BIBD and Tourism Malaysia announced Hj Muhd Mazran Haji Suhut as the lucky winner of the 1Malaysia Year-end Sale during the BIBD Home Showcase at The Mall, Gadong. The collaboration between BIBD and Tourism Malaysia automatically registered BIBD cardholders who made card transactions in Malaysia during the 1Malaysia GP Sale, which ended early this year, into a lucky draw.

The winner was entitled to an all-expenses includes a five-day and 4-night paid holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Johor inclusive of airfare, accommodation, return airport transfers and a twelve-hour chartered car exclusively for them to go shopping. To add to their great bundle, the winner is also entitled to 100,000 Hadiah Points, which can be used to pay for bills, make donations, among others.

Presenting on behalf of BIBD was Siti Rafeah Hj Jakir, Head of Card Products, and for Malaysia Tourism, was its Director, Zurina Abd Samad.

Hj Muhd Mazran Haji Suhut was the lucky 1Malaysia Year-End Sale. The prize was presented by Zurina Abd Samad, Director of Malaysia Tourism (Brunei) and Siti Rafael Hj Jakir, Head of Card Products.

On the other hand, the BIBD showcase highlights BIBD’s financing packages such as its Home Financing, Home Improvement Financing, Education Financing and its Personal Financing along with other BIBD’s products and services. The showcase will also include financial health checks performed by qualified BIBD certified Islamic financial planners. The showcase also provides a comprehensive platform for respective future homeowners to look at the exciting property and home improvement opportunities through BIBD’s collaboration with the stellar partners present.

Successful applicants will also stand the chance to win prizes such as iPad minis, shopping vouchers at Supasave and Hua Ho, BIBD Hadiah Points, among others. The eighth BIBD Home Showcase will be running for a period of ten days until May the 1st, open every day from 10am to 10pm. The opening time for Fridays will be from 2pm to 10pm.

For more information on any BIBD products, services and promotions, please follow the BIBD Instagram account at @BIBDBRUNEI; Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bibdbrunei; get in touch with BIBD Contact Centre at Prepared by Corporate Communications, BIBD PRESS RELEASE MDO/PR/2016/013 2238181 or visit the nearest BIBD Branch. Also, don’t forget to download the popular BIBD Mobile App to get the latest BIBD offers and promotions under “What’s New” feature.

 

Late post: Kids as young as 6 years old as well as under 18 youths recently took part in School Holiday Basketball Camps during the March break. The twice run 3-day camps were organized by Shooting Stars Brunei Basketball.

Ken Han, the founder of Shooting Stars Brunei Basketball and Head Coach Ryan Yusof, held the basketball camps to engage kids to provide an opportunity for them to spend their school holidays productively.

The 3-days camps took place on March 23-25 and 28-30 saw specially invited basketball Coach Tan Chee Wan from Malaysia tasking more than 70 Brunei’s aspiring basketballer through a comprehensive training regimen designed to challenge and train them.



Coach Tan was a player in the Malaysian team who took gold during the 1989 SEA Games. Coach Tan’s many years of experience in coaching kids and youth basketball, especially basic fundamentals drills and activities, had a great impact not only for the campers but also to the coaches in Shooting Stars Brunei.

The camp focuses on three themes – Serious Fun, Discipline and Safety.

During the 2 camps, we saw new teammates forge lasting friendships that endure beyond the court. We saw kids, who are new to basketball, at the camp join in with joy with regular kids and youths at SSBN.

This event would not have been possible without the support of  ‎our sponsors and volunteers. Special appreciation goes to Hua Ho, Rano Iskandar, EasyWay Bubble Tea, Ref Station, International School Berakas, ISB catering and canteen team, Baan Nucha Thai Restaurant and especially our SSBN coaches and volunteers.

For more information regarding regular basketball sessions for 4-17 years old at Shooting Stars Brunei, contact 7290011 or shootingstarsbn@gmail.com.

 

Check out the special promotion offer from Loft & Co at the BIBD Home Showcase at The Mall. Image by Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

You can turn your dream home into a reality with Loft & Co, more so now as the furniture store is offering exclusive discounts on its high quality furniture and home related accessories.

The offer is available for a limited time and only for visitors to its booth at the 8th BIBD Home Showcase at The Mall, Gadong.

“All items that we have at our booth are offered at an exclusive discounted price and is only exclusive during the course of the showcase,” said Sales Manager of Loft & Co Janet L Parpa.

On display at its booth is the latest collection from Hong Kong-based Red Apple Furniture Co Ltd brand. The highlight is an innovative queen size bed, which is fitted with a special hinge that allows it to be lifted in order to access a compartment for storage. The unique bed is currently on offer at $799 and it has been a good response so far.

“Other items such as the Red Apple night stand, dresser with mirror, armchair, bedding and even table lamp are all offered at an attractive price,” the sales manager added.
The home showcase by BIBD is ongoing until May 1. It features the bank’s promotions on home financing such as waivers and discounts on fees and chances to win prizes for successful applicants.

To take a look at more furniture selections, head to Loft & Co’s main branch located at Unit 6 to 9, Ground Floor, Little Soho at Batu Bersurat.

For enquiries, please contact or WhatsApp 8908778. You can also check for updates on its Instagram,@loftandcobsb. Text courtesy of Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

You can storage under the bed

Some of the furniture from the Red Apple line at Loft & Co at Batu Bersurat

 

Dr Hjh May Faezah Hj Ahmad Ariffin, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Economy and Finance) at the Prime Minister’s Office launching the BIBD Home Showcase

Mr Mubashar Khokhar, Managing Director of BIBD delivering his welcoming remark

BIBD launched its eighth Home Showcase at The Mall, Gadong. The showcase, themed Lifestyle, highlights BIBD financing packages such as its Home Financing, Home Improvement Financing, Education Financing and Personal Financing along with other BIBD products and services. The showcase also includes financial health checks performed by BIBD certified Islamic financial planners.

