Foreign Investment, State Capitalism, and National Development in Borneo: Rethinking Brunei–China Economic Relations

Faced with dwindling oil and gas reserves, Brunei has been hard-pressed to diversify its reliance on hydrocarbon. China has emerged as an attractive prospect to the Brunei government, especially since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative. This article analyses a few major Chinese projects in B...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 242 - 264
Main Authors: Lim, Guanie, Hoon, Chang-Yau, Zhao, Kaili
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2023
Sage Publications Ltd
SAGE Publishing
Subjects:
Brunei
Capitalism
Domestic markets
Economic development
Exports
Foreign aid
Foreign investment
H53
International economic relations
International relations
Investments
Investors
JQ1-6651
JZ2-6530
National development
Natural resources
Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)
Postulates
Public enterprise
Social sciences and state - Asia (Asian studies only)
State capitalism
Verhältnis wirtschaftliche Akteure - Staat
Wirtschaftsunternehmen
Brunei
China
Brunei
political economy
development
China
industrial policy
foreign direct investment
ISSN:1868-1034, 1868-4882, 1868-4882
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Faced with dwindling oil and gas reserves, Brunei has been hard-pressed to diversify its reliance on hydrocarbon. China has emerged as an attractive prospect to the Brunei government, especially since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative. This article analyses a few major Chinese projects in Brunei and postulates three interrelated arguments. Firstly, Chinese investors have targeted Brunei's natural resources and fiscal incentives. These firms have minimal interest in the Sultanate's small domestic market as they eye the export sector. Secondly, these projects have been orchestrated by China's provincially-owned state-owned enterprises (SOE) and private firms, instead of centrally- controlled SOEs. State support has generally been channelled to these projects in an at-arm's length manner. Thirdly, while Brunei is relatively skilled in attracting Chinese investors to further its own political economic goals, at least in the short-run, it is uncertain whether such capital exports have helped in ameliorating the structural limits of the country’s economy.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1868-1034
1868-4882
1868-4882
DOI:10.1177/18681034231186441