Why Choose Labuan for Company Formation?
Labuan suits crypto, fintech, and high-risk operators who want an Asian base, a low headline tax rate, and access to Malaysia’s treaty network, and who can fund real substance. At the end of 2025 Labuan counted 808 licensed entities and 4,971 operating companies, and new incorporations and registrations rose 5.1% to 659 during the year, 60% of them from the Asia-Pacific region.[6]
Definition: Labuan Company
A Labuan company is incorporated under the Labuan Companies Act 1990 and may be wholly foreign-owned. Its qualifying business activity is taxed under the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990, subject to substance requirements and the option to elect into Malaysia’s Income Tax Act 1967.
A 3% rate that rewards real operations
The headline is a 3% tax on net audited trading profits, but the figure carries a condition that defines the jurisdiction: companies that fail the annual substance requirements pay 24% under the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990, the same effective rate as mainland Malaysia. The substance test and the full rate structure are set out under Taxation and Economic Substance below.
Asian time zone, Malaysian treaty network
Labuan sits inside Malaysia’s network of 75 comprehensive double-tax agreements in force, a network that pure-offshore jurisdictions generally lack.[23] The qualifier matters: a number of treaty partners, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Spain, specifically exclude Labuan entities from treaty benefits, so each treaty has to be checked before relying on it.[23] A Labuan company can elect to be taxed under the Malaysian Income Tax Act 1967 at 24% to access treaty relief where the maths favours it, an option worth modelling before committing to a structure.
A regulated route to financial licences
For operators planning to be licensed rather than merely incorporated, the Labuan company is the usual vehicle for a Labuan FSA financial licence, from money broking and credit-token issuance to digital financial services. The pathway from a plain Labuan company to a licensed one is direct and sits within a single regulator; full licensing detail lives on the dedicated licensing pages, and this guide covers the formation layer beneath them.
Entity Types Under Labuan Law
Labuan law offers several vehicles, but the Labuan company limited by shares is the standard and dominant choice for crypto, fintech, and high-risk businesses: it permits 100% foreign ownership, a single share of capital, and one resident director, and it is the usual vehicle for a Labuan FSA licence.[1]
Labuan company (the standard vehicle)
The Labuan company is incorporated under the Labuan Companies Act 1990 and requires a minimum of one share with no prescribed par value and at least one director, one of whom must be the statutory resident director: a trust officer supplied by a Labuan trust company, or a natural person of 18 or over who consents and meets Labuan FSA’s criteria, which do not include living in Labuan. Since the Labuan Companies (Amendment) Act 2022 a body corporate may no longer serve as the resident director.[17][28] Bearer shares are prohibited. This is the vehicle used for almost all operating and licensed structures.
Alternative vehicles
Other forms exist for specific purposes and are not the default for an operating business: the Labuan protected cell company segregates assets and liabilities across cells, used mainly for captives and funds. The Labuan foundation and Labuan trust serve wealth and asset-protection purposes under the Labuan Foundations Act 2010 and Labuan Trusts Act 1996 respectively, both amended in 2025, while the Labuan limited partnership and limited liability partnership support fund and professional structures. For a crypto or fintech operator, none of these displaces the Labuan company; they sit alongside it for niche cases.
Formation Process
A Labuan company must be incorporated through a licensed Labuan trust company, which acts as the mandatory agent, provides the registered office and resident secretary, and conducts due diligence. End to end, formation takes one to two weeks, and up to a month once legalisation and due diligence are counted, with the registry approving a complete lodgement within 24 hours.[2]
Appoint a licensed Labuan trust company
Formation cannot be filed directly: the applicant appoints a licensed trust company as agent, which runs know-your-customer checks on the beneficial owners and directors, and the depth of this step, not the registry mechanics, sets the real timeline.
Name reservation
The trust company reserves the proposed name through the COR@L online registry for a fee of USD 30, and the registry holds the reservation for three months.
Lodge incorporation documents
The trust company lodges the memorandum and articles of association, the statutory declaration of compliance, and the prescribed fee.
