Brunei's Economic Diversification Draws Singapore Investments

Country's bilateral trade with the Republic grew 36.9% from 2023 to $4.9b in 2024

- Krist Boo

After cyber-security firm CyberSafe chose to set up its security operations control room in Brunei in October 2024, it was up and running in five months instead of an anticipated eight-month timeline.

Costs came in at 60 per cent of a similar set-up in Singapore, thanks to lower rent and wage costs.

The firm is one of a rising number of Singapore companies looking to invest in Brunei, since the country in 2021 started to diversify its economic reliance on its traditional oil and energy resources.

Close to 10 Singapore investors are currently in planning stages, and interest is growing, the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) told The Straits Times in response to queries.

About half of them are in primary food production, with the remaining exploring data centres, ecotourism and next-generation special economic zones, the organisation added.

Singapore firms - which have had a long presence in Brunei - invested B$68.8 million (S$68.8 million) in the country in 2022, making them among the top foreign sources of investment that year. Although the amount turned negative with an outflow of B$27.6 million in 2024, it was likely due to company-level movements such as loan repayments or capital restructuring, said BEDB.

Singapore's bilateral trade with Brunei is in fact growing, and reached $4.9 billion in 2024, 36.9 per cent more from 2023.

Ms Lim Jing Jun, director for South-east Asia at Enterprise Singapore, listed opportunities in renewable energy, the digital economy and food supply chain resilience for Singapore businesses.

Firms are drawn to Brunei for its geographical proximity, cultural similarities and abundant natural resources that are scarce in Singapore, she said.