International Standards, Guidelines Suffocating Labuan Industry Players - ALTC

LABUAN, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Various international standards, guidelines and reporting requirements are suffocating the tax and financial-related industries, the Association of Labuan Trust Companies (ALTC) said. Its chairman, Chin Chee Kee said industry players had no choice but to stand up against these demand and face the challenges head on. “We are saddled with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, Common Reporting Standard, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, and Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing and what not, to comply with. “On top of that, there are many more guidelines, circulars and directives and what not, to live with. "There are also many quarterly reports, half-yearly reports and annual reports to submit,” he said at the Labuan Industry Annual Dinner 2016 here Thursday night. However, Chin said the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) was able to resolve these issues to help industry players become confident and courageous in the face the challenges ahead. He said ensuring the compliance of these standards, guidelines and requirements were difficult as they required a lot of resources, in terms of human and financial resources. On Labuan IBFC's performance since its inception 26 years ago, he said it had demonstrated the robustness of a financial centre despite a downturn in global trade and investments. Chin said Labuan’s location in the centre of Asia enabled it to achieve a seven per cent increase in the number of companies registered, while some IFCs were recording a negative growth. ALTC was established on July 8, 1994 comprising of Labuan Trust Companies established and registered under the Labuan Trust Companies Act 1990 (LTCA). -- BERNAMA