| James Kon |
A HIGH-LEVEL delegation of well-known Russian companies led by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Alexey Vedev is visiting Brunei Darussalam from April 19-21 to further build on the cooperation in oil and gas as well as construction, information and communications technology and agriculture.
The business delegation is expected to meet Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance II; Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II; Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah, Minister of Development; Dato Paduka Awang Haji Ali bin Haji Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism; Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Finance; and other officials to discuss areas of cooperation.
This is not the first visit to the Sultanate by a Russian business delegation. The first mission in 2015 succeeded in boosting trade figures.
Viktor Tarusin, Executive Director of Russia-Asean Business Council at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, said last year the first Russian business mission got a proper understanding of Brunei’s business environment and established the first ever eye-to-eye contacts with their local counterparts and administrative bodies.
Viktor Tarusin, Executive Director of Russia-Asean Business Council at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. – JAMES KON
“In 2014, turnover between our two countries was counted in thousands of US dollars. At the end of 2015, it totalled over US$25 million. The task of this year’s mission is to make proper follow-ups and expand the scope of cooperation.”
He said the delegation is coming to Brunei in conjunction with the Commemorative Russia-Asean Summit to be held in Sochi (city of Olympic Games) on May 20, 2016 to introduce new business opportunities and get updates from the Brunei side.
He said, “Russia and Brunei have good relations in all spheres, including political, social and cultural. Our task as the business community’s representatives is to strengthen economic ties between the two nations and to identify opportunities for fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation.
He said, “The figure in trade can still improve. The Russia-Asean Business Council that took the lead of business cooperation has conducted its ‘homework’ to spread maximum information on the benefits provided by Brunei Government for start-ups and investors.”
He said, “Brunei is a unique country as it has all grounds to make considerable growth within short terms. It has a stable political system with a clear vision. “Rules and incentives for start-ups and new businesses in the country seem to be one of the best worldwide. Brunei needs to carry out more promotion on awareness on all these advantages as an investment destination.
“After December 31, 2015 when Asean became a united economic community, Brunei automatically became the most attractive and optimised entry point to the market. The Russia-Asean Business Council has undertaken all possible efforts to advertise Brunei as the most attractive place to do business for our members,” he added.
On the make-up of the business delegation, Tarusin said they are representatives from well-established Russian companies that include LLC MG3 (off-shore marine survey), LLC Ingeoservice (leading Russian company in seismic data processing and interpretation), Lukoil Asia Pacific Ltd (oil trading) and LLC Novokhim (oil transportation and logistics). The high technology sector is represented by JSC Rostech and LLC Overseas Cargo Group.
The construction sector is led by the Morton Group, the biggest Russian housing developer and investment company.
The delegation includes representatives from JSC Kurganstalmost, the biggest Russian bridge construction company whose projects include the bridge to Russkiy Island in Vladivostok and the main sports facilities for the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014.
He outlined some of the potential areas of cooperation such as information protection and electronic trade, sophisticated methods of oil and gas exploration supported with a wide range of state-of-the-art hardware and software including seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation, bridge construction, port facilities construction and modernisation as well as poultry vaccines supply and joint production.
Tarusin said, “We are also inviting Brunei businessmen to come to do business in Russia. As the Russian ruble exchange rate is low, all deals with Russian products and services have become extremely profitable. Labour costs in Russia have become cheaper than in China. We have built a number of private industrial parks and agricultural sites in areas such as Noginsk, Tula and Ulianovsk that are waiting for new residents to start or localise businesses. We are waiting for your experts to provide expertise in Halal food production.”
He said, “Russia is now a good destination for long term investments in oil and gas fields. It is time to buy resources for the future. A number of Russian companies in this industry are looking for partners to expedite exploration projects and turn them into production phase.”
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