BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Brunei Darussalam’s economy to grow by 3.2 per cent this year while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast it at three per cent.
The Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) of Brunei Darussalam forecast the nation’s growth rate at 2.8 per cent.
The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics at the Ministry of Finance and Economy stated that Brunei Darussalam’s economy last year grew by 1.2 per cent. This was attributed to an increase in the non-oil and gas sector by nine per cent.
The Asean +3 Macroeconomic Research Outlook (AMRO) in its recent publication also projected the nation’s economy to grow by around 0.9 per cent last year, despite contraction in the oil and gas sector in the fourth quarter of last year.
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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), in close consultation with the banking industry, announced the extension of assistance to businesses and individuals affected by the Covid-19 pandemic for another six months (April 1 to Sept 30).
Since April 2020, banks and finance companies have been providing assistance to help alleviate financial distress of affected borrowers.
As of December 2020, some 2,014 applications were granted assistance. A majority opted for temporary deferment of their monthly loan repayment.
AMBD observed that the assistance has helped easing customers from the sudden financial challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the resumption of economic and social activities, several customers have resumed their loan repayments.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): The Ministry of Health (MoH on Tuesday (April 6) announced a pause in administering the AstraZeneca vaccine under the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, as part of a precautionary measure.
This will allow the Covid-19 Vaccine Technical Committee to further review available data to assure the safety of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Sinopharm vaccine will continue to be administered.
A MoH press statement said the committee had taken note of overseas reports detailing very rare cases of unusual blood clots associated with low numbers of platelets, in people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Several countries have reported this rare occurrence that appears to primarily affect younger individuals.
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