Set up in Labuan, start to finish.

Yes. A Labuan company can be wholly foreign owned. No local Malaysian shareholder is required, and a single shareholder may also act as the sole director. This applies to both trading companies and non-trading investment holding companies. For regulated entities such as banks and fund managers, Labuan FSA assesses the suitability of shareholders as part of the licence application, but foreign ownership remains permitted.

A Labuan trading company carries on active business such as commercial trading, management services, licensing or regulated financial activity. A non-trading company holds passive assets such as shares, securities, loans, deposits or property. The classification drives both the tax treatment under the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act and the substance obligations that follow, so the choice is best made before incorporation rather than after.

Yes. The Labuan Companies Act 1990 requires every Labuan company to maintain a registered office in Labuan and to appoint a resident secretary, who must be a trust officer of a licensed Labuan trust company. QX Trust meets both requirements. We act as registered office provider and our trust officers serve as resident secretary, which is why incorporation must be handled through a licensed trust company rather than filed directly.

A Labuan company is formed with at least one issued share, and there is no general statutory minimum paid-up capital for an ordinary company. Capital is set to suit the business. Regulated entities are a separate matter: a Labuan FSA licence carries its own minimum capital floor that varies by licence category, and that floor applies on top of incorporation.

To access the Labuan tax treatment, a Labuan entity must meet substance requirements set under the Labuan substance regulations. These typically include a physical presence in Labuan, an adequate number of full time employees and an adequate level of annual operating expenditure, with the thresholds depending on the activity carried on. We map the applicable requirements during scoping so the structure is built to hold.

Yes. Incorporation of a Labuan company must be carried out through a licensed Labuan trust company, which submits the application to Labuan FSA together with the constitutional documents and statutory declaration of compliance. QX Trust holds the required Labuan FSA licence, acts as incorporation agent, resident secretary and registered office provider, and carries the file from name search to certificate of incorporation.