Special Address at Malaysia-Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce Business Forum 2025: Unlocking Opportunities in New Malaysian SFO Scheme
Speaker: Datin Paduka Azalina Adham, Managing Director, Securities Commission Malaysia Location: The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur
Delivered: 17 June 2025
Datuk Ng Yih Pyng, President of Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM)
Mr. Kho Choon Keng, President of Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI)
Distinguished business leaders from Malaysia and Singapore
Ladies and gentlemen.
Opening
It is a great pleasure for me to be here this morning at the Malaysia-Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce Business Forum 2025.
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) for your kind invitation.
Forums such as this are vital – not only in reaffirming the deep and enduring ties between our two nations, but also in providing a timely platform for businesses and business owners to explore new avenues of collaboration in the wake of a more uncertain and volatile geopolitical landscape.
I am here today to share on Malaysia’s Single Family Office Incentive Scheme and how this Scheme could address the needs and fulfil the aspirations of Singaporean business families, especially those with cross-border operations or strong connections to Malaysia.
Family Offices as Strategic Business Tools
Ladies and gentlemen,
Across Asia-Pacific, we are witnessing a pivotal shift in how wealth is structured, managed, and passed down. Asia’s ultra-wealthy are increasingly mobilising capital closer to home, driven by growing regional confidence, geopolitical recalibration, and generational change.
According to UBS’s Global Family Office Report 2025, 59% of APAC family offices are planning to bring the next generation into board-level roles, with nearly half placing them in executive management positions — significantly higher than the global average. This reflects a broader transformation: families are not just transitioning capital but institutionalising it for long-term resilience.
I understand most of you who are here this morning are overseeing businesses that span property, logistics, manufacturing, or trading. Without a unified structure, succession planning, reinvestments, or even preparing for listing can be fragmented and inefficient.
The Single Family Office (SFO) scheme provides a way to consolidate diverse holdings — including shareholdings and pledged portfolios — into a single investment structure. This enables more comprehensive wealth management and strategic decision-making; embeds robust family governance; and empowers the next generation to lead with clarity and long-term vision.
As Asia enters a new era of intergenerational transition, regional conviction, and homeward-bound capital, Malaysia could serve as a credible, cost-efficient, and globally connected platform — ideally suited for Asia’s new stewards of inter-generational wealth.
Why Malaysia, Why Now?
That brings me to an important question: Why consider Malaysia? While several regional hubs offer comparable tax incentives and legal stability, Malaysia brings a unique set of value propositions to the table, which we believe makes Malaysia is a compelling option for the establishment of family offices.
Apart from the financial incentives and attractive investment opportunities in Malaysia, Malaysia offers a high quality of life, cultural diversity and strategic access to ASEAN markets, making it an attractive lifestyle destination for families seeking both personal and professional fulfilment.
Second, Families benefit from an enabling and well-developed ecosystem — with access to high-quality healthcare, international education, seamless mobility, and proximity to global markets.
Third, Malaysia also offers a well-established common law legal system, strong standards of governance and a mature professional ecosystem of intermediaries and service providers, that in turn provides certainty and familiarity for international investors.
Fourth, Malaysia offers a more cost effective and lower entry thresholds compared to other regional hubs. Our large English-speaking talent pool further ensures seamless communication and professional expertise for family offices.
Lastly, and certainly not the least, Malaysia is a global leader in Islamic Finance with a comprehensive ecosystem that supports Shariah-compliant wealth management solutions. Our leadership in Islamic finance combined with the growing focus on ESG principles and value investing, makes Malaysia especially attractive to value driven capital. Families seeking to align their investments with ethical and sustainable goals will find this offering highly complementary.
Introducing the SFO Scheme
With this backdrop in mind, allow me to take you through the structure and benefits of the SFO Incentive Scheme in the Forest City Special Financial Zone (FC SFZ), which is located within the broader Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
As in Singapore and Hong Kong, single family offices in Malaysia are exempted from fund management licensing requirements by Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), as they manage proprietary wealth of a single family, and not funds from multiple families or third parties.
A qualifying SFO established in Forest City will enjoy a 0% tax rate on all income – including foreign-sourced income and capital gains – for an initial period of 10 years, with the option to renew for another 10 years. This offers an attractive long-term proposition for wealth preservation and growth.
To encourage consolidation, families enjoy a one-time exemption from Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty on the transfer of assets into the SFO vehicle (SFOV) – making onboarding efficient and cost-effective.
