Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC), a leading international business and financial centre in the Asia Pacific region, is keen to tap into the business prospects of Cambodia.
The Kingdom is expected to register good GDP growth in the coming years, thanks to several free trade agreements, including the RCEP.
A delegation of Labuan IBFC, led by Datuk Iskandar Mohd Nuli, executive chairman, Labuan IBFC, yesterday highlighted the various attractions of the offshore centre for businesspeople who have plans to expand their operations overseas.
Addressing a seminar, also attended by the members of Malaysian Business Chamber of Cambodia (MBCC), at Nagaworld in Phnom Penh, Nuli said, “We are here to invite all of you to explore the possibility of using Labuan to venture abroad. I see a lot of business development in Cambodia. I also know that some of
you have even ventured abroad.”
He said Labuan IBFC provides a wide range of business structures and investment solutions catered to cross-border transactions and international business dealings. Some of its services and solutions in niches include asset leasing, risk management, commodity trading, wealth management, international business companies and Islamic financial services to global businesses looking at penetrating Asia and Asian entities aiming to go global.
Speaking on the occasion, Okna Tan Khee Meng, president, MBCC, highlighted the growth prospects of the Kingdom. “Cambodia is one of the fastest growing countries in the past three decades. Its GDP has been growing at an average of seven percent for the last two decades. Malaysians are one of the earliest investors here,” he said.
Gerard Roy Suresh Sharma, chairman, Labuan International Insurance Association, and Nazri Wong Abdullah, captive manager, Labuan, gave a presentation on ‘Asia’s fastest growing insurance and risk intermediation centre’.
Labuan IBFC received increasing demand for its varying captive structures from across the globe, charting a 28 percent increase in its premiums for captive business and 18 new captives approved as of the third quarter of 2021, officials pointed out.
As the fastest growing risk and reinsurance wholesale intermediation centre in Asia and MENA, Labuan IBFC is now home to 232 insurance and insurance-related entities including 64 captives, with Asia contributing nearly 92 percent of total captives and the remaining 8 percent being based in the US and Europe, a Labuan IBFC release pointed out.
The jurisdiction won the International Captive Domicile award for the first time at the European Captive Review Awards, having previously won the Best Asian Domicile for three years running at the Asian Captive Review Awards.
Captives are self-insurance vehicles which are strategic risk management tools utilised by many corporations around the world. To date, there are approximately 7,000 captive insurance companies set up globally that enjoy this benefit.
While talking about the prospects of more businesses opting Labuan for their overseas operations, Meng told Khmer Times, “I see a lot of potential for the Cambodian entities to use the structures and corporate vehicles in Labuan IBFC.”
As of the third quarter of 2021, the total premium rose by 71 million, primarily due to the premiums underwritten by captive entities. The premium for captive business has increased by 28 percent, with 18 new captives approved as of the third quarter of 2021, Labuan IBC statement said.
It said in comparison to other captive markets, the current Labuan legislation is regarded as the most market-adaptive, particularly the provision on protected cell companies (PCC), both conventional and Islamic. Labuan IBFC looks to cement its position as one of Asia’s leading captive insurance hubs, leveraging a critical mass of insurance expertise, a robust regulatory framework, and a broad range of risk management products.