Posts Tagged ‘SME’
It has been told
A new travel agent in town
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Ultramar brings cheers at Childrenâs Ward at RIPAS
Happening this Friday and Saturday
Synopsis of Jong Sarat: Each struggles between duty and desire: pragmatic Razak, who wants to support his family; dreamy Nur, who is torn between her fatherâs wishes and her own yearnings; frustrated Asmali, who always feels like second best; and loyal Salmah, who wants only to nurture the friendships around her as carefully as she nurtures her parentsâ Jong Sarat business.
One more until their second original production ‘Jong Sarat’! Get your tickets *TODAY* for either of these production nights:
Friday, 22nd January 2016, 7pm
Saturday, 23rd January 2016, 7pm
Tickets are available at SM Yayasan SHHB Primary School Hall this week from 4pm – 9.30pm. You’ll also be able to grab them at The Library Cafe @thelibrarycafebwn and CaffĂ© Verve @ Alliance Francaise de Brunei @vervespresso. You can view more on their info at their website
Check the map for our venue and ticket collection point! Kindly contact for more information (via message only).
Telegram:telegram.me/seedsjongsarat
Whatsapp: +6738678673 for tickets updates.
Some of the cast of Jong Sarat. Image by Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times.
One of the many characters in Jong Sarat, the second original production by Seeds Brunei, during a rehearsal held recently. Image by Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times.
 
Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim highlighted and acknowledged that the country needs to stimulate economic growth through SMEs as the current oil prices have impacted the Brunei revenue stream during the launch of the Enterprise Open Day for Small and Medium Enterprises at Design and Technology Building located in the Anggerek Desa Technology Park
The Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Ministerâs Office (âEIDPMOâ) organised an Enterprise Open Day for Small and Medium Enterprises (âSMEsâ). Today (Thursday) will be the final day for the event.
The Enterprise Open Day event is aimed at increasing awareness of the various enterprise support services available as well as identifying issues faced by existing and upcoming by entrepreneurs in Brunei Darussalam.
 Held at the Design and Technology Building located in the Anggerek Desa Technology Park, the event opened on Tuesday, 19 January 2015 and will continue on Wednesday and Thursday from 8am to 5pm. The Enterprise Open Day is based around the theme, âLeading Economic Growth and Contributing to GDP for Brunei Darussalamâ and was officiated by the Guest of Honour, Minister at the Prime Ministerâs Office and Second Minister of Finance at the Prime Ministerâs Office, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim.
Also in attendance were Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Kolonel (B) Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Ministerâs Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hamdan bin Haji Abu Bakar, Deputy Minister at the Prime Ministerâs Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohd Roselan bin Haji Mohd Daud, Deputy Minister at the Prime Ministerâs Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hisham bin Haji Mohd Hanifah, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance, Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries from the Prime Ministerâs Office, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as directors of all the participating agencies.
After a brief opening ceremony, Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Rahman took a tour of the booths set up by both government agencies and financial institutions as well as the âEnterprise Issuesâ log in desk and Business Advisory Clinics.
Businesses planning to utilise any of these services, should bring their form 16 and 17 and company chop.
Also in conjunction with The Enterprise Open Day, is the launch of the business.gov.bn website and the Central Payment System (âCPSâ). The business.gov.bn is a portal providing a single source of information of business-related government services across various Ministries and agencies. The CPS is a payment module under the E-Government Platform enabling customers to pay via online for Government e-services.
One biz will be the first e-service to use CPS with the long term goal of expanding this payment service to other Government e-services. The âEnterprise Issuesâ log in desk is made available to collect information on any issues or challenges met by local SMEs in Brunei Darussalam.
There will also be presentations by Wawasan Secretariat, Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (âAMBDâ) and Brunei Intellectual Property (âBruIPOâ) conducted on Wednesday and Thursday to provide insights and information for those attending Enterprise Open Day. Business advisory clinics will also be made available by various agencies including EIDPMO, various banks, BruIPO and LiveWire. Enterprise Open Day saw the participation of agencies both from government and financial institutions setting up support service and information counters to assist enterprises to better understand the assistance provided by the sultanate.
These include Wawasan 2035 Secretariat, Ease of Doing Business, FDI Centre, Registry of Companies and Business Names from Ministry of Finance, Revenue Division from Ministry of Finance, BruIPO, E-Government National Centre (âEGNCâ), Labour Department, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Tabung Amanah Pekerja (âTAPâ), AMBD, BAG Networks Sdn Bhd, Authority for Building Control & Construction Industry (âABCiâ) and banks.
