While its pampered subjects are by no means hard hit like other Asians, the economy has not escaped the effects of weaker regional markets and falling oil prices. And though life continues in much the same way as before, the collapse in August of Brunei's biggest conglomerate, Amedeo Development Corp., run by the sultan's brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, has sent shock waves across the country. In the wake of the slowdown, Brunei has been advised by foreign consultants it hired to make its financial dealings more transparent in order to ride out the regional crisis. But not much is known about these by the public. Since 1962, it has been a crime, punishable by up to three years in jail, to reveal the exact nature of the country's currency reserves.
Economic statistics are hard to come by.
There is no representative parliament, and the government budget is a secret, leaving citizens of a country enjoying one of Asia's highest standards of living in the dark on what the finance ministry is doing with Brunei's wealth. ''We are not allowed to give any information to the foreign media. The foreign experts hired by the Brunei government in August 1998 say it is time for a change in governance in this sultanate. For starters, the consultants, flown in to give advice on modernizing the economy to get through the financial crisis, have advised it to be more transparent about economic statistics. This can only be done by the optimum use of Brunei's only asset - oil,'' one leading London banker, closely associated with BIA, told the newspaper. While he would not say how much of Brunei's reserves he thought had been depleted, the banker said ''it is believed to be substantial'' and added that ''investigations are still proceeding.