Throughout the event, customers can benefit from full fee waivers on processing fees for BIBD’s Home Improvement Financing and Consolidated Financing Scheme; discounts on processing fees for financing as well as fee waivers on services. There are also prizes to be won for successful applicants.

The event also includes showcases by BIBD’s partners such as real estate companies and household products retailers.

Present as the guest of honour was Dr Hjh May Faezah Hj Ahmad Ariffin, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Economy and Finance) at the Prime Minister’s Office. The showcase runs until May 1st, from 10am until 10pm except on Fridays when it is from 2pm until 10pm.

 

The first 25 lucky winners with Manager of Hua Ho Department Store, Manggis, Lau Soon Tiong; the General Manager of Kingston Beverage & Creamery Sdn Bhd, Valentine Hon; and Sales and Marketing Manager of Kingston, Kevin Robin Jon at basement of Hua Ho Manggis

Finally the first 25 lucky winners of Red Bull Boost and Win contest were feted at Hua Ho Manggis last Friday.

The final three winners won themselves a Hua Ho shopping voucher worth of $50 each, while five received a power card worth of $30 each. The first seven won themselves Prepaid Top Up card worth of $20 Consolation prizes in the form of Red Bull bottle gift packets were also given to 10 participants.

Present during the draw were Manager of Hua Ho Department Store, Manggis, Lau Soon Tiong; the General Manager of Kingston Beverage & Creamery Sdn Bhd, Valentine Hon; and Sales and Marketing Manager of Kingston, Kevin Robin Jon. They also draw the 25 winners last Friday.

Members of the public still have a chance to take home prizes in the second Red Bull Boost and Win draw as the contest is still ongoing until May 31.

To join, just purchase any one can of Red Bull Energy drink (gold or less sugar), attach the pull ring tab for each contest form and drop the form into the contest boxes which are placed in participating outlets nationwide.

Participants can obtain the contest form at over 200 retail outlets in the sultanate, or download the form from its Facebook page at ‘Red Bull Brunei’. For more updates, check out its Instagram @redbullbrunei

 

Mr Joel Loo, a licensed Senior Dealer at Baiduri Capital, delivering his presentation on the prospects from Baiduri Capital

The attendees during the presentation

The Baiduri Smart Executive Programme hosted an introduction to securities trading today for their members. The event, a collaboration with Baiduri Bank’s subsidiary, Baiduri Capital, was held at Starbucks Beribi.

According to Ng Yick Wei, the Head of Group Marketing in Baiduri Bank, “The Smart Executive Programme, or SEP, is a unique programme that is specifically designed for busy working professionals who are well educated, and always looking for smart banking and saving solutions to diversify their portfolios.

“By leveraging on the capabilities of Baiduri Capital, our subsidiary company, we hope to offer insights and information to help our SEP members plan their wealth journey as they advance in their professional lives.”

Baiduri Capital has received a lot of interest from the public, especially among young professionals eager to try their hands in securities trading. Baiduri Capital offers an online securities trading portal which is a secure, web based securities trading platform that can be accessed from an internet browser, on any laptop, tablet, or even smart phone, depending on the customer’s preference. The investor-focused design is feature-rich, allowing customers to research prices, as well as look up market information to assist decision making when trading online.

Smart Executive members were shown an introduction to securities trading by Mr Joel Loo, a licensed Senior Dealer at Baiduri Capital. Since their official launch in 2015, customers are able to trade in Singapore (SGX), Hong Kong (HKEx) and Malaysia (BURSA) stock markets. Recently, US stock markets were introduced, allowing customers to trade in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ Stock Exchange as well as the NYSE MKT LLC (AMEX).

Also present at the event were Smart Executive Relationship Officers and staff of Baiduri Bank, as well as licensed dealers and financial planners from Baiduri Capital.

More information on the Smart Executive Programme is available on www.baiduri.com or from the Baiduri Deals mobile app.

 

Being slow is the only constant too. That’s how I feel lately. Things are just heading at a slow pace. The only difference is when I travel. Being away in a short span of time gives me a sense of excitement and thrill. Now I’m back in Brunei, it’s back to square one. I can feel it. The worrying signs, perhaps, of what’s in store for the country (economically). The headlines in the local media hasn’t help either but it’s good thing that it’s being identified because we cannot simply ignore it. It’s about time we step and see what we can do for the country in times of troubles.

I have two mutual friends who sought for help to see if I could connect them to the relevant authorities with regards to their termination of contracts. In recent headlines, it was stated that a major company (government linked) are carrying out “redundancy exercise” to cut costs and reducing “non-essential staff”. Of course, what we read in headlines will spark that fear that haven’t been teased for a very long, long time. We were in the comfort zone and now we are slowly getting a taste of reality checks.

Now with the ongoing LegCo, it’s an indication where our country will be heading for the next year or so, in reaching the Vision 2035 (which is in 19 years’ time). It was noted that government spending will be reduced in times of lower revenues and we will still be running in a deficit.

I still see hope in this country and I trust in the Brunei Government in overcoming the challenges. The transitional period will take some time but it’s a good start. The relevant government agencies have been pro-active in creating new bodies to see how Brunei can diversify and get out of the mentality of heavily depending on oil and gas as our revenue stream for the Brunei economy.