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Borneo Insiderâs Guide (BiG) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with The BiG 10th Anniversary Picnic Festival at the Jerudong Park Colonnade this Sunday, 24th January 2016, from 2pm â 10pm. There will be open-air picnic spots; 8 live music performances by Maria âEiaâ Grace Koh, Kala K, with support from DIG Records Preservation Blues Jazz Hall Band and friends; lucky draws, an adult colouring competition and a photo competition with prizes to be won, great food and creative crafts on sale by 50 local and regional vendors. The BiG anniversary event is not just a celebration of BiG magazineâs 10th year in print, but it is also to raise money for two local charities: Majlis Kesejahteraan Masyarakat (MKM) and Care and Actions for Strays (CAS).
 
Itâs always fun traveling in groups because it gives a different sense of fun and bonding. This time, 20 from Brunei Toastmasters (BSC, UBD, BASC and Otters) traveled to Kota Kinabalu for a joint meeting with KK toastmasters, its first ever to be conducted. The toastmasters meeting followed the Brunei agenda and format to share experience with the KK toastmasters on how it is being conducted in Brunei.
I noticed some differences from Brunei and KK in terms of the agenda. Firstly, the table topic speeches take place in the first half of the meeting. Brunei toastmasters had this practice for many years until they change the format a few years ago and it has been very effective for speech evaluators and time management.
Secondly, the KK toastmasters have an invocator to kick off the meeting, toasting to Yang Di Pertain Agong and Yang Di Pertua Negeri Sabah and lastly to Toastmasters International. Interesting. We donât practice that in Brunei.
Lastly, just a few things such as a Humour Master for KK side for a max of 5 minutes to entertain the audience and the different role of the Table Topics Evaluator where he or she focuses more on the Table Topics Master then briefly on the Table Topics speakers.
On Sunday, we had a leadership training on how to improve the clubs and also to retrain the executive committees (Exco) of the various toastmasters club from KK and Brunei. This training is normally carried out at least twice a year in hoping the Excos that attended can share their knowledge to their respective clubs.
Overall, a fruitful weekend I had and a big thank you to my KK friends, Phylicia, Laurence and Jerry, for bring me around last weekend. Iâm also glad that Brunei Speakersâ Club has two new members now – Satra and Alfa. Our club is definitely growing but letâs not forget the older members who have played an important role in sustaining the club.
 
Netcom associates with a Hua Ho staff (in red) at the new Netcom IT department located at Hua Ho Manggis
Razer products at discounted price until 8th February
In a partnership to better serve their customers, Netcom have opened their 2nd IT Department collaboration with Hua Ho Department Store. Situated at Hua Ho Manggis, the new IT Department is a strategic location to serve the residents of Jalan Muara.
This collaboration is an extension of the business partnership between Hua Ho and Netcom, with the success of the IT Department in the Hua Ho Yayasan Branch.
The Hua Ho Manggis IT Department is open daily from 10am – 10pm and is located on the 2nd Floor. It features a full range of Razer and Dell products, as well as gaming gear such as Kingston, HyperX, Logitech and Prolink. Other available products include networking solutions, pen drives, cartridges and also a full range of consumer printers from Canon.
Mr. Vincent Goh, Managing Director of Netcom, said ” We deeply appreciate the trust and the strong support from our business partner, Hua Ho. We are thankful to Netcom customers for supporting us all these years, and we are committed to providing excellent services, quality products and competitive prices to the public.”
To celebrate the opening, Netcom is offering slashed prices for Razer and other selected products until February 8th. For every purchase of $100 and over in a single receipt, customers will receive an exclusive Dell umbrella.
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Hope is all around
Kicking off the new year with a beach gathering with my tennis buddies and coach Aiman Abdullah at Muara Beach
It feels great to be back on the court. I really love tennis, even at this age of reaching the four zero, my passion will override my physical being. I have many deadlines but only little to do with blog related. Though I have many stories to share, I shall be focusing more on my final draft to complete my 10th speech project.
