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Brunei Investment Agency

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Brunei Investment Agency
BIA
Company typeSovereign Wealth Fund
IndustryInvestment
Founded1 July 1983; 41 years ago (1983-07-01)
FounderSultan of Brunei
HeadquartersMinistry of Finance Building,
Bandar Seri Begawan
,
Brunei
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Khairuddin Abdul Hamid – Chief Investment Officer
  • Dato Abdul Rahman Karim – Managing Director
Productsinvestment
AUMDecreaseUS$73 billion (2023)
Total equitySteadyUS$30 billion (2009)
OwnerGovernment of Brunei
ParentMinistry of Finance and Economy (Brunei)
Subsidiaries
WebsiteBIA Homepage

The Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) is a government-owned corporation[1] that reports to the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Brunei. Established in 1983, its offices are located in Bandar Seri Begawan at the Ministry of Finance HQ.[2] Data on the agency's assets are not reported to the public[3] and the Sultan and his assets, to a certain degree, are also incorporated in the agency; however the extent is unknown. In October 2023, the fund has a total of US$73 billion in assets under management.[4]

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Prior to Brunei's independence, the country's investment portfolio was administered by the British Crown.[5] The BIA was established under an Act of the Government of Brunei and became functional from 1 July 1983.

The objective defined under the Act is to hold and manage the General Reserve Fund of the Government and all its external assets. The agency manages 40% of Brunei's foreign reserves, remainder being managed by eight foreign organizations.[6]

The Sultan of Brunei and Yang Di-Pertuan has the authority to specify any other issues that need to be addressed by BIA.[citation needed]

Functions

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The agency's principal tasks are to control and manage Brunei's general reserve funds and the growth of external holdings. It manages the country's income from oil exports in the form of foreign reserves.

BIA functions as one of the investment arms of the Brunei government and has a strong financial base with funds generated from the country's gas and oil resources, and other revenues.

Investments

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Some major foreign assets of BIA include the Dorchester Collection, which is a portfolio of luxury hotels established in 1996; a 10% holding in the Paterson Securities of Australia, and Bahagia Investment Corporation (Malaysia), dealing with real estate.[7]

BIA's investment portfolio, apart from investments within Brunei, covers diverse investments in bonds, equity, currency, gold and real estate. It has substantial investments in the US.

Brunei investors bought The Dorchester on Park Lane in London in 1985 for US$50 million and in 1996 BIA formed the Dorchester Collection, a conglomerate of luxury hotels in UK, United States, France and Italy.[8] BIA also owns The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles which was bought for US$185 million in 1987 as well as the Grand Hyatt Singapore Hotel.[9] BIA also has a 10% holding in the Paterson Securities of Australia, and Bahagia Investment Corporation of Malaysia, dealing with real estate.[7]

In June 2018 BIA acquired a stake in Molten Ventures for £20 million.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Ariff, Mohamed (1998). APEC and Development Co-operation. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-981-230-020-1.
  2. ^ "Brunei Investment Agency". Sovereign Wealth Funds News. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  3. ^ Singh, Daljit; Freeman, Nick J. (2000). Regional Outlook: Southeast Asia 2000–2001. Institute of Southeast Asian. pp. 50–. ISBN 978-981-230-087-4.
  4. ^ "Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) – Sovereign Wealth Fund, Brunei – SWFI". swfinstitute.org. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. ^ Sidhu, Jatswan S. (22 December 2009). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Scarecrow Press. pp. 87–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7078-9.
  6. ^ Gunn, Geoffrey C. (2000). New World Hegemony in the Malay World. The Red Sea Press. pp. 170–. ISBN 978-1-56902-135-4.
  7. ^ a b "Brunei Investment Agency". Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  8. ^ Alex Brummer (26 April 2012). Britain for Sale: British Companies in Foreign Hands – The Hidden Threat to Our Economy. Random House. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-1-4481-3681-0.
  9. ^ Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Wilson Co. 1990. p. 57. ISBN 9780824201289.
  10. ^ "The Sultan of Brunei has made the country's first investment in a UK listed company, ploughing £20m into Graze backer Draper Esprit". City A.M. 5 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
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