It was early 1980s, Brunei had a GDP per capita of US$21,822 - the wealthiest in Asia, far exceeding even the booming Japan (US$10,361). Singapore (US$5,595) was poorer back then.
GDP aside, Brunei also had good infrastructure that was well ahead of most in the region. For instance, Brunei Airport had the longest runway in Southeast Asia, one of the longest in Far East, and was able to accommodate aircrafts of any size at that time. Radio and TV coverage was almost 100% in Brunei, nearly all households had a TV set and radio at home. By comparison, in Singapore, owning a TV was still considered a big thing for the family back then. At the time when RTB began its operations, Brunei was the only country in the region that offered colour television broadcasts; even Singapore and Malaysia only had black-and-white television broadcast at that time.
Upon independence, Brunei inherited a foreign reserve worth US$67.5 billion. This foreign reserve was itself, bigger than the entire Singaporean (US$19.14 billion) and Malaysian (US$33.94 billion) GDP combined back in 1984. If Brunei had put a significant amount of those money towards development, not only 'mini Switzerland' could be achieved, the possibility of a 'mini London' could also be likely. This was what Dubai attained 30 years later.
The first thing the Sultan did upon independence was building the world's biggest palace, and CBS described Brunei as so rich that even blowing up half a billion on new palace won't dent state revenues. "In the age of recession, it must be the only country left where this is possible." With the emergence of a new country that deep in pockets, premiers of Japan, Canada, and Malaysia, the foreign ministers of Singapore and Thailand, and the King of Malaysia all dropped by for businesses.
Nearby, Labuan had built the most modern shipyard in ASEAN, the third most modern in the world. Flushed with oil money, Labuan at this era was a duty-free shopping haven and many branded goods were sold much cheaper than elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The wealthy flocked to Labuan for shopping.
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In Europe we hear legends about Labuan being the original tax haven for Air Asia (3% tax / 7k $ max), and that foreigners are allowed to open companies there and use them to do Business internationally. Does anyone have some insight into this or is this just a myth? Terima Kasih :)
I'm [33/F] heading to Labuan Bajo for a week in August (Aug 11-17 to meet with a friend) but am looking for other suggestions on East Nusa Tenggara. I was thinking about flying as East as possible and making my way west. My dates are pretty flexible and I have about 4 weeks to play around with. I enjoy scuba diving (only have about 10 dives and am going to get my advanced cert), snorkeling, general beach relaxing, reading, hiking (nothing serious), and exploring around. I found a company that does a 4 day boat trip from Lombok to Labuan Bajo that does island hoping and such during those days (similar to Tao in El nido/coron) . I haven't booked it but would like suggestions like that. I've been to Lombok but only in the Gilis so other suggestions on Lombok are welcomed. Kuta? Thanks!
The total flight time for a one-way flight from LBJ to DPS is 50min on Nam air and 1h40m on Garuda. Does anyone know why the Nam air flight is so much quicker?
Most of the tour packages I'm finding online (which I don't particularly wish to book through) provide trips from Bali or Lombok via Komodo to Flores. However, I'm looking to go in the opposite direction. Im wondering if anyone has experience of being in Labuan bajo and finding a tour on the day or a day before an expedition that would take them via Komodo to Lombok/ Bali?
I would much prefer to book directly while in Labuan bajo than booking in advance online. Is this a good or bad idea?