I’ve seen new bodies with government support being created such as DARe (Darussalam Enterprise), a statutory body that will help to empower local entrepreneurs in contributing to the local economy. The newly established is recognized in the LegCo recently and it is spearheaded by the Minister of Energy and Industry Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar. DARe recently held a dialogue with local e-vendors in terms of helping them to set up a physical store and also issues with labour quotas and so on. With this guidance, it will hope to see how the e-vendors grow and create a more business friendly environment for a win-win situation.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry, chairman of the board for Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) with other committee having a conversation with the e-vendors held at Design & Technology Building (opposite iCentre) last week. You can even visit their Business Support centre every Monday to Friday or call/sms via 836 3442. Image courtesy of @govbn

 

The winner of the Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 Auto, Mah Wai Keun (left), as part of the “The Big Shopping Win”, a collaboration between Baiduri Bank and Hua Ho. Presenting the mock key were Michelle Lo (center), Manager of Card Brand Relationship & Business Banking Support and Lau Soon Lin, Director of Hua Ho. The event was held at Hua Ho Kiulap yesterday. You can website Baiduri website by clicking the image or you can download “Baiduri Deals” on your smartphone or follow their Facebook or IG @baiduribank. Image courtesy of Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

Costume party at a friend’s place for Himari and Takumi’s farewell gathering. Both are my tennis buddies whom we trained under coach Aiman. It was also great to see Mr. Okochi after such a very long time. Thanks for the hospitality and great food.

My room mate for the past three nights at Taipei for our @mrbrownbrunei coverage trip with the winners of the Mr. Brown contest. We had this mini competition between us on making fun of each other on social media. It seems I’m dominating so far but we won’t have more opportunities until our next trip perhaps. Thank you, Aiking Sdn Bhd on giving us the opportunity to do coverage on the trip to Taiwan.

The Francophonie Week 2016 kicked off last Saturday and it will be ongoing for another week. Many events and activities to look forward too. This image was taken during the screening of the French movie “Win Win” at Taman Jubilee. The event is organised by Alliance Française and The Collective Arts Event. Click image to know more what’s in store for Francophonie Week 2016

The past week or so, I’ve been amazed with the stories that are being shared by my friends in their toastmasters journey. Many surprises in terms of content and I’m truly amazed by the growth of my friends. I’m still impressed with the ending of the “Helping Hand” story. Very impactful and witty. Congratulations to the winners of the UBD Toastmasters Club contest yesterday. Nice shot too, Sandy 😀

Last week, Inspire Magazine launched a new website to provide a better access to their stories. Back then, there were only magazines and PDF formats. This is a great step to reach more readers globally as well. Shaun Hoon (2nd from left), founder of Inspire Magazine, with his team during the launch of the website. You can visit www.yesinpire.com to access Inspire or click on the image. Image courtesy of Shaun Hoon.

 

A new travel agent in town

 

Ultramar brings cheers at Children’s 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 father’s 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 parents’ 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 Caffé 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 Minister’s Office (“EIDPMO”) organised an Enterprise Open Day for Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”). 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, “Leading Economic Growth and Contributing to GDP for Brunei Darussalam” and was officiated by the Guest of Honour, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance at the Prime Minister’s 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 Minister’s Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hamdan bin Haji Abu Bakar, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohd Roselan bin Haji Mohd Daud, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s 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 Minister’s 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 ‘Enterprise Issues’ 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 (“CPS”). 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 ‘Enterprise Issues’ 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 (“AMBD”) and Brunei Intellectual Property (“BruIPO”) 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 (“EGNC”), Labour Department, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Tabung Amanah Pekerja (“TAP”), AMBD, BAG Networks Sdn Bhd, Authority for Building Control & Construction Industry (“ABCi”) and banks.

 

Borneo Insider’s 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 – 10pm. There will be open-air picnic spots; 8 live music performances by Maria ‘Eia’ 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 magazine’s 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).

 

It’s 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 don’t 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. I’m also glad that Brunei Speakers’ Club has two new members now – Satra and Alfa. Our club is definitely growing but let’s 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.

 

Vincent Pao with the invited guests this morning at the launch of the CONCEPTS group of companies and also the Brilliance Hall

Cutting ribbon ceremony

A new milestone for Concepts Computer. They have really come a long way. If Acer comes to mind, then the first word that will put out is Concepts Computer. this morning they have reach higher points after being in the Brunei market for 15 years. Now Concepts Computer not only hold the Acer brand but a few more other brands to cater to the ever growing demands from the consumers.

Now Concepts Computer holds brands such as Acer, Epson, Brother, Logitech, Steel Series and many more. Furthermore, Concepts Computer has turned into a subsidiary under the flagship of CONCEPTS group. This means that there are other subsidiaries under the CONCEPT group 1) Concepts Computer 2) Concepts Technologies 3) Concepts Sewing Technologies 4) Ontime Services Network.

If you want to talk about growth, then Mr. Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer has laid down a strong seed and this will indeed reflect the strength and value of the company over the past few years.

The launching of the Group of Companies by Mr. Pao came in timely manner and he believes that the “soul cannot think without an image” (a famous quote by Aristotle). With this merger, it will help to boost the excellent track record the company has earning and I believe they are one of the IT retailers that has 90% locally employed. The Group of Companies is a good role model for other companies in terms of utilizing the locals.

Congratulations on the launch and I wish you all the best. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong.

The man of the moment – Vincent Pao

Nasiruddin Awang Hamid the winner of the Tefal Healthy Cooking Competition last evening. Image courtesy of Chatterads Advertising.

Second place went to Raymond Yong Shun Xin. Image courtesy of Chatterads Advertising.

Cim King Kong came third in the cooking competition. Image courtesy of Chatterads Advertising.

The month-long Health Awareness Campaign at Hua Ho Manggis Mall ended yesterday with the finals of the Tefal Healthy Cooking Competition.

The campaign was a collaboration between Hua Ho Shopping Centre and the Health Promotion Centre, Ministry of Health.

Nasiruddin Awang Hamid emerged as the winner, taking home a Tefal voucher worth $500, while Raymond Yong Shun Xin placed second and was presented with a $300 Tefal voucher. Coming in in third place was Cim King Kong who won himself a $150 Tefal Voucher.

Not only that, the top three winners of the HPC quiz also received prizes in the form of Air Fryer, electric steamer and a juicer.

The prize presentation marked the end of campaign which began on August 26. Various activities, games and exhibitions were also carried out as part of the campaign which was organised to highlight the importance and benefit of a healthier lifestyle to members of the general public.