Toastmasters. My final speech project for toastmasters (Competent Communicator) is scheduled for next Tuesday, 12th January. If you are interested to catch and be inspired, you are more than welcome to catch me live at Brunei Speakersâ Club meeting at SEAMEO Voctech at 7:30pm. As a toastmaster, Iâve learnt not only to be an affluent speaker but learning the ropes of a true leadership in guiding and mentoring members along the way. Itâs always difficult to break the stigma that many thought that toastmasters is all about âtalking/speakingâ in public and that has become their biggest fear than taking a ride on a rollercoaster. So it is always nice to hear guestsâ comments that they benefited from being a spectator, witnessing how role players played important roles in helping others to grow with positive criticism.
It took me three years to realise this as I wasnât being present (in my mind) during toastmasters meeting back in 2011. After returning back to the arena, I rediscovered a whole new game and only then, I saw the true core values that I aspired to be and I never looked back since. Hence, Iâm here as a toastmaster to make a difference, be the difference, in aspiring others to take the first step to grow as a leader and we have many qualified mentors to guide you through that journey. A big thank you to Shawn Narcis for seeing and believing in me and now I have a huge responsibility as Iâm the organizing chair for the upcoming Brunei Toastmasters Conference in October 2016. Iâm excited and also nervous.
Employment. Todayâs headlines seems to be bring some hope to our community. It read – âUnemployment declines by 7% in Octoberâ. This data was issued by JPKE (Department of Economic Planning and Development). But then again, they have reported that these figures doesnât really represent that the decline means that the jobseekers have a job. There are factors relating such as the previous registered jobseekers have left for further studies and also a handful have not renewed their registration as job seekers. Hence, itâs not a complete data representation but itâs the most comprehensive data to date. Iâm pretty sure that not all jobseekers registered themselves as âjobseekersâ to give a more accurate assessment on the level of unemployment in Brunei. With the decline of oil prices, there have been a major shake up in the oil and gas industry with some private companies forced to downsize their operations, hence low employment opportunities as compared to before.
Other streams of opportunities. So much emphasis has been given on SMEs. Let me spell it out – Small Medium Enterprises. It was good news to hear that His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muâzzaddin Waddaulah and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam said in his titah to call for a new body to handle SME. This highlights how we are too reliant on the Oil and Gas sector and did you know that almost 90% of our revenue generates from that sector alone. There were also changes in the some of the SME divisions in the Brunei Economic Development Board. Some of the divisions/departments from BEDB have been transferred to the Ministry of Energy and Industries. Iâm not sure how the governing body of SMEs will run the system but it will be nice if all the separate bodies of SMEs to work under one-roof and bring out the best in our entrepreneurs. Letâs see how 2016 will unfold for them.
The new eye of Kiulap. There is so much difference when you compare Setia Kenangan I and Setia Kenanga II buildings. The latter is located next to Regent Square and itâs picking up pace in terms of retailers. Itâs quite amazing how shops and brands are popping up in times of the depreciating oil prices. We have the likes of Pepperlunch, Tomato KidZ (kids furniture), Wrap in a Box, Nerdee Cafe, Games & Latte cafe, two Escape rooms, WoMen salon (co-owned by Wu Chun), Alsa Living, Yugo Desserts (coming soon), De Cottage and the newly relocated Euro Classic which hasnât been opened yet. Iâm beginning to like the selection and choices of shops at Setia Kenangan II. The only problem is that there will be more road congestion leading to Regent Square and Setia Kenangan II.
Wu Chun officially launched the opening of the WoMen salon in Setia Kenangan II, Kiulap last Sunday. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong.
Wu Chun with his daughter during the opening of the salon. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong.
At the cutting edge of the rising global beauty industry, WoMen Hair, a unisex hair salon which started their first outlet in Taiwan, is a dream team of talents who are driven to create a new revolution in re-defining the real power of Asian beauty.
Behind the curtain of Women Hair is a team of award winning stylists and international celebrities. WoMen hair creates a state-of-the-art technology with top-end platform for aspiring trendsetters and successful figures that pursue an artistic taste of a cosmopolitan lifestyle.
The WoMen Hair salon is now officially opened in Brunei and this is an extension of Wu Chunâs personal philosophy. Wu Chun shared, âOur end goal is to deliver happiness to our clients. WoMen Hair is both hip and incredibly relaxed â the perfect environment for exceptional consultation, styling and attention. It is more about being private than about being exclusive.â
Coined the âanti-salonâ, WoMen Hair is an ever evolving space with art collaborations and a 2 floors of super chic yet vintage interior with unique features such as container built-up box and a vibrant trendsetting lounge fully designed by Wu Chun.
