Newsletter No. 858
News-Analysis
December 25, 2007

 

JAPAN AND BRUNEI FIND MANY WAYS TO COOPERATE

It has been about six months since we have issued a Shingetsu Newsletter on Brunei. The reason for this silence is because there have been no really major events in the relationship since Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s visit to Japan and the signing of the Japan-Brunei Economic Partnership Agreement (JBEPA). On the other hand, the media in Brunei have been reporting on many smaller stories, and now that we are approaching the end of 2007 it would probably be a good time to clear the decks for the new year. What follows, then, are brief accounts of the many smaller ways that Japan and Brunei have been cooperating and interacting in the latter half of this year.

Government and Political Issues

-- The first round of formal negotiations on a new bilateral tax treaty was held in Tokyo between November 5th and 9th. This is our first report on this issue, although we have heard of similar negotiations ongoing with countries like Kuwait and Pakistan.

-- In the first week of November a seminar on "Brunei Japan Local Administration" was held at the Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei. The talk was jointly organized by the Brunei’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the Embassy of Japan, and the Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) Singapore. Among the presenters were Vice Mayor of Aomori City Kenichi Sato and Director of CLAIR Singapore Yoshihiro Chiba. The listeners included more than fifty officers and staff members from Brunei’s Ministry of Home Affairs, hoping to pick up useful tips from the Japanese experience of local government administration.

Business and Trade Issues

-- Back at the beginning of August, the Brunei Methanol Company received a US$360 million loan to support the development of a methanol plant at the Sungai Liang Industrial Park. The loan was offered by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in cooperation with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Corporate Bank, the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and the Tokyo branch of Standard Chartered Bank. Also sponsoring the deal were Brunei National Petroleum and the Itochu Corporation. The JBIC said this was the first time to provide financial backing for a downstream project led by the government of Brunei. The plant itself also involves the Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company in addition to those companies already mentioned.

-- In late November, a workshop on the Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Conservation (PROMEEC) was held at the Civil Service Institute in Gadong. The point was to make efforts to join forces to support businesses in the form of implementing new energy efficient technologies in a cost effective way.

-- In July, a two-day seminar on tourism promotion was held at the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong. The focus of the seminar was on how more Japanese tourists might be lured to Brunei. Japan was described as “a key target market” for the Bruneian tourism industry, and the role of the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) was particularly appreciated.

-- News from this week states that a Bruneian company is preparing to export oxygenated drinking water, marketed under the “RainFresh” brand label to both Japan and the United Arab Emirates. The exports to Japan are expected to begin around the middle of 2008.

Other Issues

-- The Welfare Fund of Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society (ALFS) in Tokyo donated about US$8,100 to the Society for the Management of Autism and Related Issues in Training, Education, and Resources (Smarter Brunei).

-- Three students of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam were selected to learn more about Japan-Brunei energy relations. The six-day visit included visits to the Sodegaura LNG Receiving Terminal and Sodegaura Thermal Power Station in Tokyo.

-- From December 3rd to 12th a total of twenty-seven Bruneian secondary students joined the Japan East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) program. Among the places they toured were the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Hokkaido University, and National Diet Building in Tokyo.