There
is "no easy way" for Brunei businesses to penetrate the international
market, the Brunei deputy minister said as he urged local entrepreneurs to
focus on market research and to leverage on existing support schemes.
Officiating the 2011 Local Business
Development Forum Thursday, Dato Paduka Hj Ali Hj Apong noted the challenges of
prioritising local production and distribution in a "very limited"
domestic market.
Therefore, the deputy minister, echoing advice
made by scores of other officials in the past, urged Brunei businesses to be
"brave enough" to grow outwards into the overseas market and compete
with regional and international players of their respective industries.
"But there is no easy way for our
businesses to reach this stage of growth," he said, addressing the
audience of entrepreneurs at a hotel in the capital.
"Our businesses have to be
internationally competent, and they must not be complacent with what they have
already achieved."
Dato Hj Ali called on businesses to draw on
the experience of others in the industry and to benchmark themselves against
the standards of the regional and international players.
"They must put in place strategic
leadership that fits well within their business strategy and they must place
greater emphasis on adopting sound corporate governance in order to infuse the
values of fairness, responsibility, accountability as well as transparency in
their business operations," he said.
Research and development, alongside
innovation, were also seen as key to increase competitiveness in the market.
Innovations can help businesses distinguish themselves from others, the deputy
minister noted.
"As we are eager to see our businesses
progress and grow in the international arena, it is also important that they
get all the support they require to grow," he said.
This "support" was already available
in business facilitation schemes by agencies such as the Brunei Economic
Development Board (BEDB), the Authority for Info-Communications Technology
Industry (AITI), DST and the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR).
"For instance, (a) regionalisation and
internationalisation programme such as (the) Promising Local Enterprise
Development Scheme (PLEDS) under the BEDB initiative, will allow our promising
businesses to venture into foreign markets," he said.
Dato Hj Ali, who is also BEDB chairman,
explained the scheme not only provided financial support but also mentorship
services, links to "credible foreign partners" as well as the opportunity
to get help from professional consultants to raise scheme applicants'
competencies to international level.
Other schemes such as the recently launched
The Future Fund and the Accel-X Venture Capital Fund were also available for
ICT firms, to help test business ideas and expand their operations abroad. For
SMEs and micro-businesses, programmes such as the Local Enterprise Applications
and Products (LEAP) were aimed to spur innovation.
The MIPR, through the Entrepreneurial
Development Centre, also offered its own set of schemes including the
Enterprise Facilitation, Micro-Credit Financing and Export Refinancing Schemes.
"In creating an ecosystem to support and
increase the level of innovation and commercialisation efforts of our
businesses, the establishment of effective legal mechanisms is pivotal,"
the deputy minister said.
In protecting intellectual property, Dato Hj
Ali shared that the BEDB together with the Attorney General's Chambers was in
the process of setting up a patent registry office.
"As we prepare to transform Brunei into a
diversified and industrialised economy and a global player in innovation and
technology, I hope to see a growing number of locally developed and innovative
products and services coming our way with higher commercial value and greater
export potential for penetration into the international markets", he
added.
Ubaidillah Masli
The Brunei Times
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