KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) today assured investors that the business activities in the financial centre are conducted under a strong set of rules and regulations that ensure the orderly establishment and operations of Labuan business entities, including the licensing of financial institutions.
This comes amid the Panama Papers leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records, which has heightened the demands for greater transparency and effective exchange of information across all international financial centres.
Labuan IBFC chief executive officer Danial Mah said Labuan IBFC — the marketing arm for the Labuan Financial Services Authority — as part of Malaysia is committed to the global standards and requirements on transparency and exchange of information.
"In the area of taxation, Labuan IBFC's tax laws are in compliance with the internationally agreed tax standards under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Effective Exchange of Information," he said in a statement today.
"The Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990 has been amended to provide for accessing and sharing of information with other regulatory and competent authorities.
"Labuan IBFC is also committed to the reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Tax Act and Common Reporting Standards for Automatic Exchange of Information (CRS-AEOI)," he added.
Mah noted that Malaysia, including Labuan, has been cooperating with other countries in the exchange of information under the various multilateral and bilateral agreements including the Double Tax Agreements signed by Malaysia with more than 75 countries.
"In fact, Malaysia (including Labuan) is among the countries that made early commitment to adopt the OECD standards on exchange of information," he said.
Mah said Labuan IBFC also requires its players and service providers to be in compliance with the laws and guidelines pertaining to anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
"Malaysia (including Labuan) was one of the early jurisdictions to undergo the international mutual evaluation exercise under the new methodology in 2014 and the admission of Malaysia as a member of the FATF in February 2016 is a testament of the commitment to standards and practices in AML/CFT," he said.
Mah added that Labuan IBFC will continue to play a positive role in providing the synergy and connectivity for financial linkages and businesses in the region, particularly among the Asean countries.
"We welcome legitimate and genuine businesses and players that want to operate in Labuan IBFC's cost-efficient and well-regulated environment," he said.