Abstract
This chapter provides a brief socio-political and economic overview of Brunei Darussalam and describes some of the economic challenges that Brunei is facing due to its characteristics as a rentier economy. The chapter then discusses the policies that the government is currently undertaking to sustain the economy and finally highlights how regional integration through the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has benefited Brunei. The chapter emphasizes on the importance of regional integration for a small economy like Brunei especially in improving the business environment, for example, by harmonizing policies, standards and regulations and spurring the implementation of domestic reforms. These benefits have subsequently contributed to an improvement of the business environment in Brunei, attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) and allowing local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to access a wider market.
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Notes
- 1.
Enclaved development is characterized by non-local capital extracting local resources.
- 2.
The AEC Blueprint is built on four pillars: (1) a single market and production base, (2) a highly competitive economic region, (3) a region of equitable economic development and (4) a region fully integrated into the global economy (The ASEAN Secretariat 2014).
- 3.
The current rate is 1BNDÂ =Â 0.92USD.
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Musa, S.F.P.D. (2019). Brunei Darussalam, a Country Profile. In: Macdonald, R. (eds) Southeast Asia and the ASEAN Economic Community. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19722-3_8
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