Hj Zakaria Hj Kamis, the head of Public Health Nutrition Unit at Health Promotion Centre, stated that the campaign has received a very positive respond from the public.

“The idea of putting together a series of fun and engaging activities is an effective way to get the health messages across, ” he said, as he expressed gratitude towards the cooperation received from various partners and stakeholders. Text by Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

During the qualifying round last Saturday

He had the best presentation among the lot but perhaps it was the portion that could have affected his scores

I like this presentation

Sometimes less is more 😀

I love his spicy salad

Some of the participants last Saturday

The final batch of participants last Saturday

A young participant trying to woo the judges

Chef Salvo was a busy man

An enthusiastic participant. I like his energy.

Behind the scene at the kitchen area of Hua Ho Manggis

 

Mark your dates this weekend and plan your travels 😀

[Edited]: Is Brunei going through a recession? It’s still early days to say for that but I know that some of my friends’ businesses are feeling the pinch(es). These are just from my observations as well as business environment shared by my peers. Let’s not forget some of the outside factors as well as policies that can influence the Brunei economy.

Let’s lay down some scenarios here from my knowledge. I know there could be more (factors) but I will just based them on my findings. First is the falling of oil prices. I remember once a top senior official said that such fluctuating prices won’t affect the Brunei economy earlier this year. However, I’m pretty sure it did (affect) in a long run as oil prices hasn’t been encouraging and it has a detrimental effect on the Brunei economy. Furthermore, at some point, Brunei’s export on crude and oil hasn’t been blossoming like the old days. Have the oil prices affected oil production in Brunei? Earlier this year, it was reported that Brunei’s exports went down by 39% (source: Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE).

It’s no big surprise that oil prices is a big factor here (weaker demand, higher supply). Imagine the previous year that the price of oil was at least USD $113 per barrel and now it’s averaging at USD $50 per barrel. It was also reported in Reuters that despite the improvement in prices, worldwide production won’t be producing last much as it’s “uneconomical” if oil prices are at USD $50 or below.

With low demand for export and also lower oil prices, this will mean that money flowing into the Sultanate will be lower than usual. This would also mean less activities or projects coming from Brunei Shell Joint Ventures or any companies relating to Brunei Shell.

Early in March 2015 during the Legislative Council, the Ministry of Finance that Brunei will be in the deficit in terms of spending (BND 1.58 billion) and this is related to the fall in oil prices. Did you know that 90% of the export of Brunei is oil and gas? So this is what we always mean when we say that we are relying too much on oil and gas.

Now I have touched on oil prices. How about other factors? One thing that has affected Brunei is the recent policy introduced by Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) – the total debt service ratio or loan cap (at 60 per cent for those earning a minimum net salary of $1,750). So who will be affected because of this policy? Not the consumers but the car dealers as sales has seen a drop of at least 15% and it keeps dropping every month ever since the introduction of the loan cap in June 2015.

If the car dealers are affected, this would also affect the finance companies such as Baiduri Bank and BIBD At-tamwil who finance the hire purchase of the cars. NBT (Toyota) used to sell an average of 300 units every month but recently the figures have gone below 200 units. Back in 2012, at one stage, cars sold in a month would break the 1,500 mark but recently it has lesser numbers (1,137 cars in July 2015 and 1,005 cars in August 2015). Last weekend, I even bumped into an NBT roadshow at The Mall (which is quite rare) and one of the representatives said that business wasn’t good so they needed to do more roadshow and promotion.

Yes, the business side of the automotive industry is feeling the pinch but the idea of the policy by AMBD is to ensure that the residents of Brunei will have enough savings and finances instead of using their disposable income for loan repayments. With the current situation of oil prices, such move (of the policy) has not benefited the local economy as loans are hard to come by especially those in the lower tier income group. In a long run, the TDSR or loan cap will be good for the country as people will have more disposable income than rather ending up using majority of their salaries to pay off loans. Remember the credit card policy? That really worked well, right? and this shouldn’t be a problem. It will just take time to adjust to the new financial environment. Car dealers will have to come up with better deals or promotions just like how Boustead are currently executing with their promotions with Suzuki and Nissan (tablets and smartphones respectively) to attract customers.

Another theory that cannot be discounted is the fact that the Malaysian ringgit has caught interest of Bruneians. The exchange rate now is BND 1 to RM 3 which is a real steal for us. For many Bruneians, Miri is still considered a shopping paradise. Just imagine this – It was reported that over two million arrivals from Brunei to Miri alone in 2013. I’m pretty sure the statistics will be even more in Year 2015 with the current weak currency of the Ringgit. Shopping will be cheaper and they will even buy their groceries across the border as it’s a cost saving measure.

So who are at the losing end? Of course, our local retailers and the department store owners. I interviewed two sources on how the supermarket business in Kuala Belait and Bandar and both gave similar responses – “people prefer shopping and spending across the border.” One commented that usually after Hari Raya season, their supermarket business is slower but this year, it’s even quieter and slower than last year. Even the extension of the opening hours across the border is not helping the Brunei economy.

Now that I have laid some of my findings based on reports and interviews, it’s not too premature to say that Brunei is undergoing a small recession – budget cuts, deficits, lower car sales and lower revenue in local supermarket as some of the effects.

Need action, less talking: I have attended many lectures, talks, keynote addresses, you name it,  for the past 10 years and the same topic remains – “Diversification” and we all have become accustomed to the over-abused word but it has only become a mere phrase than a means to an end. From the progress of Brunei, we have taken baby steps to diversify by creating new industries – pharmaceutical, the halal brand and also the Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals and Itochu Corporation from Japan for the methanol plant at the Sg Liang Industrial Park (SPARK). These are all good signs to come as it creates more job employment.

