BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Brunei welcomed more foreign direct investment (FDI) from China, Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lim Jock Seng said on Saturday.
Lim, who is also a steering committee member in the FDI and downstream industry, said Brunei is pushing for economic diversification aside from oil and gas industry under the requirement from the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
In this process, Brunei welcomes FDI from China and other countries as it's helpful to the country's economy, the minister said when meeting a preparatory team for the Brunei branch of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK).
"We are trying to attract more tourists and industries to Brunei. We are happy to see BOCHK coming in when we want to work with China on many projects," Lim added.
Wang Xiaolin, head of the BOCHK Brunei Branch Preparatory Team, said that BOCHK was honored to be invited to open a local branch in Brunei.
"Brunei is a potential market in Southeast Asia for BOCHK. As the sole RMB clearing bank in Hong Kong, BOCHK has advantages to provide not only RMB operations but also other financial services to Brunei people and companies," he said.
BOCHK was approved by Brunei's central bank, the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), in April to launch a local branch.
