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“Trophy Capitalism,” Jefrinomics, and Dynastic Travail in Brunei

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Geoffrey Gunn
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The use and potential misuse of sovereign wealth funds in Asia has been newsworthy of late, especially because of their size and high profile investments. China and – and possibly Japan as well – look to parlay their governmentowned investment vehicles. With its small population base, and vast reserves of oil and natural gas, the small Southeast Asian nation of Brunei Darussalam, located on the northeastern side of the island of Borneo, has been able to lever its economy into providing an enviable standard of living for its population and mega-billions for its ruling Royal family.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , March 2008 , e15
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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
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Copyright © The Authors 2008

References

Notes

[1] Christopher Colclough, “Brunei: Development Problems of a Resource Rich State, “Euro-Asia Business Review, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1985, pp. 29-32. Also, see the author's, “Rentier Capitalism in Negara Brunei Darussalam,” in Kevin Hewison, Richard Robison and Garry Rodan (eds.), Southeast Asia in the 1990s: Authoritarianism, Democracy & Capitalism, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1993, pp. 109-132; and “Brunei,” in Patrick Heenan and Monique Lamontagne (eds.), The Southeast Asian Handbook, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, London/Chicago, 2001, pp.78-86.

[2] Mark Cleary, and Shuang Yann Wong, Oil, Economic Development and Diversification in Brunei Darussalam, Macmillan, London, 1994/St. Martin's Press, New York, 1994.

[3] Beblawi Hazem and Luciani Giacomo (eds.), The Rentier State, Croom Helm, London, 1987, p.52.

[4] Andrew Rosser, “Escaping the Resource Curse: The Case of Indonesia,” Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol.37, no.1, February 2007, pp.38-58.

[5] Cleary and Wong, pp. 123.

[6] “Concern” literature relating to rapid rise of sovereign wealth funds continues to swell. For example, see Steven Weisman, “Concern about ‘s o v e r e i g n w e a l t h f u n d s’ s p r e a d t o Washington,” International Herald Tribune, 20 August 2007 For a useful summation of the issue, see James Seward, “Should there be common standards for Sovereign Wealth Funds in Asia?”

[7] Brunei Darussalam: Overall Economic Performance, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

[8] “IMF Executive Board Concludes 2005 Article IV Consultation with Brunei Darussalam,” International Monetary Fund, Public Information Notice No. 05/137 September 30, 2005.

[9] Report of the Brunei Darussalam Economic Council

[10] Gunn, Rentier Capitalism. The model, in turn, can be traced to Abdul- Fadil, Mahmoud, “The Macro-behaviour of Oil-rentier States in the Arab Region,” in Hazem Beblawi & Luciani Giacomo (eds.), The Rentier State, Croom Helm, London, 1987, p.86.

[11] eg. James Bartholomew, The Richest Man in the World: The Sultan of Brunei, Viking, London, 1989.

[12] Far Eastern Economic Review Asia 2000 Yearbook, p.96.

[13] Rex Mortimer (ed.), Showcase State: The Illusion of Indonesia's Accelerated Modernisation, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1973.

[14] Stephen, Ignatius, “Jefri-controlled projects lie abandoned,” The Sunday Times (Singapore), 2 April 2000.

[15] Far Eastern Economic Review Asia 2000 Yearbook, p.87.

[16] Maggie Ford, “Brunei: Profligate Prince Jefri,” Newsweek, 10 April 2000.

[17] Ignatius Stephen, “Prince Jefri, Brunei Settle $40 Billion Case.”

[18] Official Brunei Homepage

[19] “$16 billion vanishes into thin air,” Bangladesh Times, 29 June 2000.

[20] “Country Economic Brief: Brunei D a r u s s a l a m, A u s t r a l i a n H i g h Commission, Brunei Darussalam, February 1994.”

[21] Mark Maremont, “Will the Prince turn Pauper?: Billions later Jefri's in a Royal Mess,” The Wall Street Journal, 1 March 2008.

[22] FEER Yearbook 2000.

[23] See PetroleumBRUNEI homepage

[24] See website of Islamic Development Bank

[25] Ame Info, “Islamic Development B a n k u n v e i l s u c c e s s o f i n i t i a l infrastructure development fund,” 3 March 2008

[26] C.T. Hj Mahmud, “Brunei stamps mark in global Islamic Banking,” BruneiDirect.com, 12 June 2005

[27] “Signing Ceremony for Setting Up of the Thailand Prosperity Fund”

[28] “IMF Executive Board Concludes 2005 Article IV Consultation with Brunei Darussalam,” International Monetary Fund, Public Information Notice No. 05/137 September 30, 2005