Even earlier this year, Brunei Economic Development Board and South Korean company DongYang GangChul, said that the BND 107 million project at the Bukit Panggal Industrial Park in Tutong will be a major boost to Brunei’s economy. The idea is the plant will produce billet and aluminium extrusion and export back to Sout Korea. I’m not really sure what are the status of this project as I have not seen any updates.

My biggest curiousity is the Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) project. There have been many mentions of the PMB project but as far as I know there is very little happening as the big players such as Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, a petrochemical firm, will only begin their refinery operations by early 2017. Of course, this is no easy project and it requires intensive homework and making sure all the criteria are met. This is perhaps the biggest project for the Brunei economy as the refinery will cost at least BND 4 billion. But now it’s more of a waiting game until early 2017.

From the looks of it, Brunei needs a good number of Foreign Direct Investment, just similarly like Hengyi Industries. It’s never an easy task to bring foreign investors to pump in money into the economy. I believe that Brunei is a very ideal hub for this kind of industries and of course, the foreigners will need our vote of confidence in order to succeed. The PMB project would have been talking point (with action) if nothing was delayed and the refinery plant up and running by now. Maybe I’m just tired listening to the same old phrase and the emphasis of “diversification”.

On a positive spin, what’s trending (and booming now) are the influx of food and beverage outlets such as Rack & Brew, The Library Cafe, Ner|Dee Cafe, Chatime and coming soon (end of the year), Cinnabon. If you are thinking of opening a business, then F&B is a better approach as we still have the culture to dine out or even limteh. And let’s not forget the upcoming travel fair by Royal Brunei and we Bruneians love to travel (so maybe, just maybe, people are saving to spend on traveling).

What’s my outlook on Brunei 2016? It’s hard to say. I just hope that we can help one another and let our egos down that Brunei needs a wake up call. Our voices can be a stimulus and hopefully the Government of Brunei and the private sector can work together to tackle a growing (bad) seed before it can turn to a plant.

This article doesn’t represent the opinions of others apart from my own. I typed this because I feel it’s very relevant to our community and I also want to help to contribute to the betterment of our Brunei economy. If you have any queries or comments, you can drop me an email ranoadidas gmail and I’m more than happy to hear from your end. Sources of facts: The Brunei Times.

Review of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation featuring Del Goh and Nee Khern

 

There are many things that I would love to share here on my blog. The Brunei-Singapore relationship for the past 54 years (Wow) or my first visit to greet His Majesty the Sultan and the members of the Royal Family. Well, just have to find the time to focus on those areas and just type away. I guess it’s easy for me to slack off the keyboard since I’m my own boss. My discipline level can easily waned and it will be tough to get back the groove. I’m climbing back up and I just can’t wait for my iMac to be fixed. Apparently my HDD has a bad sector and it became a hardware problem.

I recently caught Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and I quite enjoyed it. It’s on par with MI: Ghost Protocol and I would highly recommend you to catch it. I shall have a full review of it soon on my blog and of course, on my sound cloud (The Popcorn Panel). I’ve been loving the summer movies so far and next up will be a reboot of the Fantastic Four 😀

Next month will be a busy month indeed. Two big weddings that will steal the show for me and I will be back and forth to help out both my sister’s wedding and also my good buddies Nisaa Suresh and Azeez Jaafar. I even had to forgo my Denmark trip which will be sometime in August.

Anyway, have a great weekend and I’m happy that my family is back so the house won’t feel that quiet 😀

I’ve been catching a bit of the Mum’s Bakery Basketball Competition and I can’t help but admire the mattresses used as a cushion to prevent the players from banging to the wall. The mattress have been there for many years.

Well done to our Brunei athlete of getting bronze medal in the 200m run in the Special Olympics at Los Angeles

I introduced this game to my friends and they were hooked. The Werewolf game is awesome!!

The Heng Tai boys dressing up for the occasion last weekend 😀

My visit to the Tourism Malaysian Open House yesterday. Thanks for the hospitality.

It’s good to be back at the court but my level of fitness needs more work

Have you tried the Tumpi at Tati’s cafe at Jalan Babu Raja? Yummy when crispy

With Ak Danny of JPMC at DST Open House yesterday. Thanks Norliha Din for featuring us in The Brunei Times.

I’m going to the Toy Fair at Hua Ho Manggis. Image courtesy of Stephen Chiam

 

Baiduri cardholders lucky dip winners of the Hua Ho vouchers

Baiduri cardholders were in for a rewarding shopping experience when they paid for their purchases at participating Hua Ho Department Stores at Kiulap, Delima, Gadong 2, Mulaut and Tutong in the “Baiduri Bank & Hua Ho H2 Hari Raya Shopping Treats” promotion last weekend.

With a minimum spending requirement of B$100 in a single receipt, Baiduri cardholders can participate in an instant dip where they get to win Hua Ho H2 shopping vouchers. Depending on the amount on the receipt, they can earn up to 3 chances per receipt. The vouchers are in the values of B$5, B$10, B$20 or B$50 each.

The promotion will continue this weekend from 10 July to (tomorrow) 14 July 2015, to give Baiduri cardholders more opportunity to take part.

“We are very happy to reward our customers for their loyalty and we want our cardholders to benefit from our ongoing promotions. Giving a little extra support through shopping vouchers or discounts for the upcoming festivities is just one of the benefits we provide to our credit and debit cardholders,” explained Pg Azaleen Pg Dato Hj Mustapha, Head of Retail Banking and Branch Network Division at Baiduri Bank.

More promotional information can be obtained at Baiduri website www.baiduri.com or by calling Baiduri Call Centre at 244 9666. To be in the know of Baiduri Bank promotions, Baiduri cardholders can follow BaiduriBank on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get the latest updates.

