A boat is seen harbouring at Brunei Bay with a background of Hengyi industries located at Pulau Muara Besar. - Image from Borneo Bulletin/ANN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Brunei Darussalam’s gross domestic product (GDP), at constant prices, grew at 6.0 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, driven by a 7.7-per-cent increase in the oil and gas (O&G) sector and a 4.5-per-cent increase in the non-O&G sector, the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (JPES) said in a statement.
The expansion in the O&G sector was driven by increased production of crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The growth in crude oil and natural gas production is linked to the development of a new oil and gas field, while the uptick in LNG production is attributed to a higher gas supply.
Meanwhile, the non-O&G sector maintained its positive performance with improvements in subsectors such as manufacture of petroleum and chemical products by 52.8 per cent, air transport by 24.2 per cent and wholesale and retail trade by 2.1 per cent. The main drivers of the expansion in the manufacture of petroleum and chemical products subsector were increased production of methanol, urea fertiliser and petrochemicals.
The growth in the air transport subsector was due to an increase in the number of air passengers and flight frequency. Additionally, the wholesale and retail trade subsector also expanded, with higher motor vehicle sales as one of the contributing factors.
As for GDP contribution by economic activity, the industry sector contributed 64.7 per cent, followed by the services sector at 34.1 per cent and the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector at 1.2 per cent.
The Sultanate’s GDP at current prices in Q2 2024 was valued at BND5.2 billion compared to BND4.8 billion in Q2 2023. The O&G sector accounted for 50.3 per cent, comprising O&G mining and manufacture of LNG. The non-O&G sector made up 49.7 per cent of the total, which includes downstream activities such as the manufacture of petroleum and chemical products.
By expenditure approach, the increase in GDP growth in Q2 2024 was driven by a rise in the exports of goods and services by 37.7 per cent, household final consumption expenditure by 6.0 per cent, followed by government final consumption expenditure by 4.9 per cent. However, gross capital formation recorded a decrease of 12-per-cent.
GDP is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in a particular period after deducting the cost of goods and services used up in the process of production. The full report for the GDP Q2 2024 is available from JPES’ website at deps.mofe.gov.bn. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
