BRUNEI
will be a manufacturing hub for halal Korean skincare products once the halal
standard for the cosmetics has been gazetted.
Jin Kim, director of Landevel Sdn Bhd and a
speaker at yesterday's Korean Brunei Business Forum at the Radisson Hotel, said
Brunei would be the manufacturing base for export to the sole distributors in
Singapore, Dubai and Turkey.
Kim said halal Korean skincare products would
be targeted at the global Muslim community, and that Singapore would be the
sole distributor for the Asian market, Dubai for the Middle Eastern market and
Turkey for the European market.
She said Landevel had given various
presentations to government agencies in Brunei, such as the Ministry of Finance
and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. "Maybe within next year, we will be
expecting the gazette, but we are lucky that the MIPR (Ministry of Industry and
Primary Resources) is trying to support us and they said that maybe they could
make a draft first, to let us know about the standards," Kim said.
Asked about whether the Korean company's
ingredients would pass halal certification standards, Kim said alcohol was not
used in the skincare range and that following meetings with relevant
authorities, she had been told the raw materials used in the cosmetics were
fine.
Landevel has patented their raw ingredients
with the Korean Agricultural Department. "The ingredients are extracted
from brown rice, which is not fermented but steamed and dried," Kim said.
However, until the ingredients have been officially gazetted, the company
cannot start work on the plant, Kim said.
"There would be no point for us to set
up in Brunei without halal certification because if it is considered just a
normal cosmetics range, then we can set up anywhere. However, Brunei is deeply
religious so we want that to be a part of the product," she said.
Once the production plant is set up, Landevel
will start producing the basic skincare range, which includes items like
moisturisers, toners and essences.
"In the future, we might have mascara
and cosmetics and soaps all with the same scent, so that when you bathe, the
scent will be the same and women won't have to use perfume," she said.
Kim revealed that they will start production
with 5,000 units and that just one-third of the factory would be used at first.
"We have to test and see if it is
suitable for Bruneians, or suitable for the Middle-Eastern market, so we have
to test it first. We cannot produce 45,000 units from the beginning because
that will waste money," she said.
She said that once the company has been given
"90 per cent confirmation" on their halal certification, Landevel
would test its products in the Bruneian market. "If the Bruneian people
are fine with it, then it will be exported everywhere around the world,"
she said.
As for price, Kim said Landevel would be
producing two ranges of skincare products a low- to medium-cost range and a
premium range that would be more expensive.
Asked if there was much demand for halal
cosmetics in South Korea, Kim said Koreans didn't really know much about what
it meant to be "halal". Those who are familiar with the term thought
it meant "healthy cosmetics that are good for their health", she
said.
"They don't look at the religious
aspects, but from the well-being side, and the healthy side," she said.
During the forum, Kim said she had been asked
about setting up factories in South Korea by small and medium enterprises.
However, she said she felt a better option would be to bring Korean technology
and expertise to Brunei and set up a plant here.
"Brunei has a lot of resources, and they
can adopt the technology in Korea and work together with Korean companies
here," she said. She said that one of the disadvantages of setting up a
factory in Korea was the high operational costs, especially when it came to
power.
"A lot of factories in Korea are closing
down because of the energy prices there," she said, adding that the
minimum wage was also relatively hight at US$850 ($1,037) a month.
"In Brunei, labour is much cheaper, but
in Korea, you have to pay the minimum wage otherwise the government will take
action, so why not set it up here instead," she said.
DEBBIE TOO
The Brunei Times
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