT and technology suppliers who mostly already consist of local experts, a large part of the nature of work of UNN contractors also involves work such as rigging and excavation for optical fibre cable connections.

• UNN has also provided infrastructure that enables the digital economy, thereby reducing the cost of doing business from the aspect of telecommunications utilities as well as opening business opportunities in the digital sector for MSMEs:

  1. The national fibre broadband penetration rate has increased from 51.15% in January 2020 to 114.7% in May 2025 as a result of UNN’s investment in Fixed Access network infrastructure for fibre services throughout the country.
  2. As of May 2025, a total of 6 sites in Ulu Belait and 1 site in Ulu Tutong have been equipped with fibre and mobile infrastructure, with 5 more sites in Ulu Tutong expected to be completed by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year. As part of UNN’s inclusive efforts, UNN has also trained 2 people from villages in Ulu Belait to provide maintenance services to base stations in their respective villages.
  3. 5G network services were launched in July 2023, where in July 2025, Brunei reached the ninth highest rank in the world for mobile download speed based on the Ookla Global Speedtest Index.
  4. As part of efforts to improve the resilience and capacity of Brunei’s international connectivity, UNN has invested in the Asia Link Cable, which is estimated to be completed in 2026, and in July 2025 announced the signing to invest in another consortium cable, namely Asia United Gateway East.
  5. By providing telecommunications infrastructure in several interior areas as well as providing faster, more efficient, stable networks at more cost-efficient prices (for example, compared with 2020, unlimited broadband prices have decreased by 64% while mobile prices on average have decreased by 43%), UNN has also further facilitated inclusivity and can open new markets for MSMEs such as Internet of Things.

• Several DA Group of Companies have also actively offered training programmes and workshops to local enterprises in this country such as:

  • Muara Port Company (MPC) provides HSE training/workshops to shipping agents and contractors working at the company’s facilities.
  • In 2024, BIACC provided an Import/Export Awareness programme to MSMEs to increase understanding of requirements for the import and export of goods, towards helping MSMEs improve their market accessibility to international markets.
  • In the effort to increase competitiveness and also open up more business opportunities to local traders, particularly MSMEs, DA is spearheading the development of procure.bn, a centralised digital platform that will feature DA and GLC procurement projects and advertisements.

This platform is built with the aim of encouraging transparency in the procurement process, enhancing processing efficiency and providing equal business opportunities to all private companies and MSMEs. Procure.bn is intended to bring the transition of the procurement system to a digital platform, simplify processes and further expand market reach.

• The main functions of procure.bn also include:

  • Providing equal access to all registered vendors for advertised tenders and quotations;
  • Free registration for traders and MSMEs, while eliminating financial barriers to participation; showcasing suppliers’ goods and services within an e-commerce framework for direct purchases;
  • Availability of an openly accessible list of registered vendors, increasing the visibility and credibility of traders across all sectors, thereby strengthening business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) links.

• By further expanding procurement opportunities to registered vendors, procure.bn is hoped to further empower traders and MSMEs, encourage diversity of local products and services, and foster sustainable and transparent economic growth through an inclusive procurement system.

• As part of efforts to involve greater participation from local enterprises, DA is currently in the process of collaborating with BEDB to provide briefing sessions and training to MSMEs. In addition, several training sessions have also previously been implemented by DA with the involvement of more than 50 local vendors.

• To further streamline coordination and support the involvement of local enterprises, including MSMEs, in the activities of the DA Group of Companies, DA has also developed a digital procurement platform, namely procure.bn, which among other things aims to improve the due diligence process, encourage transparency, provide equal opportunities, and instil healthy competition.

• This digital platform includes a supplier directory that can be publicly accessed and also showcases local supplier companies to promote their respective enterprises and to encourage business opportunities on a business-to-business (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) basis. In further aligning this effort to involve greater participation from local enterprises, DA is currently in the process of collaborating with BEDB to provide briefing sessions and training to local MSMEs. In addition, several training sessions have also previously been implemented by DA with the involvement of more than 50 local vendors.

• At present, BEDB is piloting a new initiative, namely the Retail Empowerment Programme ("REP"), through collaboration with the private sector to open retail shop business opportunities that can be owned and operated by local entrepreneurs, particularly among youth. It aims to reshape the retail landscape in this country by empowering the participation of local entrepreneurs in the retail business through sustainable entrepreneurial opportunities and affordable retail business models.

• Through this Retail Empowerment Programme, youth entrepreneurs, whether new or existing, will also receive capacity development support through initiatives managed by BEDB such as the Industry Business Academy (“IBA”), as well as financial support through the Co-Matching Scheme and Bank Financing Facilities if needed.

• BEDB also assists in identifying strategic locations to support the operation of retail shops under this initiative.

That is all, thank you Yang Berhormat Yang Di-Pertua.