IT'S not about the money. It's about getting expertise, technology and marketing network.

This, said an official of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), is the common reply to the oft-asked question as to why Brunei is interested in attracting foreign investors to its many infrastructure projects when it has the financial muscles to build them on its own.

Brunei may not require the funding brought in through alternative forms of financing for infrastructure projects such as a Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) involving foreign investors, however the expertise, talent, technologies and marketing contacts packaged with such partnerships are valuable assets to the Sultanate, said Desmond Lim, BEDB assistant CEO and head of PPP.

During a forum at the workshop on the financing of infrastructure projects yesterday, Lim said one of the more common question asked when talking to foreign investors on investing in alternative financing projects in Brunei is why the Sultanate is interested in such partnerships in light of the country's "very strong" fiscal position.

"Alternative financing or PPP is not only about bringing in financial resources... If anything, it brings in the expertise required to run some of these projects," he said during a forum yesterday.

"For example, if the private sector is in a position that can run or deliver a particular service or product at a rate that is more efficient than what the public sector can offer, then why shouldn't we participate in (such partnerships)," he added.

Echoing similar sentiments was Standard Chartered Bank's chief executive Danny Quah who said that bringing in foreign investors will equip the country with the benefits of foreign expertise, technologies and talent that will favour local consumers.

"Another benefit is the downstream activities (associated with) such private partnerships because you can't do anything alone even if you are the biggest contractor in Brunei," he said.

"The best way of understanding this is to look at some countries that have no problem with money such as Singapore and China. Both countries are aggressively seeking foreign investments," said Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, acting chairman of BEDB.

One example is the US$0.5 billion methanol plant being developed through a joint venture which is 75 per cent Japanese and 25 per cent Brunei government.

"Half a billion US dollars is not a very large amount of money for Brunei, we can build a methanol plant and own it 100 per cent but we would not have a clue on how to manage or sell the methanol successfully," said Dato Paduka Ong.The Brunei Times