According to Wu Chun, âWe push the boundaries of hairdressing, delivering creativity, quality and consistency to every client. I have to admit our services are a bit pricy but with such good level of standards, its not easily available elsewhere in South East Asia and even if there is, it might be more costly.â
WoMen Hair contributes on a wealth of high profile international campaigns and editorial features in some of the worldâs leading publications. Highlights have included Elle, Bazaar, Esquire, Menâs Health, Marie Claire, Madame Figaro, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and more.
WoMen Hair Salon has now opened its door and is located at Kiulapâs new commercial shop lot â Kenangan II shopping complex is situated right behind Regent Square.; (Behind Excapade Restaurant). They are currently having an introductory offer for first-time customers to enjoy a 30% off on all their services.
For all the beauty enthusiasts who wants to have a new great look for 2016, please call 2236262 for the appointment that will re-define your beauty. Images courtesy of Vincent Hong.
Wu Chun with his invited guests
Wu Chun sporting a new hair cut
Wu Chun with the international hair stylists
A celebrity with an entrepreneurial spirit
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Keeping up
Alice Chan of Concepts Computer, Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, Richard Soo, Acer Miri Branch Manager and Zul Abd Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer
Acer has launched two models of portable projectors yesterday to meet their needs: Acer C205 and Acer C120 and now itâs available at Concepts Computer. Imagine if you want to do a presentation and this will come in handy rather than carry a normal size projector. Especially in a small meeting room.
The prices are quite reasonable – the Acer C205 and Acer C120 with introductory prices of $438 and $338 respectively. Quite affordable, right?
âConcepts Computer have always tried hard to be at the forefront of the IT industry in Brunei and with the help of Acer, we would like to introduce the latest portable projector technologies to the Bruneian IT consumers at an affordable price, with a reliable build, without sacrificing quality,â said the General Manager of Concepts Computer, Vincent Pao.
Customers are reminded that they are able to enjoy the storeâs Ramadhan and Syawal promotion whereby every purchase of an Acer projector, laptop, PC or mobile phone will entitle them to a Kingston voucher, which can be used to redeem a carton of Pepsi, 7Up or Mirinda Orange.
Also present during the launch was Richard Soo, Acer Miri Branch Manager. For more information on the new products, call Concepts Computer at 2233551, 2233552 or 2233553.
The Acer C205 (has built in speakers and HDMI) and the Acer C120, the smaller of the two.
The new show area for Acer at Concepts Computer
 
Baiduri Capital located at Block A, Kiarong Complex
Baiduri Captial opened its doors to the public on last week, and allowing Bruneians  to trade stocks personally online in three major stocks exchanges. Located at Unit 9, Block A, Kiarong Complex, the company was set up with the objective to provide customers a wide range of investment products as well as securities trading services.
Baiduri Capital offers its customers opportunities to invest in international stock markets via its innovative online portal, the first in the Brunei Market to offer online securities trading at www.baiduri.com.bn/baiduricapital
Opening a trading is made simple with the online registration form, and prior to trading customers need to do a Risk Profile Assessment to ensure that their risk profile is suitable for securities trading. Customers will also need to have a current account in Baiduri Bank or in Baiduri Finance for ease of funding their trades.
The three stock exchanges available to customers are Singapore Exchange (SGX), the Hong Kong Exchange (HKeX) and Bursa Malaysia, with other markets to be added in the future, including the US Stock Market.
At the Baiduri Capital premises, trading booths are available and equipped with tablets for customers to trade. An in-house financial planner,and qualified and registered dealers will be onsite to provide investment guidance and assist with trades if required.
 
John Wright, Regus CEO for Asia-Pacific,YB Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and Vijayakumar Tangarasan, country manager for Regus Malaysia cutting the ribbon to officiate the launch of Regus’ first centre in Brunei
Last week, Regus Plc – a global workplace provider, launched its first centre in Brunei at the Brunei Malay Teachers Association (PGGMB) building in the capital. Present to officiate the launch of the centre was YB Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, who was accompanied by John Wright, Regus CEO Asia Pacific.
In his speech, Wright said that âWe believe that thereâs serious untapped potential here and thatâs why we chose Bandar Seri Begawan as our inaugural business centre in Brunei.â
” As the 106th country that Regus has established a presence, we see Brunei as a critical market for our customers and partners, especially in the developing regional oil and gas sector. Brunei enjoys a symbiotic relationship with Labuan and Kota Kinabalu, where the specialist talent supporting the oil and gas exploration sector are based. Companies and enterprises in this area are looking for flexible workplace solutions to meet their project based engagements,” explained Vijayakumar Tangarasan, Country Manager of Regus Malaysia.