Registry approval
Once the trust company clears due diligence and the documents are complete, the Registrar approves incorporation, while licensed activities require Labuan FSA approval before incorporation, which extends the timeline accordingly.
Applicants routinely underestimate Stage 1: the registry is fast, but the due-diligence and document-legalisation work in front of it is what determines whether a file closes in one week or one month.
Requirements
A Labuan company permits 100% foreign ownership and can be formed remotely, with no need to travel, but it must maintain a licensed Labuan trust company as agent, a registered office in Labuan, at least one resident director, and a resident secretary. Documents require consular legalisation, as Malaysia is not party to the Hague Apostille Convention.[22]
Ownership and management
Foreign nationals may own 100% of a Labuan company, but following the 2022 amendment it must have at least one resident director alongside a resident secretary, both typically provided by the licensed trust company, and the registered office must be situated in Labuan.[3]
Document certification
This is the practical friction point for non-residents. Malaysia is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so corporate and personal documents cannot simply be apostilled and instead require consular legalisation: notarisation, then authentication by the relevant foreign ministry, then legalisation by a Malaysian embassy or consulate. Building this lead time into the schedule prevents the most common cause of delay. Malaysia does not appear on the HCCH status table of the Convention, last updated .[22]
Costs and Pricing
Government costs are low: a one-time incorporation fee of USD 300 to USD 1,500 by capital band, plus a USD 1,000 annual fee as of , raised from USD 800 under the 2026 fee notice.[5] The real cost lies elsewhere: claiming the 3% tax rate requires funding economic substance, which adds roughly USD 30,000 or more each year.[4]
Government fees (Labuan FSA)
| Item | Amount (USD) | When |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation (paid-up ≤ RM 50,000) | 300 | One-time |
| Incorporation (over RM 50,000 but below RM 1m) | 600 | One-time |
| Incorporation (≥ RM 1m) | 1,500 | One-time |
| Name reservation | 30 | One-time |
| Annual fee, Labuan company | 1,000 | Annual (raised from 800, effective ) |
Total cost summary
| Cost line | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Name reservation (Labuan FSA fee schedule) | 30 |
| Government incorporation fee, lowest paid-up band (Labuan FSA fee schedule) | 300 |
| Trust company lodging the incorporation and supplying the registered office and resident secretary, year 1 (LCA 1990, ss. 9, 85 and 93) | Quoted by the trust company |
| Defensible Year 1 floor | 330 plus the quoted trust company |
| Government annual fee, first payable on the first anniversary of incorporation (LCA 1990, s. 151(1)) | 1,000 |
| Trust company registered office and resident secretary, year 2 onwards | Quoted by the trust company |
| Annual Ongoing floor (Year 2+) | 1,000 plus the quoted trust company |
| Substance to claim the 3% rate: Labuan office, ≥2 full-time employees, ≥ RM 100,000 spend (~USD 24,800) | add ~30,000+/year |
The figures above are official fees, not an all-in quote. A licensed Labuan trust company normally lodges the incorporation and supplies the resident-secretary service. Its principal office is the usual registered office, but section 85(1), as amended in 2022, also permits another office approved by Labuan FSA. Confirm the service quote and any required office approval before budgeting.[2][30]
A Labuan company therefore cannot be formed or kept alive without one. The partner who carries the mandate charges separately for consultation, running the case, preparing and filing the paperwork, and compliance, and that fee is quoted per case because every case differs. Jagelski & Partners charges the client nothing.
Labuan FSA fees are fixed by its published schedule. Trust company fees vary by provider and structure, and no regulator publishes a schedule for them, so they are quoted per case.
