[7] Initially founded as a car dealership focusing on the trade and leasing of luxury vehicles, QAF has since broadened its operations to include industrial machinery, fast food, media, supermarkets, and livestock production.

[5] In order to consolidate nearly 20 royal family-owned or joint venture businesses under one umbrella,[b][5] QAF Holdings was founded in December 1982 as an investment fund.

Part of a larger plan to diversify the country's interests, which had previously been focused on pounds sterling, QAF was first offered to the Singapore stock market in 1984,[9] thus becoming a public company.

To promote economic diversification, Prince Jefri Bolkiah was appointed Minister of Finance and head of the BIA in 1986, overseeing initiatives that included the establishment of the Institute of Technology Brunei and the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources in 1988 to foster manufacturing development.

[10] Prince Mohamed Bolkiah[c] bought his 65% ownership in QAF Holdings in the early 1990s, making it the third-largest employer in Brunei behind the government and BSP.

[5] In late June, speculation arose in Brunei about a potential repeat of the 1998 collapse of Prince Jefri Bolkiah's Amedeo Development Corporation conglomerate following the announcement that seven senior executives at the QAF Group, would be resigning due to disappointing earnings.

[5] To maintain growth in Brunei's small but affluent market, QAF pursued a strategy of unrelated diversification, expanding into telecommunications and IT infrastructure in 2003.

These offerings include the fabrication, installation, and commissioning of gas pipeline systems, along with onshore and offshore gas-related services and electrical welding and cutting equipment.

[19] This facility is designed to produce 40 tonnes of liquefied oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, which will satisfy 60% of local demand and has the potential for regional exports.

Previously, Brunox imported these gases for industrial applications, supplying oxygen for hospitals and construction, nitrogen for packaging and freezing in manufacturing, and argon for fire suppression systems.