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23 Bruneian students awarded scholarship to further their studies in China

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, a joint petrochemical venture between China and Brunei, awarded scholarships to 23 students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam during a scholarship signing ceremony on Tuesday.

Chen Liancai, chief executive officer of Hengyi Industries, said this is another significant milestone with the signing of the 7th batch of scholarship students, who will pursue and continue their studies at Zhejiang University in China where they would complete a year and half of academic studies and industrial training.

Hengyi Industries is a joint venture between China's Zhejiang Hengyi Group and Damai Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary under the Brunei government's Strategic Development Capital Fund, owning 70 percent and 30 percent of the shares respectively.

"Hengyi is pleased to be able to contribute towards the further advancement of this industry, and this year sets to be another exciting year for us as we begin our Phase 2 development. Hengyi will continue to work very closely with the local stakeholders especially in the area of human capital development and will particularly strive to commit to Bruneianization," Chen added.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Guest of Honor, Haji Matsatejo, Brunei's acting minister of energy.

The Joint Chemical and Process Engineering Scholarship Programme, established by Hengyi Industries with Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Zhejiang University, brings the total awarded scholarship to 103.

Since the inception of the scholarship program, 57 students have completed their studies and joined Hengyi Industries' pool of professional workforce. The scholarship program is expected to produce 11 more graduates to be employed by September 2020.

Professor Dr. Liyanage Chandratilak DeSilva, Dean for Faculty of Integrated Technologies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, praised Hengyi's achievements in promoting higher education cooperation between the two countries, saying that this joint training program not only broadened the horizons of Brunei college students, but also trained Brunei's much-needed petrochemical industry professionals and promoted local employment.

Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Yu Hong said that education cooperation is an important area of exchange between the two countries under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The cooperation between Hengyi and the Universiti Brunei Darussalam and other local educational institutions has cultivated over 100 professional technicians and many more skilled petrochemical workers in Brunei, which is conducive to the long-term development of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.