Taxation
Labuan taxes trading and holding activity under the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990 rather than Malaysia’s domestic income tax, with the rate that applies turning on substance (the full structure follows below). There is no withholding tax on dividends, interest, or royalties, and Labuan sits largely outside Malaysian Service Tax.[8]
The 3% / 0% / 24% structure
The regime distinguishes “trading” from “non-trading” activity, taxing trading profits at 3% of the net amount shown in audited accounts and non-trading (pure-holding) income at 0%, and both rates depend on meeting the substance requirements set out under Economic Substance below. Where a company does not meet substance, section 2B of the Act taxes its chargeable profits at 24%, and that base can include gains and foreign income otherwise exempt. The old election to pay a flat RM 20,000 was abolished from the year of assessment 2020, which covers accounting periods ending in 2019.[29][13]
Withholding, capital gains, and indirect tax
A Labuan company pays no withholding tax on dividends, interest, or royalties to non-residents. There is no separate capital gains tax on Labuan business activity. On indirect tax, Malaysia’s Service Tax standard rate rose to 8% on , but Labuan is a statutory Designated Area, placing it largely outside the mainland Service Tax scope subject to prescribed exceptions.[11] Stamp duty does not apply to instruments relating to Labuan business activity.
Treaty access and its limits
Labuan companies are Malaysian tax residents and can in principle use Malaysia’s 75 comprehensive double-tax agreements, but this is the regime’s most misunderstood feature. A number of treaty partners, among them the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Spain, exclude Labuan entities.[23] A company that needs treaty relief from an excluding partner can elect under section 3A to be taxed under the Income Tax Act 1967 at 24%; the company must make the election within three months after the beginning of the basis period, and the election is irrevocable. The trade is real: treaty access in exchange for the standard Malaysian rate.
Pillar Two and CARF
Two international developments matter for larger and forward-looking groups. Malaysia implemented a domestic top-up tax and a multinational top-up tax for financial years beginning on or after , and the legislation expressly reaches Labuan entities; only multinational groups with consolidated revenue of at least EUR 750 million in two of the four preceding years are in scope.[16]
Separately, Malaysia is among the jurisdictions committed to first exchanges under the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) in 2028.[21] Since the year of assessment 2025, Labuan entities self-assess and must file the return of profits and pay the tax within seven months of the end of their accounting period.[25]
Banking
Banking, not formation, is the binding constraint for a non-resident-owned crypto or fintech Labuan company. Incorporation is fast; opening a usable corporate account is hard, and operators should solve it before committing the structure, because enhanced due diligence is standard and onboarding realistically takes four to six weeks.
The honest position
A Labuan company is straightforward to form and difficult to bank, because the combination of an offshore domicile and crypto or high-risk activity triggers enhanced due diligence at almost every institution, and declines are common. In practice the workable routes are narrow: a mid-size Labuan-incorporated bank that focuses on Labuan entities and offers multi-currency accounts over the international payment network with a dedicated relationship manager; or a regional electronic-money or payment institution headquartered elsewhere in Asia with an appetite for crypto-adjacent risk. Onboarding requires a full corporate pack, evidence of substance, a clear business rationale, source-of-funds documentation, and beneficial-ownership disclosure.
Annual Compliance
Every Labuan company must file an annual return, including dormant companies, and maintain a beneficial-ownership register. Trading companies must hold audited accounts to claim the 3% rate. The tax return is due within seven months of the financial year-end. Late filing, unpaid fees, or a vacant resident-secretary post can lead to strike-off.[3]
Filing and audit
The annual return is mandatory for all companies, dormant ones included.[14] A trading company must prepare audited accounts, because the 3% rate is charged on net audited profits and without an audit the company cannot claim that rate. The Labuan Business Activity Tax return (Form e-LE1) and any tax due must reach the Inland Revenue Board within seven months of the close of the accounting period, with a one-month grace period, under the self-assessment system in force since the year of assessment 2025.[25]
Beneficial ownership and penalties
Since the 2022 amendment, companies must maintain a beneficial-ownership register at a 25% threshold, held through the trust company, with entries retained for six years after a person ceases to be a beneficial owner.[17] A resident secretary who resigns must be replaced within 30 days, or the section 151 strike-off procedure applies, and the amendment widened the strike-off grounds to include unpaid annual fees, a vacant resident-secretary post, and ceasing to operate. Certain offences carry penalties of up to RM 3,000,000 or imprisonment.
