Hong Kong, 3 November 2016 – Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) will reposition its focus on niche areas with high potential growth such as leasing, captives, commodity trading and wealth management.

 

Speaking at the masterclass in Hong Kong today, Labuan IBFC CEO Danial Mah Abdullah said that the midshore centre will embark on a new journey to “further refine the midshore concept by moving away from broad-based financial services” in addition to playing a complementary role to the advisors and service providers in Hong Kong.

 

“The demand for our leasing business has grown steadily, with the total number of leasing companies increasing to 386 and the total assets leased amounting to USD52.5 billion in September 2016. This signifies the continued need for large and heavy equipment particularly aircrafts. Many big leasing names are established in Labuan including China Aircraft Leasing Company Limited and GE Capital,” Danial said.

 

He added that work is underway to further improve the operating framework for the establishment of captives in the midshore centre where “immense opportunities” are present especially in the Asia Pacific region.

 

The midshore centre is also seeing good growth in the wealth management sector through the increase in the number of foundations.

 

Last week, its regulator Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) has announced that it will undertake three key policy initiatives in 2017. The initiatives will include a review of the jurisdiction’s legal framework to better reflect regulatory and supervisory policy intentions, as well as to ensure the legal requirements remain relevant and current; deployment of more efficient technology-based systems for regulatory reporting; and the implementation of the Inter-Governmental Agreement of Model 1B that will facilitate compliance by Labuan financial institutions to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and allow greater exchange of information with the United States.

 

The masterclass in Hong Kong was attended by leading local and international businesses, and primarily focused on Labuan solutions and services, especially in the areas of leasing and trusts. It featured presentations from leading industry players who work closely with Labuan to find the most effective solutions for their clients: Moritz Gubler, Chief Operating Officer at Alpadis Group on tax transparency, Mari-Len Ngu, Director of Operations, for Tricor Trustco (Labuan) on wealth management, and Datuk Chin Chee Kee, Executive Chairman, Noblehouse International Trust discussing leasing.

 

Labuan IBFC welcomes all aspects of business and financial activity ranging from banking and insurance to international tax, trust and foundation laws, and is already home to more than 13,000 companies, 54 banks and over 200 licensed insurance related entities. In 2015, it achieved another year of growth fuelled by robust business policies and continued intermediation, with 7.2% increase in new company registrations compared to the previous year. Over 70% of companies registered in Labuan IBFC originate from Asia.