Starting a business in Brunei: foreigner's guide (2026)

Brunei's Long-Term Pass took effect on 31 December 2024, allowing foreign business owners and high-demand technical experts to renew work permits until age 65 (up from 60) and streamlining visa issuance after Foreign Worker Recruitment Licence (LPA) approval. The reform lowers barriers for foreign founders and key talent to establish and sustain businesses.

The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering published its Mutual Evaluation Report following a November 2022 on-site visit, rating Brunei Largely Compliant on most FATF recommendations but identifying significant weaknesses in implementing its beneficial-ownership framework for companies — a core compliance requirement at the point of business registration.

Enacted as S 26/2023 under the Employment Act (Cap. 278), the Order introduced Brunei's first nationwide minimum wage in a phased approach — initially covering banking, finance, and ICT at BND 500/month full-time — creating a new statutory cost floor that entrepreneurs must budget for from start-up.

Gazetted on 31 October 2020, the amendment required every Brunei-incorporated company to create and file a Register of Registrable Controllers (beneficial owners) with the Ministry of Finance and Economy within 30 days of incorporation (or by 31 December 2020 for existing companies). This made beneficial-ownership disclosure a mandatory step in the incorporation process, aligning Brunei with FATF standards.

The World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report placed Brunei 16th worldwide and 4th in ASEAN for the Starting a Business sub-index, recognising sharp reductions in procedures and time needed to incorporate following the ROCBN online registration system and licensing exemptions introduced since 2015. This was the final major benchmark assessment before the programme was discontinued in 2021.

The 2016 amendment to the Business Licences Act eliminated the licensing requirement for seven categories of business activity, directly cutting a procedural hurdle for new entrants. Combined with the 2015 Miscellaneous Licences Act amendment that reduced waiting times, these changes drove Brunei's dramatic rise in the World Bank Starting a Business ranking.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy launched the businessBN portal (business.mofe.gov.bn) and a physical Business Support Centre in January 2016, creating a whole-of-government gateway for business registration, permits, and licensing across all agencies. Online incorporation through ROCBN (roc.gov.bn) was compressed to as little as one business day.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah proclaimed Wawasan Brunei 2035, targeting a dynamic, diversified economy among the world's top-10 per-capita income nations by 2035. The vision formalised economic diversification away from hydrocarbons as binding national policy, shaping all subsequent business-environment reforms and investment-promotion strategies.

The Brunei Economic Development Board was revamped under the BEDB (Amendment) Order 2001 effective 1 June, gaining a strengthened FDI-attraction mandate. Concurrently, the Investment Incentives Order 2001 (Cap. 97) replaced the 1975 Act, offering pioneer-status corporate-tax holidays of 5–20 years scaled to capital investment, becoming the primary tool for incentivising new business formation in priority sectors.

BEDB was established on 11 April 1975, modelled partly on Singapore's EDB, to develop policies, incentives, and strategies for attracting investment. It became — and remains — the principal government body advising and facilitating foreign and domestic investors navigating Brunei's regulatory start-up framework.

The Business Names Act No. 2 of 1975 established mandatory registration for sole proprietorships and partnerships trading under a business name, complementing the Companies Act for incorporated entities. Administered by ROCBN, it forms one pillar of Brunei's dual-track registration system that every new unincorporated entrepreneur must use.

Enactment No. 25 of 1956 established Brunei's foundational framework for the incorporation, governance, and dissolution of companies, creating the Registrar of Companies and defining rules for private and public limited companies. All subsequent company-registration reforms — from digitalisation to beneficial-ownership requirements — have been built on this statute.