IBC Champions “Made in Borneo” to Strengthen Regional Value Chains

IBC Chief Executive Officer, Bapak Sofyan A. Djalil, spoke at the Opening Panel of the 2nd Borneo Economic Forum, themed “Shaping the Future of Borneo”, in Kuching, Sarawak, on 7 October 2026.

During the panel discussion, Pak Sofyan shared an Indonesian perspective on the development of Borneo, noting that the island’s shared geography and shared resources are taking shape as a shared economic platform, with Nusantara marking a shift in Indonesia’s economic development paradigm towards a less Java-centric model.

Pak Sofyan also noted that to develop, Borneo has to capture more value within the island by building integrated industries supported by robust infrastructure and logistics networks. To achieve this ambition, each part of Borneo — Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan, and Brunei Darussalam — has to complement rather than compete against one another, drawing on its own comparative advantage.

He put forward the idea of “Made in Borneo”, built on industrial processing and on physical, energy, and regulatory connectivity, using ASEAN norms and regimes to bind Borneo together.

He emphasised that the role of government should be that of an enabler, while the Borneo Economic Community (BEC) becomes a platform for businesses to meet and drive opportunities and execution. In the long term, Pak Sofyan believes the BEC would be a permanent platform that brings Borneo’s economies closer together.