Families are required to have a minimum of RM30 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) for the first 10 years, where RM10 million or 10% of AUM, whichever is lower, must be invested locally. This will help ensure meaningful contributions to the local economy.
For the subsequent 10 years, the minimum AUM is increased to RM50 million where RM10 million or 10% of AUM, whichever is higher, must be invested locally.
Operationally, in terms of substance requirements, each SFOV must be based in Forest City and hire at least two full-time employees, including one investment professional, and maintain a minimum operating expenditure of RM500,000 per annum.
In terms of cross border funds, BNM will also facilitate cross-border fund movements, allowing families to bring in funds, convert to ringgit, and repatriate without limits. This alleviates a major friction for global investors and enhances Malaysia’s competitiveness as a wealth management hub.
To support families and professional replacing to Malaysia, the scheme offers the a dedicated Resident Pass-Talent (RPT) which covers the family members as well as foreign professionals. The RPT Visa is aligned with the scheme’s duration, providing residency for up to 20 years — providing long-term stay options of up to 10+10 years for the principal, family members, and foreign professionals. For this, the SC is working closely with the Home Affairs Ministry via Talent Corporation to facilitate this process.
The scheme is now fully operational and follows a simple two-step process: an initial consultation with the SC, followed by submission of a Conditional Approval application and business plan. Once approved, SFOVs must submit to an annual tax certification process with the SC to ensure continued eligibility.
Interested families or their advisers may now initiate this process by submitting an Expression of Interest to our dedicated SFO email address. The application kit, latest FAQs, and permitted investment list are available on the SC’s website.
As a one-stop centre, the SC will also co-ordinate with BNM on cross border flexibilities as well as with the Immigration Department on visa approvals.
Malaysia–Singapore Synergies
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today’s forum is a strong reminder of the enduring commercial and cultural ties between Malaysia and Singapore. The Family Office space is no exception — and we see enormous potential for cross-border collaboration.
The scheme supports and is aligned with the vision and aspiration of the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) — a flagship initiative to foster deeper economic integration. This reflects a co-ordinated strategy to channel private capital into high-impact sectors across Malaysia and Singapore.
Hence, under the Scheme, investments into MIDA-approved companies under the JS SEZ are recognised as Local Promoted Investments and qualify for a 1.5 times multiplier when calculating the scheme’s local AUM — aligning long-term wealth with national priorities.
It is important to highlight that all assets under management must be managed from within Malaysia. Eligible investments span both local and foreign financial instruments, capital market products and multi-currency portfolios – offering families robust diversification options while supporting domestic financial intermediation.
Importantly, Malaysia’s SFO Scheme is not intended to compete with Singapore, but to complement it. It offers a cost-effective, flexible and credible solution for managing Malaysian-related assets - particularly for families with operations or properties anchored here.
Looking Ahead
The Family Office Scheme is not a short-term initiative – it is multi-generational undertaking. It represents Malaysia commitment to facilitating a new era of family wealth management to anchor your legacy with purpose — to build structures that foster resilience, clarity, and multigenerational impact.
Although the scheme is relatively new, I am pleased to share that the scheme is gaining momentum. To date, we have granted several conditional approvals and have been receiving a growing number of expressions of interest. Consultations are underway with families from Malaysia, Singapore, China, and beyond.
We are also seeing growing professional collaboration across both jurisdictions. Singaporean trustees, fund managers, lawyers, and family office advisors are already partnering with Malaysian counterparts to set up structures, ensure compliance, and support ongoing advisory needs. This shared ecosystem benefits from legal familiarity, bilingual capabilities, and regional proximity.
Building a thriving family office ecosystem requires vision and collaboration. Hence, the SC remains committed to fostering a collaborative environment. We will continue to engage with all interested parties – families, service providers, investors and partners to ensure that Malaysia’s family office ecosystem is vibrant, well-informed, facilitative and globally competitive
Closing
Ladies and gentlemen,
In closing, we believe Malaysia can deliver a compelling combination of legal certainty, cultural richness, cost efficiency and strategic financial or investment offerings. We invite families to consider Malaysia not just as a destination for their wealth, but as a place to build enduring legacies.
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) was established on 1 March 1993 under the Securities Commission Act 1993 (SCA). We are a self-funded statutory body entrusted with the responsibility to regulate and develop the Malaysian capital market.
