‘Trade protectionism is not a solution’

(L-R) Jeff Pirie, Senior Partner at Deloitte Singapore, Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi,
Permanent Secretary at MoFAT and Pierre Imhof, FBBA President.

Leo Kasim
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI should steer away from trade protectionism and create an environment that will allow local companies to grow and be more competitive as the region moves towards economic integration, a senior government official said yesterday.

Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT), said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will benefit from improved quality of goods and services.

“I don’t think trade protectionism is a solution. Our market is small and can become saturated quickly. What we should do is create an environment where our companies can become strong, competitive, adopt new technology and are able to export their products,” he said during an event on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) hosted by the French-Brunei Business Association (FBBA).

Dato Lim said opening up regional markets will bring opportunities to Bruneian SMEs.

“The AEC is a great opportunity, provided that businesses are able to be competitive, reduce their costs and utilise e-commerce,” he said.

He said SMEs need to “beef up its market reach” and stay updated on developments in their respective industries.

He added Brunei should also look into the service sector to help the economy “grow beyond what it is at the moment”.

As ASEAN moves to the next phase of development, Dato Lim said the AEC needs to ensure inclusive growth for SMEs which account for 90 per cent of companies in the region.

He said this will allow SMEs to enter bigger markets, citing that Brunei has its own initiative through the recently established Darussalam Enterprise.

In his presentation, Jeff Pirie, senior partner of audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services firm Deloitte Singapore, said the AEC promises significant opportunities for Bruneian businesses “but it will not come easily and will not come if you are passive”.

He said local businesses need to first build their capability and competitiveness to seize regional opportunities.

FBBA President Pierre Imhof said the event is part of the association’s efforts to build awareness on regional developments such as the AEC.

Also present during the event was French Ambassador to Brunei Loan Forgeron.

The event was attended by over 100 people from both the public and private sector.

The AEC envisions a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, equitable economic development and integration in the global economy by 2015.

But ASEAN’s economic leaders have acknowledged a post-2015 agenda as the region continues to deal with challenges such as non-tariff measures.


Sumber - The Brunei Times