Labuan Wealth Management

Labuan IBFC is a very attractive jurisdiction to set up wealth management planning structures, including investment funds, trusts, foundations and other succession planning vehicles. Labuan IBFC is the only location in Asia able to offer a private foundation structure.

So, are you on the right path to realising your financial and lifestyle goals?
Working out what is important to you and what it takes to achieve it can be confusing without the right help.

Our approach to wealth management is driven by you. We get to know you and learn about what you want to achieve so that we can tailor a plan and ongoing service specific to your needs.

Our experts provide additional flexibility and options for you to optimise and protect your assets. When you need our guidance, we are there with an objective view. We can advise and help you set up different vehicles according to your specific needs ensuring protection against economic uncertainly as well as the passing-on of the main owner of the wealth according to his/her wishes.

Wealth Management
  • Labuan Private Foundation
  • Labuan Charitable Foundation
  • Labuan Trust
Our Services
  • Wealth planning and structuring
  • Set up and administration of funds and foundations

Labuan Private Foundation

Labuan Foundation is a separate legal entity with a corporate body. A foundation can manage its own properties for any lawful purposes. We can help you to set up a foundation in Labuan for different purposes such as a charitable foundation, family foundation or private foundation.

Whatever your intention or objective are or if you are still uncertain on how a Labuan offshore foundation can help you, speak to us today and let us advise, structure and deliver a solution according to your needs.

The Benefits of Labuan Private Foundation
  • Foreigners can form foundations with complete foreign founders, beneficiaries, management, and assets located around the world.
  • The names of the founder, beneficiaries, officers, and council members are never included in the public records.
  • Every asset held is owned by the foundation. The founder’s and beneficiaries’ creditors cannot seize the assets.
  • Not subject to compulsory perpetuity period.
  • Confidentiality and anonymity. Information concerning the Labuan foundation is not on any public record.
  • Simple and straight forward tax systems in Labuan. No tax in Labuan on non-trading activities.
  • Distributions by a Labuan foundation to its beneficiaries are tax-exempted in Labuan. However, the beneficiaries will need to satisfy their own tax liabilities in their respective jurisdictions of tax residence.
  • Like every private foundation, they are perfect estate planning structures for wealthy families seeking to pass on assets to future generations of their beneficiaries (heirs) without going through probate and inheritance laws.
  • No foreign exchange controls.
  • No withholding tax /capital gain tax / inheritance tax.
  • No stamp duty on all instruments relating to offshore business activities.

Labuan Charitable Foundation

A Labuan Charitable Foundation is a foundation established by the founder for charitable purposes only and is non-profit oriented. Labuan Charitable Foundation’s function will be typically donating funds and support other non-profit organisations, or provide the source of own funding for its own charitable purposes. The purpose is usually to promote public benefits or other purposes generally beneficial to the community.

Permitted Purpose Of A Labuan Charitable Foundation
  • The prevention and relief of poverty;
  • The advancement of religion, profession or education;
  • The advancement of health for sickness, disease or of human suffering;
  • The community advancement for the aged, disability, children and young people
  • The advancement of culture, arts and heritage;
  • The advancement of an amateur sport that involves on physical or mental exertion;
  • The promotion of human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation;
  • The advancement of environmental protection and improvement;
  • The advancement of animal welfare; or
  • The advancement of recreation facilities or leisure-time occupation for social welfare.

Labuan Trusts

In common law legal systems, a trust is an arrangement whereby property (including real, tangible and intangible) is managed by one person (or persons, or organizations) for the benefit of another. A trust is created by a Settlor, who entrusts some or all of his or her property to people of his choice (the trustees).

The trustees hold legal title to the trust property (or trust corpus), but they are obliged to hold the property for the benefit of one or more individuals or organizations (the beneficiary, a.k.a. cestui que use or cestui que trust), usually specified by the Settlor, who hold equitable title.

The trustees owe a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries, who are the "beneficial" owners of the trust property. The trust is governed by the terms of the trust document, which is usually written and in deed form. It is also governed by local law. The trust law developed in England at the time of the Crusades, during the 12th and 13th centuries.

The crusading nobleman trusted one of his friends to manage his estates for the benefit of the crusaders family. Thus, the crusader was the first trust settler, his friend was the first trustee and the family were the first beneficiaries. Though it has many variations of form and exists in many jurisdictions, trust law is universally considered to be well-settled stable and predictable.

Creation of Trust

To form the Labuan Trust the main parties involved are:

The person or entity responsible to hold the title to the property and administer the running of the trust. A Labuan trust shall have at least one trustee and one of which shall be a Labuan trust company.

The person who establishes the trust and provides trust property into the trust.

The person entitled to benefit under the trust or designated to exercise discretion to distribute property held in trust. It can include any person or class of people that the settlor chooses.

May be appointed to oversee the operation of the trust, as well as removes and appoints the trustee. Commonly, the settlor appoints the settlor’s attorney or a family member. However, the settlor or the beneficiary may also be a protector.

Practical Uses of Trusts

The following are the key practical uses of conventional or Islamic Trusts:

  • Wealth Management
  • Estate Planning
  • Assets Protection
  • Succession Planning
  • Tax Planning
  • Avoidance of forced heirship rules
  • Maintenance of corporate control
  • Separation of voting and economic benefits
  • Employee share option schemes
  • Charitable purposes
  • For employee benefit plans, retirement insurance plans and special financing arrangements
  • As a vehicle for investing in time deposit accounts, stocks, bonds or other securities
  • Vehicle for owning patents and intellectual property and for receiving royalties and other forms of associated income
  • To avoid political or economic instability within the jurisdiction
Trusts also can be establish for the following charitable purposes
  • The prevention and relief of poverty;
  • The advancement of religion, profession or education;
  • The advancement of health including the prevention and relief of sickness, disease or of human suffering;
  • Social and community advancement including the care, support and protection of the aged, people with a disability, children and young people;
  • The advancement of culture, arts and heritage;
  • The advancement of amateur sports, which promote health by involving physical or mental exertion;
  • The promotion of human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation;
  • The advancement of environmental protection and improvement;
  • The advancement of animal welfare; or
  • The advancement of facilities for recreation or other leisure-time occupation in the interest of social welfare.

The creation of a Labuan trust is generally for an individual or a settlor to give specific property to a third party to be held for the benefit of others, including charities. The Labuan Trust Act 1996 (LTA) allows the creation of the following types of trust:

  • Purpose trusts;
  • Charitable trusts;
  • Spendthrift or protective trusts;
  • Labuan special trusts.
Purpose of Labuan Trust

A Labuan trust may be created or established for a specific particular purpose which could be charitable or otherwise. A charitable purpose means and includes any of the following description of purposes:

  • The relief or eradication of poverty;
  • The advancement of education;
  • The promotion of art, science and religion;
  • The protection of the environment;
  • The advancement of human rights and fundamental freedom; or
  • Any other purposes which are beneficial to the community

Forming a Labuan Trust provides for substantial protection for assets from untoward scrutiny, litigation, and civil strife. It should be apparent that while the cost of formation and maintenance may be considered, the establishment of Labuan Trust will provide for sound peace of mind for those looking to protect their substantial assets or provide for their children in the long term.