The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry pays serious attention to corporate governance, ownership transparency, and compliance with enforced laws to identify the actual controllers and beneficiaries of businesses, particularly those owned by foreign nationals, to enable ownership irregularities to be detected at an early stage through information sharing and cross-agency enforcement.
Therefore, effective from April 25, 2026, the ministry, through the Registry of Companies and Business Names (ROCBN), made it mandatory for companies to file their Beneficial Ownership (BO) information with the Registrar of Companies.
The requirement is in line with Recommendation 24 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets out preventive measures on money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The mandatory filing of BO information with the Registrar of Companies was shared by Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin on the third day of the Second Meeting of the 22nd Legislative Council (LegCo) Session yesterday.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf noted that the primary objective of this initiative is to obtain accurate information on the beneficial owners of companies, namely the ultimate owners or controlling shareholders of both local and foreign companies operating in Brunei.
According to the latest data as of July 26, 2026, the beneficial ownership filing rate stands at 13.5 per cent, representing 1,301 companies out of a total of 9,633 companies registered with the ROCBN. This marks an increase of 5.3 percentage points from the filing rate of 8.2 per cent recorded in April 2026.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf said the ROCBN also plays a role as the authoritative repository for information on companies registered in Brunei. It works continuously with both government and non-government agencies to facilitate the sharing of company and business name information in support of procurement and tender processes, the issuance of business licences, enforcement actions, and other related functions.
To ensure the accuracy, consistency, and quality of business ownership information, the ROCBN maintains close and continuous collaboration with relevant agencies, including the Industry and Business Ecosystem Division, the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, the Employees Trust Fund (TAP), the Revenue Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, security agencies, and other relevant authorities.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf said this close inter-agency cooperation is aimed at ensuring that information relating to business owners, company directors, and shareholders remains accurate, up to date, and consistent across all relevant agencies, thereby strengthening regulatory oversight, governance, and enforcement.
(news source: Borneo Bulletin ; pic source: Info Foto, Jbt Penerangan)
