Good afternoon.

First of all, I would like to put forward my thanks to Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, our Honourable Minister of Finance II for putting aside his precious time to grace this event; and to all present, for being here with us this afternoon.

It is a pleasure to welcome you to this seminar, “Asia Pacific’s Preferred International Business and Financial Centre”. The seminar here in Hong Kong is the first stop of the Labuan’s road shows in greater China preceding Shanghai on 11th September.

The series of investment seminars by Labuan’s marketing arm, Labuan IBFC Inc. or LIBFC is aimed at enhancing the investors’ awareness on the Labuan financial sector and sharing the exciting prospects offered by the Centre to meet the needs of the regional and international business communities. This initiative is drawn in line with the strategic direction of the LIBFC in maintaining its position as the preferred IBFC in the Asia Pacific and its role in advancing regional financial inter-linkages under Malaysia’s Financial Sector Blueprint.

Our selection of destination for the road shows demonstrates the importance of Hong Kong and China in the global economy and financial systems, particularly in trade and investments. Opportunities in Asia are definitely abundant, with China becoming an engine of growth for other economies in Asia. It is expected that the economic and financial developments that are currently taking place would continue to promote growth in a more connected Asian with significant expansion in intra-regional trade, investment and financial flows, and with China and Hong Kong playing key roles in the flows. It is within this exciting intra-regional business opportunities that LIBFC offers its value propositions as the ideal jurisdiction to domicile your business.

Labuan IBFC definitely has a distinct advantage based on its strategic location and financial infrastructure that is backed by robust regulatory framework. Labuan is home to 60 international banks and more than 200 insurance companies. The conducive business eco-system has and will continue to be important in reinforcing the prospects of businesses to advance their opportunities in the region.

The Labuan IBFC facilitates the creation of new and innovative products and structures, including holding and trading companies, protected cell companies for the business community. Labuan foundations, Labuan special trust, private trust companies and other financial planning services are becoming popular for private wealth management.

Labuan IBFC is certainly not new to investors in Hong Kong. Currently, Labuan IBFC has about 200entities originating from Hong Kong, comprising of banks, insurance companies, fund management companies as well as trading and non-trading companies. Their presence in Labuan IBFC is indeed a testament of their confidence in the LIBFC. We look forward to welcoming more investors from Hong Kong to use Labuan to expand their business in the Asia Pacific.

We have with us today, speakers who are experts in diverse professions and business, to share their unique experience on how the LIBFC facilitates cross-border businesses. We will also be privileged to witness, in the presence of the Honourable Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between European Credit Investment Bank of Labuan and Zon Zun Certified Public Accountants of China.

I trust you will benefit from this seminar, and we hope to engage with you in the course of today on how Labuan IBFC can facilitate your businesses.

In closing, I wish to thank you for your presence and for accepting our invitation to this seminar.

I once again thank Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah for his gracious presence and wish all our participants a fruitful seminar.

It with great honour, I would like now to invite Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, our Honourable Minister of Finance II to deliver the Keynote Address.

Thank you.