Less than a week, then Hari Raya will take place and it could be either be on Friday or Saturday. How have you Ramadhan been so far? Mine has been has hectic for the past three weeks due to coverage of the endless of Sungkai buffets. Now recently it has been quite relaxing because I’m off duty on food coverage 😀

I’m wondering how is the spending power lately in Brunei. I have heard that some of the Sungkai buffet sales at some places have dropped by 20-30%. One of the reasons could be attributed to the growing number of new restaurants and also more buffer options for the consumers end. Hence the market share of the restaurant will be reduced as our population has yet to increase relatively.

The biggest draw for Sungkai outings will be the BIBD 30% promotion (by swiping their credit cards) on selected restaurants on specific dates.

Last week, I had to forgo two travel trips – one to Denmark and one to Malaysia. The Denmark trip is one of the trips that I was looking forward to because it’s Denmark and I haven’t been there. It was part of a Bang & Olufsen trip for the media. I had no choice but to let it go due to my upcoming sister’s wedding in August. The KL trip was alright to miss but I will missing all the great access to catch Big Bang live concert in KL this coming August. Despite all that, I believe that I will get new opportunities to travel somewhere in the 2nd half of 2015 😀

I caught While You’re Young flick last night and it was a better experience than that last three movies I caught. Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts starred in this movie playing a married couple that wants to revive their younger days. Interesting movie and a humourous one too. A much better outing for Ben as compared to Night of the Museum sequel. I kinda like it but won’t watch it on cinema. Definitely a list for my blu-ray collection. Verdict: 7/10

Speaking of movies, Minions ruled the box office with a mammoth USD 115 million in the opening weekend. I predicted that Minions would be a top 3 movies of the summer in box office returns. At the moment, there is a good chance of that happening but no summer movies can come close to the surprise package Jurassic World followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron. The other potential movie is Inside Out which is doing very well indeed. I wasn’t a big fan of Minions and the movie was so so, catering more to kids. The disappointments of the summer movies so far are Tomorrowland and all the sequels of Magic Mike, Ted and Terminator.

I’m off to Bangkok today for another assignment. I won’t reveal much but you will know once you follow my IG and Snapchat feeds. I should be back in time for the Hari Raya festivity. Have a great week, my readers and thank you for all your support all these years.

My super friends buddies are quite addicted to the werewolf game indeed

I know it’s not healthy but this is occasional fix for Sahur 😀

Ok, I highly recommend you the Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie at Star Box Cafe (Kiulap). Amazing!!! I let my friends tried it and they love it too.

So this particular coffee table is my pick for the competition. Check out my IG on how to win the coffee table sponsored by Loft & Co, a new modern furniture shop located at Little Soho at Batu Bersurat. This coffee table comes in wooden texture, black and white.

Thank you Vincent Goh of Netcom House Computer for hosting Sungkai for the media at Excapade Sushi last week. I’m honoured for your humble invitation.

Now among all the gadgets of Apple, this is one over-rated gadget. Would I get one? I would perhaps wait for an updated version.

This watch so far has been very appealing and suits my needs. Loving the alerts but one problem – I’m not used to wearing a watch. Thanks @aj68 for the gift 😀

Lately I’ve been helping my friends’ wedding gifts which means longer nights

I had these three times… The Lamb Mandhi from Tandoor restaurant. A must from their Sungkai buffet. I would just go for this alone and not worried about the other dishes 😀

Now this is one exclusive magazine to own. Well done to the editor 😀

Congratulations to Vincent Pao, GM of Concepts Computer who defeated the Lizards yesterday to qualify for the Concepts Computer Veteran Basketball Cup 2015

Another successful event with the collaboration of Royal Brunei Airlines and the Collective Arts Event at the Royal Brunei Recreational Club. The event was called RBRC Syawal Donation. More stories on next post

Are copies making a comeback again? The enforcers must be pretty tired, recycling their efforts

Pengiran Azaleen bin Pengiran Dato Haji Mustapha, Head of Retail Banking and Branch Network receiving both awards on behalf of Baiduri Bank in Singapore recently

Baiduri Bank has received two awards from the Asian Banking and Finance Magazine – The “Domestic Retail Bank of the Year for Brunei 2015” for the third consecutive year and “Mobile Banking Initiative of the Year for Brunei 2015” for the first time.

The awards ceremony was hosted by the publication company at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore on 8 July 2015. Receiving the awards on behalf of the Bank was Pengiran Azaleen bin Pengiran Dato Haji Mustapha, Head of Retail Banking and Branch Network.

Commenting on the ‘Domestic Retail Bank’ award, Pg Azaleen said, “We are delighted to receive these latest awards. I take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers for their strong support which has placed us among the top 60 Asian banks who were present at the award ceremony.”

He further elaborated that despite a challenging economic environment and competitive market, the Bank has been able to sustain growth by introducing new products and services to meet the needs and demands of different customer segments. The Bank is also constantly enhancing its existing product and service offerings to serve their customers better.

Pg Azaleen addressing his award acceptance speech

On winning the ‘Mobile Banking Initiative’ award, Pg Azaleen said, “Baiduri Bank recognized that mobile technology was fast becoming the preferred method of communication and accommodated these areas of customer needs by launching two apps, namely Baiduri Personal i-Banking in June 2013 followed by Baiduri Deals in August 2013 which was later enhanced in December 2014. The Baiduri Personal i-Banking app complements the Bank’s current web-based i-Banking application which gives customers a sense of familiarity, comfort and assurance. The Baiduri Deals app is a lifestyle app and is the first marketing app in Brunei that dispenses e-coupons which are redeemable for good and services or discounts at selected merchant outlets.

Since 2007, Asian Banking and Finance (ABF) magazine have been honouring and recognizing the best of the best in the Banking and Finance industry in Asia. It focuses on commercial and retail banking and on securities market from a banking perspective.

 

Have you been Snapchatting? Catch me on my username @ranoadidas

Are you new to Snapchat? I had this social media platform for quite some time but I wasn’t active for quite a long time. So what sparked it? Two things 1) new updates made it more appealing 2) one of my favourite fashion blogger from the Philippines @itscamilleco who uses the story video effectively. Only then, I gave it another go as I know Snapchat can be another good avenue to reach my followers. I know how Snapchat is very popular among teenagers in Brunei but that could soon change once the locals get the hang of it.