Economic Substance
Economic substance is the condition for Labuan’s low tax rate. Under the Labuan Business Activity Tax (Requirements for Labuan Business Activity) Regulations 2021, each activity category must employ a minimum number of full-time employees in Labuan and spend a minimum amount there each year, and crypto and fintech activities trigger these requirements.[9]
What substance means here
Economic substance is the set of physical and operational requirements a Labuan company must meet to be taxed at 3% rather than 24%. The current regime is set by the 2021 Regulations (which replaced the 2018 and 2020 versions),[15] amended in 2025 to require “fit and proper” full-time employees, meaning genuine staff rather than nominal headcount.[12] The Inland Revenue Board’s November 2025 guidance confirms that support roles such as a cleaner do not count toward the employee threshold.[10] Labuan FSA and the Inland Revenue Board enforce the regime jointly.
Substance requirements by activity
| Activity category | Min. full-time employees in Labuan | Min. annual operating spend in Labuan (RM) |
|---|---|---|
| Credit-token / digital-token issuer | 2 | 100,000 |
| Money broker (incl. digital-asset broking) | 2 | 100,000 |
| Fund manager | 2 | 100,000 |
| Securities licensee | 2 | 100,000 |
| Company management | 2 | 100,000 |
| Leasing | 2 (per group) | 100,000 (per company) |
| Bank / investment bank | 3 | 200,000 |
| Insurer / reinsurer | 3 | 200,000 |
| Trust company | 3 | 120,000 |
| Investment holding (non-pure-equity) | 1 | 20,000 |
| Pure equity holding | 0 (management and control in Labuan; ≥1 board meeting in Labuan per year) | 20,000 |
Why this is the defining decision
Fail the substance test, and the company pays 24% on a base that can be wider than its trading profit. Labuan earns its place for businesses that will genuinely operate from it, and punishes those treating it as a postbox.
Licensing Pathways from a Labuan Company
A Labuan company is the usual vehicle for a Labuan FSA financial licence, and the common crypto and fintech routes are money broking with a digital-asset extension (RM 1,500,000 minimum paid-up capital), credit-token issuance (RM 1,000,000), and the other digital financial services licences, each with its own capital floor and prior regulatory approval.[26][27]
What the entity enables
A Labuan company can hold licences issued by Labuan FSA; where it will carry on a licensed activity, the approval comes before incorporation. The routes most relevant to this audience are money broking, including digital-asset broking; credit-token and digital-token issuance; and broader digital financial services. Minimum paid-up capital is RM 1,500,000 for digital-asset money broking and RM 1,000,000 for credit-token business, and Labuan FSA may require more for higher-risk models. This page summarises them; the detailed requirements, costs, and timelines live on the dedicated licensing guides.
Labuan Digital Asset Licensing
Labuan FSA money-broking, credit-token, STO, and exchange routes, and the path from a Labuan company to a licensed one.
Banking
The account-opening layer beneath any licensed structure.
What the entity does not grant
A Labuan company may do business with Malaysian residents. The 2022 amendment deleted section 7(4)–(6), removing the company-law ringgit restriction and resident-transaction notification rules. Activity-specific licensing and Bank Negara Malaysia foreign-exchange rules must still be checked; incorporation does not confer a domestic financial licence or EU passporting.[30]
Advantages and Limitations
Labuan’s advantages are a genuine 3% trading rate, 100% foreign ownership, fast remote formation, and a Malaysian treaty network. Its limitations are real: hard crypto banking, a substance cost that is easy to underestimate, no EU passporting, and treaty exclusions by several major partners. Operators can plan around each one.
- 3% tax on net audited trading profits, 0% on pure-holding income, both conditional on substance, within a recognised regime.
- 100% foreign ownership and fast, fully remote formation in one to two weeks, or up to a month once legalisation and due diligence are counted.
- Access to much of Malaysia’s network of 75 comprehensive double-tax agreements.