Situated conveniently among other offices at the PGGMB Centre, small and medium sized enterprises are able to connect with other companies, increasing their networking and business opportunities. The new Regus centre is also able to assist multinational companies in setting up offices in Bandar Seri Begawan easily, veering away from the traditional practice of leasing.
Regus was founded in 1989 and currently operates about 2,300 business centres across 106 countries.
Group photo with the Minister
John Wright, Regus CEO for Asia-Pacific
The tour around Regus Brunei
Vijayakumar Tangarasan, country manager for Regus Malaysia, being interviewed by the media
Ideal for start ups and SMEs
Conference room
An office space
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Back in SG
I will be away for the next two weeks. But I shall be posting my entries from time to time. Finishing my 1st half year of my trips of 2015. It has been a fruitful year so far.
Every year, the candidates with the highest destination mark for each grade or diploma category will be selected as an Award Winner of their grade/diploma for their respective countries. There is also an outstanding achiever as well where the candidate with the second highest distinction mark of each grade or diploma category will be selected as an outstanding achiever.
The awards was given by Trinity College London. Shian Li was awarded the winner for the Diploma ATCL 2013. Her brother Evan Chiam achieved Grade 6 Piano 2013 and Grade 6 Violin 2014. Both are from Expression Music. Other music school representatives were PJC Virtuoso Music School, Rhytmic Arts Sdn Bhd, Symphony Music School, Precious Music School, Yippy Tune Music School, Seri Mulia Sarjana School, eroding International School, Del Mar Virtuoso Music School, Kim Musical Centre and Suhanda.
Shian Li of Expression Music was awarded the winner for the Diploma ATCL 2013
Evan Chiam of Expression Music achieved Grade 6 Piano 2013 and Grade 6 Violin 2014
 
Tia Jaafar was in hot form yesterday. Image courtesy of Netball Singapore Facebook.
Brunei in attacking mode. Image courtesy of Netball Singapore Facebook.
The Royal Bees had a great break in the last 5 minutes and stamped their authority over Myanmar 56-47 yesterday in the netball tournament of the 28th SEA Games in OCBC Arena, Singapore. I was kinda upset because I only caught the final 8 minutes of the match (Kinda long story that). Anyway, well done to the Brunei netball team and Iâm pretty sure the mood is on a high because a win is a win and this is a good motivation for the Brunei netball team to show that believe that anything is possible especially the teams that are superior to them.
The Royal Bees will need to beat the Philippines (who got trounced by Malaysia 112-11) and Thailand if they need to be in the final four. I believe even one victory over the two will be enough to squeeze in into the final four and that will give a possibility for Brunei to achieve a medal status for the SEA Games.
The head coach was highly praised of the team especially to the centre – Tia and Amal because of their great partnership. Their coach Jinadasa said that they need to work on their defence. This will be their key to beating Thailand (today at 3:30pm). Good luck to the Royal Bees and even though I caught the game with 8 minutes remaining, it was worth the catch đ I wonât be catching the rest of the matches as I will be flying off today. Good luck to all the Brunei participants in the SEA Games.
Brunei vs Myanmar. Image courtesy of Netball Singapore Facebook.
Brunei vs Myanmar. Image courtesy of Netball Singapore Facebook.
Hj Abdul Malik from the Department of Youth and Sports was present to watch the netball match
The winning team
The Royal Bees manager being interviewed by RTB
With the reporters – Yee Chun Leong of The Brunei Times and Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin. Keep up the great work đ
In the other match and what a thrashing score line
The Malaysians are physically built and taller
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Members of YEAB and friends at the hi-tea session at Tarindak Polo Cafe last Sunday
Last Sunday, YEAB organized a simple gathering of its member and potential members at Tarindak Cafe at Jerudong Park. Around 25 people turned up and had a great networking session over hi-tea and hope that it will be benefit the members in terms of business related topics for the growth of SMEs in Brunei Darussalam.
The YEAB is a non-profit organisation, primarily targeted to represent entrepreneurs below the age of 40, who are either a founder, co-founder, owner, partner, major shareholder or holding a management position in a corporation or firm registered in Brunei Darussalam.
Del Goh, the President of YEAB (center) with Deno Goh and Keeran Janin
Our guests from Kuching – Jodie and Sam
Adella Han playing by the beach
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