I feel the interface can do a little more tweaking so it would be easier to navigate for users. The best feature for me is the “story” section where you can upload unlimited photos and videos. However, there’s a timeline for all the data you post on Snapchat and once it reaches the 24 hour mark, Snapchat will delete them. Hence this gives you the urgency to catch what your friends have posted before it disappears.

So do come on Snapchat and look for me (username: ranoadidas) and so far I have coming to 100 followers after my continuous plug on IG. I’m not too sure if Snapchat will pick up the same wave like IG and Facebook did. As for Twitter, it’s barely surviving in terms of getting the news across. I only come to Twitter once every two days. When compared to IG, Facebook and now the addictive Snapchat, Twitter is way behind the pack of the most used social media platform in Brunei.

Don’t forget to add me on Snapchat 😀

 

BIBD recently extended their support to some seventy residents and caretakers of the Kampong Belimbing welfare home complex, under the Community Development Department, at an Iftar event at the Emperor’s Court Restaurant in Manggis.

The ceremony began with the recitation of the Surah Al-Fatihah which was then followed by the handing over of donations by the guest of honor, BIBD Managing Director Yang Mulia Javed Ahmad to forty-five residents of the welfare home along with certificates of appreciation to the ALMAS volunteer group for their cooperation in the success of the recent BIBD annual charity drive “Sirah Amal”.

Also in attendance was Yang Mulia Haji Minorhadi bin Haji Mirhassan, BIBD’s Head of Institutional Banking Division along with Yang Mulia Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar, Deputy Head of Consumer Banking Division in her capacity as Head of BIBD’s Corporate Social Responsibility.

Hjh Nurul mentioned that, “Alhamdulilah, the support in donations today are an extension of BIBD’s Sirah Amal initiatives as part of being an active community partner. At the same time, these donations are hoped to contribute to the development and progress of the residents to becoming productive members of the community”.

 

Hari Raya promotion until 31st July 2015

 

The amazing launch of the Spring/Summer 2015 (SS15) collection at Amorita Resort, Bohol, the Philippines

[Late post]: I’ve been busy recovering from my lack of sleep due to the Chinese New Year visits. I still have pending stories and today I’m gonna talk about FitFlop. Yes, FitFlop. I recently was invited to the Philippines for a media coverage for the launch campaign of the FitFlop SS15 collection at Bohol Island, the Philippines. I remember covering a shoe event in Malaysia a few years ago but I must say this private small event had more of an impact to me especially if it just relates to footwear.

FitFlop Philippines hosted delegates of the media from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and their local media who had the privileged to see some of the 300 new designs for the FitFlop SS15 collection. During the 2 day event, we were educated on the different types of FitFlop that will be in the market. I’m not sure when the Spring Summer 15 collection will reach Brunei market but should be in May or June if I’m not mistaken.

I didn’t know much about FitFlop but I know my mom is a huge fan of FitFlop especially when she shops at Metro, Paragon, Singapore. But I never knew what is so good about them until I saw Jill Coglan’s quick introduction about FitFlop. She is the Global Sourcing & Product Development Director at FitFlop Asia. I shall revealed more of her drive for FitFlop in my next post. She has been in this field of shoe line for 24 years and only 3 years in FitFlop. She is one of the reasons why FitFlop has been so successful in Asia.

The Indigo from the SS15 Collection. Targeting more of the youthful users.

The media from Indonesia

Joill Colgan, Global Sourcing & Product Development Director at FitFlop Asia with the host Stephanie Henares

The range of Indigo FitFlops being worn

One of the models being photographed wearing an Indigo collection from FitFlop

Photo opportunity with a FitFlop model

So what’s so special about FitFlop? Well, they have a strong trademark where the footwear boasts MICROWOBBLEBOARD™ which is a triple density midsole. It’s just pure comfortable and I owned two now courtesy of FitFlop but sadly not many range for men since the brand suits more for the female gender. Now FitFlop has a great brand positioning which is “WEAR THE SHOES. RULE THE WORLD” and it’s no surprise that the brand has sold more than 20 million pairs.

The Spring/Summer 2015 collection (SS15) is all about looking good and feeling good. Among the 300 designs, this season includes the all-new SuperJelly™ sandals (slightly cheaper than the normal ones) which makes use of a trademark waterproof material made stylish in a variety of vibrant toe-thong designs, neutral slides or the multi-strap twist design. Ah, I’m typing this I know so much about FitFlop *lol* Yes, it’s always interesting to learn in-depth of a footwear that focuses more on my gender counterpart.

While staying at Amorita Resort, Bohol, the Philippines, the media was fortunate to see the four different types of collection being showcased. There are the Indigo, Lustre, Garigue and Tera Nova collection. I shall display more of the collections as well on my next post together with my exclusive interview with Jill Coglan.

For your info, FitFlop started in 2006 and founded by Marcia Kilgore. The brand has grown into new heights and its mission is simple – to create the most comfortable footwear in the world. Only in 2014, FitFlop has made its way to the Brunei market and selling quite well in Hua Ho Departmental store. I would like to thank FitFlop Philippines and Hua Ho Manggis for giving me this opportunity to cover the SS15 media launch in Bohol, the Philippines.

Nice beach called Alona at Amorita Resort, Bohol

Trying out my new FitFlop sandals

The showcase of the Lustre Collection from FitFlop

It was a white theme event

The models showcasing the Lustre collection of FitFlop

With the Indonesian media mostly from magazines

Azli Azney of The Brunei Times and Jas Gill, Director of Mcgill Marketing Pte Ltd (distributor of FitFlop to Brunei)

 

HRH Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (Front Row C), the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, in a group photo with the DPMM FC staff and players during the photoshoot session held at Jerudong Mini Stadium yesterday. Image courtesy of Sanusi Hussin of The Brunei Times.