- FATF member; not grey- or black-listed after the June 2026 plenary,[18][24] accorded regular follow-up status after the 2025 mutual evaluation[7] and an APG member;[19] off the EU non-cooperative tax list.[20]
- A single regulator, Labuan FSA, for both the company and its financial licence.
- Crypto banking is difficult and slow. Mitigation: scope the banking route before formation, so the entity is built toward an account that can realistically open.
- The 3% rate requires funded substance (staff, office, RM 100,000 spend). Mitigation: model substance cost first; if the business will operate from Labuan anyway, the rate is achievable.
- No EU passporting or automatic domestic financial authorisation. Mitigation: use Labuan as an Asian base and pair it with an EU domicile where European clients require it.
- Several major treaty partners exclude Labuan entities. Mitigation: where treaty relief is essential, model the section 3A election to the 24% Malaysian rate.
- Documents need consular legalisation, not apostille. Mitigation: start legalisation early and run it in parallel with name reservation.
How Labuan Compares
Among the peers compared here, Labuan offers a low positive tax rate inside a substance-based, treaty-resident regime: Hong Kong and Singapore offer deeper banking and stronger brands; Seychelles offers a territorial regime that leaves foreign income of standalone companies untaxed, with a lighter footprint; Estonia offers EU market access that no offshore peer can.
| Factor | Labuan | Hong Kong | Singapore | Seychelles | Estonia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entity Type | Labuan company | Private limited | Private limited (Pte Ltd) | IBC | OÜ (private limited) |
| Timeline | 1–2 weeks | ~1 week | Same day to a few days | 3–10 days | 1 day (online) |
| State Fee | USD 300 one-time + USD 1,000/yr | ~USD 500 Year 1 (govt) | ~USD 250 (ACRA, S$315) | USD 140/yr (USD 130 registration) | EUR 265 |
| Min. Capital | 1 share, no minimum | None (nominal issued capital) | SGD 1 | None | EUR 0.01 |
| Corporate Tax | 3% trading (with substance) / 24% if not | 8.25% to HKD 2m ≈ $250K, 16.5% above | 17% (start-up reliefs lower effective) | Territorial: 15%/25% local; foreign income exempt (group conditions) | 0% retained, 22% on distribution |
| EU Passporting | No | No | No | No | Yes (MiCA CASP) |
| FATF Status | Member; not listed | Member; not listed | Member; not listed | Not listed; off both EU lists | Not FATF-listed; MONEYVAL enhanced follow-up (December 2025 report; read 26 September 2026) |
| Remote Management | Yes (via licensed trust company) | Yes (local company secretary required) | Moderate (resident director required) | Yes | Yes (digital ID) |
| Crypto Banking | Difficult | Difficult | Moderate | Difficult | Moderate |
| Best For | APAC operators wanting a midshore, foreign-currency base with funded substance and 3% trading tax | Substantive APAC HQ needing audited-accounts credibility | Premium brand and banking depth | Lean low-cost holding vehicles | Remote-first founders using e-Residency for EU market entry and CASP passporting |
Compare every formation jurisdiction side by side →
Decision framework
Choose Labuan if you want a real Asian operating base, value a 3% trading rate over a 0% shelf, can fund genuine substance, and do not need EU market access. Consider alternatives if your counterparties demand a top-tier brand and deep banking (Singapore or Hong Kong), you want a minimal low-cost holding vehicle (Seychelles), or you need EU passporting and a fully digital base (Estonia).
Not sure which column is you? Ask Emma. She compares these jurisdictions in seconds, in your language.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both, depending on substance. A Labuan trading company is taxed at 3% of its net audited profits only if it meets the annual economic-substance requirements for its activity, which for crypto and fintech means at least two full-time employees in Labuan and at least RM 100,000 of local operating spend.
A company that fails substance is taxed at 24% under the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990. Pure-holding income is taxed at 0%, also only where its substance conditions are met. The 3% headline is genuine, but it is earned, not automatic.
