Bangkok, 1 September 2015 – Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC), Asia Pacific’s midshore international business and financial centre, held the Bangkok chapter of its ASEAN roadshow today. The event, “Labuan IBFC: Bridging Thailand with ASEAN”, was aimed at Thai corporates with regional business interests and marks Labuan IBFC’s 25-year track record in strategically serving the needs of companies and private investors looking to establish a foothold in ASEAN.
“ASEAN is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, which makes it an attractive hotspot for home-grown companies with regional business expansion plans, but as companies increase their footprint beyond their home markets, they will need legitimate and efficient ways of managing their risk exposure across multiple jurisdictions. Labuan IBFC is well-positioned to fulfill this need, given its proximity to strategic Asian markets, sound regulatory oversight, simple and competitive tax system and developed insurance industry,” said Danial Mah Abdullah, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Labuan IBFC.
The half-day event in Bangkok, attended by domestic business owners, corporate leaders and insurance institutions focused on the benefits, cost and ease of managing corporate risk via Labuan IBFC, including through the setting up of an in-house captive insurance company, to manage and mitigate corporate risk.
Labuan IBFC has all aspects of business and financial activity ranging from banking and insurance to international tax, trust and foundation laws. It reported strong performance across all financial sectors, including banking, insurance, leasing, wealth management and Islamic finance, with 12.3% increase in new company registrations in 2014 compared to the previous year. In fact, 70% of companies registered in Labuan IBFC originate from Asia, with 57% from Southeast Asia, mainly Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
The Labuan IBFC ASEAN Roadshow 2015 kicked off in Kuala Lumpur on 27 May, followed by Manila on 2 June, Jakarta on 4 August and today in Bangkok. It will move next to Singapore and Hong Kong. The event is aimed at business owners, private bankers, wealth managers, accountants, tax advisors, trust managers and lawyers. It has so far attracted more than 320 delegates as well as 23 speakers and panellists ranging from regulators to industry practitioners.