Annual report on Brunei / Colonial Office.

  • Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Date:
[1948]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on Brunei / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/68 (page 11)
    The total number of depositors and the amount standing to their credit with the Post Office Savings Bank at the close of the year 1947 and 1948 were as follows:— Number of Year Depositors Amount 1947 241 $ 59,725 1948 625 $231,863 Chapter V. COMMERCE. Imports. Once again some dozen items are outstanding in Appendix A, the most important of which are the items for machinery and ironware valued at $13,280,265 and $7,506,015 respectively. This is readily accounted for by the requirements of the local Oilfields which are still in the process of expansion. The local rice harvest was good and in consequence less rice was imported than in 1947. The Black Market ceased to be effective early in the year. After the liberation of Borneo in 1945 the British Military Administration introduced a Customs Tariff in Brunei which was similar to that of North Borneo but in December 1947 it was possible to pass legislation to give effect to a tariff under Civil Law and at the same time to amend the whole structure of the tariff and its policy. A large number of petty items were eradicated and an attempt was made to concentrate on the more productive items and the duty on the majority of these was raised. The most outstanding change was the deletion of the items 'machinery' and ‘ironware’ from the import tariff. The effect of this gesture on the Revenue with the existence of a very large oil¬ field may be easily appreciated. The value of these two items imported this year was $20,000,000. Exports. The same main items remain in Appendix B and disclose a small increase in the quantity of rubber exported when compared with 1947. The production and export of Crude Oil and Natural Gas have steadily increased since the war. The export in 1948 was more than half as much again as in 1947. The Oil is exported by pipeline to Lutong in Sarawak territory where a part is refined and the remainder exported as Crude Oil. The Customs and Marine Department was in the charge of Mr. D. H. Trumble.