No. The election to pay a flat RM 20,000 in place of the 3% rate was abolished from the year of assessment 2020, which covers accounting periods ending in 2019. Trading companies are now taxed at 3% of net audited profits, conditional on substance, and must prepare audited accounts to claim that rate.
Only for large groups. Malaysia’s top-up tax, effective for financial years beginning on or after , expressly reaches Labuan entities, but it applies only to multinational groups with consolidated revenue of at least EUR 750 million in two of the four preceding years. Most owner-managed crypto and fintech businesses fall well below that threshold and are unaffected, though it is worth confirming for groups approaching that scale.
Yes. Labuan permits full foreign ownership of a Labuan company. The company must, however, appoint a licensed Labuan trust company as its agent, maintain a registered office in Labuan, and have at least one resident director and a resident secretary, both usually provided by the trust company. Formation is fully remote, with no requirement to travel to Labuan.
One to two weeks in most cases. The registry approves a complete lodgement within 24 hours, so the timeline is driven almost entirely by due diligence and document legalisation, not by the filing itself. Where the company will hold a Labuan FSA licence, regulatory approval is required before incorporation, which extends the schedule.
No. Malaysia is not party to the Hague Apostille Convention as of , so documents cannot be apostilled. They require consular legalisation instead: notarisation, then authentication by the relevant foreign ministry, then legalisation by a Malaysian embassy or consulate. Starting this process early is the simplest way to avoid the most common cause of formation delay.
It can, but it is difficult and should be arranged before forming the company. The combination of an offshore domicile and crypto activity triggers enhanced due diligence almost everywhere, and declines are common. Workable routes exist through Labuan-focused banks and certain regional payment institutions, with onboarding realistically taking four to six weeks and requiring substance evidence, source-of-funds documentation, and beneficial-ownership disclosure. Jagelski & Partners scopes the route in writing before formation begins.
Yes. Company law permits business with Malaysian residents. The 2022 amendment removed the general company-law ringgit restriction and resident-transaction notification duty. Separate licensing and Bank Negara Malaysia foreign-exchange rules still apply to the proposed activity; forming the company does not grant a domestic financial licence.
The Labuan company is the usual vehicle for Labuan FSA licences, including money broking with a digital-asset extension, credit-token and digital-token issuance, and digital financial services. Minimum paid-up capital is RM 1,500,000 for digital-asset money broking and RM 1,000,000 for credit-token business, and Labuan FSA may require more for higher-risk models. Detailed requirements, costs, and timelines are on the dedicated crypto licensing guides.
No, on the formal lists. Malaysia is a FATF member and is on neither the FATF grey list nor its black list after the June 2026 plenary, and it is on neither annex of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (17 February 2026). Malaysia was placed in regular follow-up after its 2025 mutual evaluation, as Labuan FSA reported on . That said, an offshore domicile still attracts enhanced due diligence in banking, which is a practical reality to plan for rather than a formal listing problem.
Build your Labuan company on solid ground
Jagelski & Partners scopes your written brief and introduces the independent specialist who coordinates Labuan company formation end to end, from registration and substance planning through banking and the licensing pathway, with one point of contact. The banking route is scoped in the written brief before formation, so the structure is built for an account that can realistically open.
Not ready to submit a brief? Ask Emma first. She answers now and can collect your written brief for a specialist introduction.
References
Show all references
- Labuan FSA, Legislation (Labuan Companies Act 1990; LBATA), labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Incorporation and Registration Procedures, labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Labuan Companies FAQ, labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Fee Schedule, labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Notice on 2026 Annual and Licence Fees under the Revised Fee Structure Effective 1 January 2026 (LFSA.900-24/REG/FR/2025 (2); Labuan company annual fee USD 800 to USD 1,000), , labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Labuan IBFC Marks 35 Years of Resilience, Sustained Growth, and Strengthened Global Recognition (press release on the Labuan IBFC Market Report 2025), , labuanfsa.gov.my, with the Market Report 2025, labuanibfc.com, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Labuan IBFC’s AML/CFT Regime Recognised in Malaysia’s FATF Mutual Evaluation Report 2025 (press release), , labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Government of Malaysia, Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990 (LBATA), primary text, accessed .
