Malaysia’s securities regulator has expanded the list of approved domestic investments under its single family office scheme which offers zero tax rate on investment returns.
The list now includes government approved companies under the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) tax incentive package, Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) says in a statement on May 22.
JS-SEZ is a cross-border economic zone aimed at strengthening economic ties and enhancing connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore. It covers a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, logistics, tourism, global services and the digital economy, with a focus on attracting high-value investments.
“Investments into these companies will enjoy a 1.5 times multiplier in calculating the scheme’s local assets under management requirement,” says Azalina Adham, managing director of the SC.
The scheme, which was introduced last September, only applies to companies that set up single family offices in the Forest City Special Financial Zone in Malaysia’s southern Johor state, located about an hour’s drive from Singapore.
In order to qualify for the tax breaks, the offices must have at least 30 million ringgit (US$7.08 million) of assets under management, and commit to local investments of at least 10 million ringgit or 10% of their assets under management in the first ten years.
Two Malaysian firms, one owned by billionaire investor Chua Ma Yu and the other by David Chong, founder of wealth advisory services firm Portcullis Group, were the first to get regulatory approval under the scheme.
