KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): Malaysia’s Single Family Office (SFO) scheme, which offers tax incentives for wealthy families to place their assets in the country, aims to attract RM2 billion by end-2026. So far, most interest has come from Malaysians, according to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
The tax rules for the scheme were gazetted on Oct 3. The scheme has already seen six SFOs conditionally approved by the capital market regulator, 30 expressions of interest, and over 50 consultations held since its launch in September 2024.
WATCH: SC eyes RM2b in AUM through SFO by end-2026
“The six approvals we have given so far account for an asset under management (AUM) of RM400 million, surpassing our initial estimates. The minister has upped the target for us to try and land next year to RM2 billion,” SC managing director Datin Paduka Azalina Adham told the press on Monday, at the capital market regulator’s headquarters.
One of the SFOs was Singaporean, while the remainder were Malaysian, she noted.
The framework offers a 20-year incentive horizon (10 + 10 years), which provides exemptions on income, capital gains, foreign-sourced income, stamp duty, and dividend income for shareholders.
To qualify for the incentives, SFOs must:
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Have at least RM30 million in AUMs;
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Invest at least RM10 million or 10% of total assets in local or promoted investments;
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Spend RM500,000 per year on local operations (staff, office, etc);
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Have a physical office in Malaysia.
Promoted investments, such as shares in New Industrial Master Plan 2030 priority sectors, or Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida)-approved Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) projects, count 1.5 times towards meeting the local investment requirement.
The scheme will usher in inflows into the domestic capital market, Azalina said.
Meanwhile, the RM500,000 annual local operating expenditure and physical office requirement will help fuel the local ecosystem, added SC chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi. “This will result in spillover effects for legal, banking, property, education, and other support services.”
The gazettement formalises Malaysia’s first dedicated, long-term tax incentive framework for SFOs, cementing the nation’s stance in positioning itself as a hub for global family wealth management.
With the gazettement, Mohammad Faiz sees stronger interest in the SFO scheme, both domestically and internationally, moving forward.