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The operation team behind SBI (B) Sdn Bhd – Rafiuddin Ghazali, Vice President, Hariz Shaminan, Associate, Liza Shafiee, Assistant Vice-President and Michelle Chong, Office Administrator

I had an interesting session with the management and associates from SBI (B) Sdn Bhd, a private equity fund manager in Brunei Darussalam and it’s always interesting to know how does a private equity fund manager works in the country. I was aware of a few companies that have similar operations but currently, the active one I’m aware is SBI.

The history of company goes back to 2010 when it started its first Fund. And it’s a jointly ventured between the Ministry of Finance and SBI Holdings Inc, a Japanese leading multinational financial services company. The businesses they eye on and how they invest have to be Syariah-compliant too.

Speaking to Amran Mohamad, the CEO of SBI (B) Sdn Bhd, he shared that the company invests in Brunei as well as in other countries in the Asia Pacific region. He disclosed that they recently successfully sold off two companies profitably. One by IPO listing on the Singapore stock exchange, while the other was a technology company which SBI helped grow by acquisitions to as far as Rio de Janiero.

Rafiuddin Ghazali, Vice President of SBI (B) Sdn Bhd being interviewed and he showed me around the office

To assist with economic diversification, the company has brought in one international company to set up businesses and operations in Brunei Darussalam with a few more planned, due to economic stability, research grants, and a highly educated workforce. Amran highlighted that the company has been closely working with Brunei Economic Development Board in this process. Let’s hope that the international companies are able to successfully operate in the Sultanate as this will be a win-win situation for Brunei and its economy. Amran said that the company is now busy setting up a second Fund and needs to expand its human personnels to help the company manage more investments.

Don’t forget to hand in your application. There is still time.

According to Rafiuddin Ghazali, Vice-President of SBI (B) Sdn Bhd, shared that they have been receiving applicants for the past two weeks and he encouraged those who have a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Finance or Economics or Engineering or Law (LLB) should apply for the allocated positions. Not to worry as they will be providing training locally and internationally after identifying your weak areas and groom you up so you will gain more knowledge and understand how to be a Private Equity fund manager.

I love the perks because you will have the privilege to travel here and there as part of the job scope. The working hours are also flexible and it’s not like a 9 to 5 job at all. So if you are a Brunei Citizen or Permanent Resident, give this application a shot.

Hariz Shaminan, Associate of SBI (B) Sdn Bhd receiving the application from interested parties during my visit

Those interested can send in their cover letter and detailed resumes with recent passport sized photograph and send to the following address: SBI (B) Sdn Bhd, Unit 1, Level 3, Dar Takaful Utama, Jalan Pemancha, Bandar Seri Begawan, or by email to admin@sbib.com.bn.

 

Congratulations Laneige (Brunei) for your 10th anniversary

Patricia Li (3rd from left) celebrating with their loyal customers and guests during the cake presentation

Congratulations to Patricia Li and her team on the 10th year anniversary of Laneige (Brunei). Wow!! It has been that long, aye? Well done and I’m really inspired by your growth and consistency of your company and able to serve the customers in Brunei Darussalam. Cosmetic is definitely a competitive market worldwide and the same goes to Brunei Darussalam. Of course, with a very competent and established brand, many Bruneians and the public trust Laneige’s products. For the record, Laneige has been around for 20 years.

Two Sunday ago, Laneige (Brunei) invited guests and also in attendance were the spouses of Diplomatic Corps and loyal customers. They were treated to goodie bags.

The welcoming remarks were made by General Manager of Laneige Brunei, Patricia Li, the lady behind the success of Laneige in Brunei. She’s very grateful to all the customers and the people that have crossed path with her and thanks them for believing in the international brand. Pat Li is not just the iconic figure of the brand for Brunei but she carries the passion on what she believes in and also focuses on customer service to give the best experience for their customers.

Laneige (Brunei) also had a special gimmick for all the attendees as they were treated to special discounts up to 20% depending on their purchases and for those big spenders, they will walk away with a Laneige luggage. There was also tutorial make up-artist from Laneige Malaysia Cameillia Choo. For your information, Laneige was founded in 1994 in South Korea, and devoted itself to the business of beauty and health as it strives to be the first and the best with outstanding products and superior marketing.

Keep up the great work, Patricia and your team and happy anniversary.

Cameillia Choo, Laneige Malaysia, Patricia Li, General Manager of Laneige Brunei and Sylvia, a loyal customer of Laneige

 

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mui’zzaddin Wadaulah the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam inspecting the National Security Exercise yesterday led by the Prime Minister’s Office

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mui’zzaddin Wadaulah the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday inspected the operations behind the coordination of the National Security Exercise run by several of Brunei’s security agencies and led by the Prime Minister’s Office.

His Majesty visited the exercise sites and various scenarios are being staged including an airplane crash in Mengkabu. For those who are not aware, the operation was codenamed Eksesais Perisai Kebangsaan 04/2015. His Majesty visited various agencies such as the State Control Centre (Royal Brunei Police Force HQ in Gadong), Air Traffic Centre at Department of Civil Aviation, media centre at Brunei International Airport, Royal Brunei Crisis Management Centre and finally a crash site at Kg Panchor, Mengkubau.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam did highlighted that there is still room for improvements.

The exercise involves multi-agency coordination and is aimed at improving the ability of government agencies to respond to security risks and challenges, said Energy Minister Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar, who also chairs the National Security Committee.

“The objective is to test our system across the board – our response to crisis, our response to disaster,” he said. “In this exercise we are more interested in how multiple agencies work together to respond to an incident… Quite honestly there are quite a lot of lessons learned. We need to go back to the drawing board.”

The final exercise of the “Eksesais Perisai Kebangsaan” is today and do expect some roads to be affected such as road blocks and slow traffic. The information of the exercise especially the venue is to be discrete until it’s approved to be shared. This is the fact that it’s a real life simulation and it would be pointless if a warning is issued to the public under emergency situations. So I do hope the public will be understanding and cooperation with the authorities for this every important exercise.

You can read more here and here from The Brunei Times pieces. Source and images from The Brunei Times.

I just had my visit at SBI (B) Sdn Bhd, a private equity fund manager, located in town and they have a very interesting history on SBI’s journey in the past few years in Brunei. Now they are expanding and scouting for suitable candidates (preferably citizen or permanent residents).

The job position is an Investment Analyst (Associate, Assistant Vice-President & Vice-President). Hence there will be a few spots available on each of the level/position stated. The company is mostly looking for fresh graduates and experienced ones. They will provide intensive training. Mind you the job will require you to travel a lot (my kind of thing) and they have flexible working hours (again my kind of thing). Important that you have at least a bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Economic, Engineering and/or Law.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications with detailed resume including present and expected salary, a recent passport size photograph and contact numbers. The application must hand delivered to SBI (B) Sdn Bhd office at Unit 1, Level 3, Dar Takaful Utama IBB, Jalan Pemancha during working hours (Monday to Friday) no later than 31st October 2015. Good luck.

I shall share more in depth on SBI as a company in my next post. It’s not as boring as you think, working in a fund manager field.