Brunei takes cautious steps to welcome outside world<\/p>\n
By Dean Visser<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP): Brunei may be the closest
\nthing to a fairy-tale kingdom left in today's world. But recent
\neconomic shocks are nudging this rich, sleepy sultanate toward a
\nnew reality.<\/p>\n
Asia's financial crisis, and a renegade prince who gutted the
\ntiny country's largest company last year, have shaken a deep
\nfaith in Brunei's massive oil economy and its revered royal
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
The pious Islamic monarchy in the Borneo jungle has long
\nseemed content to be left alone to enjoy a choice between new
\ncars and modern buildings or ancient fishing villages and wooden
\ncanoes.<\/p>\n
But it stepped into the limelight as host of the Southeast
\nAsia Games this week, and next year will host the massive Asia
\nPacific Economic Cooperation summit with 21 world leaders. Both
\nare high-profile events geared to draw tourists and much-needed
\nforeign investors.<\/p>\n
"Five years ago, you wouldn't have heard the word 'tourism' in
\nBrunei. But now the government is trying to develop it," said
\nSheik Jamaluddin, Brunei's director of industrial promotion and
\ntourism development.<\/p>\n
"But we are not going to open our doors wide and let everybody
\nin. We'll control it," he said, likening unchecked tourism to a
\n"cancer" that has hit other Asian countries with environmental
\nruin and cultural corruption.<\/p>\n
Aside from its lavish mosques, Brunei has few tourist
\nattractions. Bars and discos are outlawed -- as is alcohol -- and
\neverything is fiercely expensive. But officials hope the virgin
\nrain forest covering 80 percent of the country can boost
\necotourism.<\/p>\n
The country also wants the SEA Games to advertise Brunei as a
\nvenue for more international sporting events, creating "sports
\ntourism," Jamaluddin said.<\/p>\n
Brunei's modern feudalism -- supported by vast oil reserves
\nand protected by an all-powerful, benevolent sultan -- once
\nseemed a solid economic fortress.<\/p>\n
But the recent collapse of neighboring Southeast Asian
\neconomies gave Brunei, one of the world's richest but most
\nisolated countries, a rude shock.<\/p>\n
Oil prices plummeted. The Brunei dollar lost 15 percent of its
\nvalue against the U.S. greenback. The state-run Brunei Investment
\nAgency (BIA) heavily invested overseas and saw its portfolio
\nreturns battered. Brunei's gross domestic product growth fell to
\n1 percent in 1998, from 4 percent in 1997.<\/p>\n
Matters worsened last year with the collapse of the largest
\nprivate company, Amedeo Development Corp., run by the sultan's
\nbrother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah.<\/p>\n
Amedeo lost an estimated US$16 billion -- and there were
\nsuggestions that the firm may have siphoned money from the BIA,
\nwhich Jefri also formerly headed.<\/p>\n
The government could not ignore the psychological and economic
\neffects of the crises on Bruneians, who are used to material
\ncomforts and have long placed their well-being in the hands of
\nthe royal family without question.<\/p>\n
"The middle class was affected, quite significantly this time
\naround, for the first time ever," said John Funston, a researcher
\nat Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "The sale of
\nmotorcars and things like that suddenly ground to a halt."<\/p>\n
Along with boosting tourism, the government is studying nearby
\nSingapore's development strategy of generous tax incentives and
\nother perks for multinational companies as a way of adding to its
\noil and gas base, Jamaluddin said.<\/p>\n
"We're looking to improve our incentive package," he said,
\nadding that this could mean a reduction in Brunei's 30 percent
\ncorporate tax. The country has no personal income tax, for
\ncitizens or foreigners.<\/p>\n
Though observers have noted Brunei's attempts to diversify its
\neconomy, many say they will believe it when they see it.<\/p>\n
"They're too concentrated on the petroleum products. They
\nhaven't really made any major movement into other industries,"
\nsaid Leslie Law, a Singapore-based analyst at research house
\nIndependent Economic Analysis.<\/p>\n
"Although they've been talking about (diversification) for
\nages, you don't really see anything," Law said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/brunei-takes-cautious-steps-to-welcome-outside-world-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}