ZCZC
BCN-19
BRUNEI-BANK-INFLATION
Brunei’s central bank predicts low inflation in 2019
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec. 23, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Autoriti Monetari Brunei
Darussalam (AMBD), Brunei’s central bank, published its biannual policy
statement for the second half of this year on Sunday, forecasting the
country’s inflation to remain below one percent next year.
AMBD noted that the global economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent in 2018
and 2019. The domestic economy declined by 0.05 percent year-on-year in the
first half of 2018.
AMBD’s inflation forecast for 2018 and 2019 is maintained at below one
percent, with potential downside risks to the forecast for 2019 if global
inflationary pressures remain weak.
The central bank also highlighted that local licensed financial
institutions continue to have strong fundamentals underpinned by high levels
of capitalization, strong liquidity and improved profitability. It issued a
number of notices this year to enhance investor protection and confidence in
capital markets.
According to AMBD, in the recent Doing Business Report 2019, the World
Bank acknowledged the implementation of Brunei’s national credit scoring
system, known as Bureau Credit Score, by the Credit Bureau of AMBD.
Brunei achieved the full score and ranked first out of 190 economies in
the Getting Credit indicator, sharing the top spot with New Zealand.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1420