 

The Manager of Hua Ho Manggis, Lau (L) and Advertorial Writer from The Brunei Times Md Azli Azney at the airport yesterday. Image courtesy of Obelina Wang of The Brunei Times

Woohoo, it’ s my first trip to the Philippines *sakai mode on* and thank you to FitFlop Southeast Asia for inviting myself to the Philippines for the FitFlop conference event at Bohol, the Philippines.

I am traveling with Azli Azney, reporter from The Brunei Times for the coverage and we will be joined with the media and magazine representatives from Indonesia and the Philippines.

We will be witnessing FitFlop’s SS15 Regional Launch and it’s very likely that the new line will be available in Brunei in the near future.

The new collections for FitFlop – Indigo, Lustre, Tera Nova and Garigue – will be the main features of the launch. I’m pretty sure my mom will be excited since she’s a huge collector of FitFlop footwear as she shops the collections in Singapore.

I shall be posting more pictures on my social media instagram at @ranoadidas so do follow me there for updates. Thank you Soon Tiong for this opportunity.

 

Zul Abdul Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer with the associates of Concepts Computer holding the APACER Pen drives

With the importance of physical digital storage on the rise in our digital society, Concepts Computer is introducing fast and reliable storage solutions from APACER, an internationally recognised and multi-award winning data solutions and IT solutions provider. Faster speed will come from the USB 3.0 connectivity incorporated by APACER into their new pen drives, the APACER AH350, the APACER AH351 and APACER AH352.

The APACER AH350, AH351 and AH352 offers great useful storage capacities in a small enclosure for great mobility, very fast transfer rates with USB 3.0 connectivity and secure storage. The USB 3.0 connectivity promises up to 10 times faster connectivity compared to older USB 2.0 devices. APACER’s AH35X series of USB3.0 pen drives fully demonstrates aspiration for speed from both its Super Speed transmission, and their light and slim designs. APACER adopted the single-chip controller for their AH35X series, making them the lightest USB3.0 flash drive to hit the market.

Zul Abdul Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer added, “We know how important digital data storage is to our customers so we will work harder to provide a much larger range of great digital storage solutions at the best prices for the consumers of Brunei Darussalam.” Zul continued, “And with that in mind, this is our first step in providing exciting solutions for the local IT-market. And with the release of these APACER pen drives, customers do not have to choose between reliability, high performance and affordability, it is all available from APACER and Concepts Computer. ”

These APACER AH35X series USB 3.0 pen drives are priced accordingly: $12 for 8GB, $20 for 16GB, and $38 for 32GB. These APACER pen drives also comes with 5 years limited warranty. For more information on the wide-selection and full-range of storage solutions available at Concepts Computer, please visit your nearest Concepts Computer showroom or call 2233551/2233552.

The come in three sizes – 8GB, 16GB and 32GB

All available at Concepts Computer

 

It’s time of the year where people are either spending or shopping for Hari Raya and it’s bound to be packed starting today as it might be a long weekend too. I haven’t even make my own Baju Melayu which says a lot about my enthusiasm for Hari Raya. So for now, let me flood the page with a few promotions that that might entice you in a way. I won’t be splurging promotions here and there but you do get the idea. Enjoy the weekend and spend wisely…

Catch the latest promotion at malppy.com as they feature some of their selected premium quality authentic Mayuki Tokyo Fashion apparels at only $15 until end of the month! You can also find a SALES section now where you can browse through all the sales items available in the online store. Hurry and visit malppy.com now to check them out while stock lasts! Sign up with Malppy.com and subscribe to their e-newsletter to be the first one to get information on latest promotions, new arrivals, or events! Click image to enter website.

Pazzion Shoes are on sale up to 70% on selected items. Visit Pazzion at The Mall, Gadong and you might just find the right pair for Hari Raya. You can click here to see more shoes and new arrivals too. You can also follow them on instagram @pazzionbrunei

If you have registered your Volkswagen in May, June or July 2014, you are invited to the Volkswagen Hari Raya lucky draw event at their showroom tomorrow (Friday) at 2:30pm. Cash prizes and maintenance packages will be given away to lucky winners. Call 265 5111 for details.

Another great promotion form Sin Hup Huat and super ideal especially with Hari Raya around the corner

Netcom Computer House just launched their new promotion – Aidilfitri Lucky Draw. Check out their terms and condition.

Ahhh… Burger King.. A few more Sungkai left before it’s gone

Any purchase of Planet Popcorn Bucket as the 2nd item is only at B$9.90*. Promotion is valid till 27th July, while stocks last.Come & Grab it NOW! *T&C apply. Click here to enter their Facebook Page.

Did you know that BIBD has issued their 100,000th Debit Card? BIBD are truly humbled by your support as they reached this auspicious milestone. BIBD also would like to thank their staffs who have been instrumental in ensuring the success of the BIB Debit Card.

All Hua Ho Department Store will be extending their business hours to 11pm until eve of Hari Raya.

Euro Classic Collection 20th Anniversary. Ending 29th July 2014.

Calvin Thoo Rtw now available in store at @Bajoo (instagram) or you can visit Bajoo Boutique at Mata-Mata Complex. Enjoy 5% off his collection. Offer ends on Hari Raya. They are taking orders till Thursday night (which is tonight), just in case, your size is not available in store. Items will arrive in store Saturday morning – in time for Hari Raya.

Do mind the traffic jam in the next few days and do drive safe.

The WCOPA Showcase is happening in August. More details soon.

Audi – Urban Driving Experience in September. Only by invitation

For the Men (green), it is $179 before the current member’s discount of 20% and for the Women (pink), it is $169 before the member’s discount of 20 for the SKECHERS Nite Owl sneakers. Check out their local stores in Kiulap, Seria and KB.