Will Labuan Offshore industry catch up the BVI ?

Labuan or Labuan Island is the main island of the Malaysian Federal Territory of Labuan, well-known for being an attractive tourist destination for rich Bruneians and scuba divers as well as an offshore financial centre.

Labuan offshore industry has put forward big plans for offshore business. As mentioned below, in their speeches Labuan representatives indicate the British Virgin Islands as a model for Labuan. Is it just a coincidence or a regularity? I suppose this again indicates a high position of the British Virgin Islands as a jurisdiction in the offshore world.

The Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority plans the growing number of companies in its offshore financial centre – supposedly, by a tenth. It also aims at boosting Islamic finance as well as leasing and insurance businesses. Yesterday, the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (Lofsa) director general Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman met reporters at a media briefing that took place in Labuan and told that the above-mentioned is among immediate targets for this year.

Labuan's International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) has grown the number of registered companies to 5,152 last year – this is a 12% increase comparing to 2004. Now government-linked companies (GLCs) and large firms are in Lofsa's line-of-sight coverage.

Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman said that Lofsa plans to manage target promotions. Lofsa realizesthat that they many clients may choose the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and other jurisdictions for special purpose vehicles. The Labuan-registered companies come from some 80 countries and the half are from the Association of South-East Asian Nations and the Pacific region. Lofsa will focus on potential investors from Asian countries – China, Korea and the Middle East. Captive insurance and leasing to companies will be promoted by the agency.

There are some 72 offshore centres worldwide. Tthe BVI, for instance, have been around for up to 60 years. So, Azizan claims that Labuan is not that far away from the others as it is a relatively young jurisdiction. Labuan is catching up with its rivals rather fast. The BVI has about 70-80 offshore banks, and there are some 59 in Labuan. So, what Labuan needs to do is to step up marketing and promotions.

There are good grounds for improvement in Labuan. Lofsa would use RM120 million set aside for it under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for boosting research and development, upgrading its information technology infrastructure, as well as building an international school.
To compare this to the BVI, you can find the information on Labuan offshore companies on LOFSA's webpage.

But let's not underestimate Labuan – this is a fast-growing offshore jurisdiction that really shows considerable growth and will soon catch up and overtake some offshore orb. Then, it should be taken into consideration that Labuan is to a large extent fighting for the same clients that traditionally give preference to the British Virgin Islands – the Asian region, mostly China and countries close to it.

Labuan offers a wide range of services – from offshore company registration and offshore banking to offshore trusts and fund management.

Brian Obvi,
Offshore Analyst

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