Malaysia seeks to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore, which have become family office hubs in Asia.
The government, through its Ministry of Finance and Securities Commission, recently announced that it is considering policies to attract wealthy investors seeking to set up family offices — to help the country finance small and midsize enterprises and stimulate the economy.
Malaysia has a huge opportunity to attract investments, especially from the Middle East, by developing the Islamic- or Shariah-compliant family office, Ausscar Financial Group Managing Director Sean Lee told SunBiz.
"We can leverage the Shariah or Islamic capital market that we have," Lee said. High-net-worth individuals or families who prefer the Islamic finance concept, he told the paper, "are able to set up their family office here and invest into Asia."