- Government of Malaysia, Labuan Business Activity Tax (Requirements for Labuan Business Activity) Regulations 2021 [P.U.(A) 423/2021] and 2025 amendment [P.U.(A) 325/2025], accessed .
- Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN), Guidelines on Substance Requirements for Fit and Proper Full-Time Employees of Labuan Entities (LHDN.AG.600-1/7/3, 5 November 2025), hasil.gov.my, accessed .
- PwC Malaysia, Tax Booklet 2025/26 (Service Tax), pwc.com, accessed .
- Conventus Law, Labuan substance requirements changes, conventuslaw.com, accessed .
- ACCA, Labuan technical article (LBATA regime, preceding-year basis, audit; its 1 January 2019 date for the flat-tax abolition was superseded by Finance Act 2019 s.40 (reference [29])), accessed .
- EY Malaysia, Labuan tax alerts (substance, FTE/opex, dormant status), accessed .
- KPMG, Labuan Business Activity Tax (Amendment) Act 2020 commentary, accessed .
- BDO / Crowe / Grant Thornton Malaysia, Pillar Two / domestic top-up tax applicability to Labuan, accessed .
- Rahmat Lim & Partners, Labuan Companies (Amendment) Act 2022 commentary, accessed .
- FATF, Malaysia country page and Mutual Evaluation Report 2025, fatf-gafi.org, accessed .
- APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering), Malaysia member page, apgml.org, accessed .
- Council of the EU, EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, , accessed .
- OECD Global Forum, Jurisdictions committed to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) in time to commence exchanges in 2027, 2028 or 2029 (last updated 14 September 2026; Malaysia listed under first exchanges by 2028), oecd.org, accessed .
- HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (130 contracting parties, last updated 30 June 2026; Malaysia not among them), hcch.net, accessed .
- Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN), Comprehensive Double Taxation Agreements (75 agreements in force; page updated 17 September 2026) and the treaty texts published there, including the Malaysia–United Kingdom Notes of Exchange, the Malaysia–Japan Agreement (P.U. (A) 167/1999), the Malaysia–Germany Agreement (P.U. (A) 193/2010) and the Malaysia–Spain Protocol, paragraph 4, hasil.gov.my, accessed .
- FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring – 19 June 2026 and High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action – 19 June 2026 (Malaysia on neither list), fatf-gafi.org, accessed .
- Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN), Filing Programme for Return of Profits by a Labuan Entity for the Year of Assessment 2025 under the Self Assessment System (Form e-LE1 and tax within seven months of the close of the accounting period; one-month grace period), hasil.gov.my (archived 11 August 2025), accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Guidelines on the Establishment of Money Broking Business in Labuan IBFC (9 September 2024), para 7.1 (paid-up capital RM 1,000,000; RM 1,500,000 with digital-asset activity), labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Guidelines on Credit Token Business and Islamic Credit Token Business in Labuan IBFC (7 February 2025), para 5.1 (paid-up capital RM 1,000,000), labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Clarification Note on the Requirements of a Natural Person to be Appointed as a Resident Director of a Labuan Company (4 September 2023), read with section 87 of the Labuan Companies Act 1990 as amended by the Labuan Companies (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1653), labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .
- Laws of Malaysia, Finance Act 2019 (Act 823), section 40, substituting section 71 of the Finance Act 2018 (Act 812): section 76 of the 2018 Act, which deletes section 7 (tax charged upon election) of the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990, has effect for the year of assessment 2020 and subsequent years of assessment; under section 2(1) of that Act the basis period for a year of assessment is the accounting period ending in the preceding calendar year, mysst.customs.gov.my (archived 16 May 2026), accessed .
- Labuan FSA, Labuan Companies (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1653), section 4(b), deleting section 7(4)–(6), labuanfsa.gov.my, accessed .