Director-general Danial Mah Abdullah(pic) said Labuan FSA would continue to review all current regulations and requirements which can be further rationalised.
LABUAN: The Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) says it has taken steps to liberalise relevant regulations, such as those relating to marketing offices and work permits, to meet the requirements under the new Labuan tax framework.
Director-general Danial Mah Abdullah said Labuan FSA would continue to review all current regulations and requirements which can be further rationalised.
“While there might have been early pessimism due to the impact of the changes, we are in fact encouraged that the business momentum for Labuan International Business Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) for 2019 has remained positive.
“This was evidenced by the increased number of enquiries received from regional and global investors and the entry of new large institutions to Labuan IBFC, ” he said at an annual dinner last Saturday.
He said as the international business landscape becomes increasingly competitive, Labuan IBFC must distinguish itself from other international centres moving forward.“Unique and sufficiently differentiated product offerings with accommodative but stable regulations are what international investors are on the lookout for, ” he said, noting one growth potential Labuan IBFC is focusing on is financial technology (FinTech).
He said Labuan IBFC has seen an influx of digital business start-ups with 25 approvals given in 2019 alone including for the nation’s first digital bank and a new digital asset exchange.
“More are in the pipeline, with increasing interest in using Labuan entities to undertake these innovative businesses, and to cater for this new business demand, Labuan FSA has put in place key requirements and business guidance in the second half of 2018.
“We are now firming up a more holistic regulatory framework which will be released by year-end to better guide these digital businesses, which include digital banking, virtual currency trading, insuretech and tokenisation, ” he added. — Bernama
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