UKABC Roundtable on the Economic Outlook and Energy Transition Journey of Brunei Darussalam — 21 January 2026
Brunei Darussalam is advancing a carefully sequenced economic transformation—strengthening fiscal resilience, accelerating diversification, and pursuing a pragmatic energy transition aligned with long-term sustainability. As the country broadens its economic base beyond upstream hydrocarbons, there is a strong policy focus on downstream and value-added activities, alongside the development of new growth sectors, modern infrastructure, and future-ready human capital.
UKABC was delighted to host The Hon. Dato Dr Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II and Dato Azmi Hanifah, Deputy Minister of Energy for a closed-door roundtable to learn about Brunei Darussalam’s energy transition plans.
In the presence of The Hon Naz Shah MP, UK Trade Envoy to Indonesia and ASEAN five key takeaways emerged from the insightful discussion:
Partnership as the real accelerator.
Brunei’s transition won’t be delivered by any one institution. The value is in bringing together government, industry, finance, academia and trusted international partners—especially where UK experience can help shorten the learning curve.
It’s not just about technology—it’s about economics.
The conversation focused on what makes commercial sense: what can be done now with low friction, what needs alignment and preparation, and what might be too uneconomic for the time being.
Clusters and connectivity can unlock scale.
Brunei’s industrial cluster—LNG, fertiliser and methanol—creates a real opportunity for shared infrastructure, CCU/CCUS ecosystems and circular value chains. Digital connectivity and better data-sharing also came through as practical enablers, not “nice-to-haves”.
This is a journey—government kick starts, business eventually leads.
As in other countries, government establishes the policy direction, standards and the ecosystem first. But in time, as confidence and capability grow, business should lead more of the transition, with government playing a lighter role—focused on enabling, not driving.
Networking and Relationships
This roundtable offered a great platform for the Brunei delegation to network and meet with UKABC’s partners - global UK companies that have a strong presence in ASEAN countries.
UKABC’s roundtable was part of a wider programme for the Brunei delegation who were undertaking an official mission visit to the United Kingdom, coordinated by the British High Commission to Brunei Darussalam. Whilst in the UK, the Minister and delegation held meetings with UK Government departments, including the FCDO, DESNZ, DBT, and HM Treasury, as well as the UK Climate Change Committee and Imperial College London. The programme also includes technical site visits to Net Zero Teesside and a floating solar project.
Thank you to Arup for kindly hosting this roundtable and representatives from ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), ion Ventures, KPMG LLP, PwC (UK), Trowers & Hamlins LLP, Wood Group and Xodus Group for their contributions.