The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) was created as an offshore financial hub on October 1990 and was operating under the name of Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC). At the time it was established to strengthen the contribution of financial services to the Gross National Products (GNP) of Malaysia as well as to develop the island and its surrounding vicinity. The jurisdiction, under the robust but progressive regulatory body called Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority or LOFSA, offers benefits such as 3% tax on net audited results or a flat rate of Malaysian Ringgit

Malaysian ringgit

The Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen...

 (MYR) 20,000 to trading companies; low operational costs; liberal exchange controls; and a host of other advantages including readily available, experienced and professional service providers.

Labuan IBFC is Malaysia’s only offshore centre, strategically located on Labuan

Labuan

Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...

 island off the north west coast of Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

 which is itself part of the Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

 land mass. Since its inception, the jurisdiction has developed by leaps and bounds such that today, it is home to more than 6,500 offshore companies and more than 300 licenced financial institutions including world leading banks. Supported by a well-developed infrastructure that includes modern amenities as well as a full range of service providers for the business community, Labuan IBFC is embarking on an aggressive growth strategy to become the premier international business and financial centre in the Asia Pacific region.

There are five core areas that Labuan IBFC intends to focus on, levaraging on its key strengths. These five are offshore holding companies, captive insurance

Captive insurance

Captive insurance companies are insurance companies established with the specific objective of financing risks emanating from their parent group or groups, but they sometimes also insure risks of the group's customers as well...

, Shariah-compliant Islamic Finance structures, public and private funds and wealth management. Given the burgeoning interest around the world in Islamic finance, Labuan IBFC is well placed to enhance its lead as an Islamic financial hub. Labuan IBFC’s position is further enhanced by the formation of the Malaysian International Islamic Finance Centre initiative that was launched in August 2006.

The Labuan Financial Exchange or LFX was officially launched on 23 November 2000 and offers a global exchange with listing and trading facilities for a wide range of financial and non financial products.

External links

• Labuan International Business And Financial Centre
• Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority - Regulatory body for Labuan IBFC
• Bank Negara Malaysia - Central Bank Of Malaysia