DATO Paduka Awang Haji Mohammad Roselan bin Haji Mohammad Daud, the Acting Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday called on relevant stakeholders to triple their efforts in raising the level of financial literacy in the country after financial roadshows held in secondary schools nationwide yielded positive results.
In his speech at the National Saving Day 2017 ceremony held at the Rizqun International Hotel, the Acting Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office said, “According to the findings carried our during the roadshows, the basic financial knowledge among students is at 33 per cent before participating in the activities. It increased to 71 per cent after joining the activities.
He added, “73 per cent of the students who participated in the roadshow managed to learn about the importance of financial management and the attitude of saving for the future.”
He also revealed that this year’s Financial Fun Fair had 33 per cent more visitors than last year in 2016.
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohammad Roselan said, “The practice of saving and financial management is not something new among the Brunei community. It’s synonymous with the practice and message of our seniors which is save for later days. However, financial services have grown and become more sophisticated in line with the needs and demands of the public.”
The development, he said, “Paved the way for the existence of various financial products and services that are more innovative and complex in nature. This has added challenges for the public as the need for financial knowledge increased in line with the development and innovation within financial sector.
“The National Saving Day is the right initiative and needs to be carried out annually to increase awareness on financial issues among the community,” he added.
Yusof bin Haji Abdul Rahman, the Managing Director of Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) said, “AMBD’s commitment in raising the level of financial literacy nationwide has been strengthened with the establishment of the Financial Sector Blueprint (2016-2025) that focusses on five main pillars to build a sustainable financial ecosystem. This includes the strategic action plan for human capacity building.”
After launching the Brunei Capital Market Association, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohammad Roselan also presented prizes to winners of the Radio Promo Competition which was open to government and private secondary school students. The video promo competition was also held.
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohammad Roselan toured the financial Showcase at The Mall where there were exhibitions that showcased financial management products and services. The participating institutions were AMBD, Employees Trust Fund (TAP), Baiduri Bank, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Standard Chartered Bank, AIA Co Ltd, Great Eastern Life Assurance and Takaful Brunei Keluarga Sdn Bhd.
|by James Kon|
