Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA): register, licences and requirements
Labuan FSA is the statutory regulator of the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, an offshore financial zone within Malaysia, established in 1996. It licenses Labuan banks and investment banks, money brokers, fund managers, securities licensees and trust companies, and approves digital financial services such as digital asset exchanges case by case, mostly under the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010.
How to check a firm on the Labuan FSA register
The directory is searched either by typing an entity's name into a search box, or by picking a category from a 'BY LIST' dropdown (banks, insurers, money brokers, fund managers, digital financial service providers, trust companies and others); an active licensee simply appears as a row in the chosen category list. The site does not publish licence numbers or let users search by licence number, and the underlying list data is loaded dynamically by the page rather than embedded in the HTML, so it could not be enumerated or counted by an automated fetch in this session.4
- Master Financial Institutions Directory, searchable by name or by a 'BY LIST' category filter (Labuan Banks and Investment Banks, Insurance and Insurance-Related Entities, Leasing Companies, Credit Token Companies, Digital Financial Service Providers, Fund Managers, Money Brokers, International Commodity Trading Companies, Charitable Foundations, Active Partnerships, Approved Auditors, Approved Liquidators)4
- List of Labuan banks and Labuan investment banks7
- List of Labuan fund managers8
- List of Labuan digital financial service providers9
At a glance
| Official name | Labuan Financial Services Authority |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Malaysia (Labuan) |
| Type | Integrated financial regulator |
| Headquarters | Labuan1 |
| Founded | 19962 |
| Website | labuanfsa.gov.my3 |
| Public register | Official public register4 |
| Licence types in the Atlas | 1 |
What Labuan FSA supervises
Labuan FSA is the statutory body established under the Labuan Financial Services Authority Act 1996 to promote and develop the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC), and it acts as the central licensing, regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority for international business and financial services carried on in or from Labuan, a Malaysian federal territory.2
- Labuan banking business, including Labuan banks and Labuan investment banks10
- Labuan financial business (money broking, leasing, factoring, credit token and building-credit/development-finance business)10
- Capital markets, including mutual funds, fund managers, fund administrators and securities licensees10
- Labuan trust companies, Labuan managed trust companies and Labuan private trust companies10
- Labuan insurance and takaful business, insurance managers, underwriting managers and insurance brokers10
- Digital financial services on a case-by-case approval basis, covering digital banking, digital asset exchanges/crypto trading platforms, insurtech and e-payment systems11
- Exchanges established in Labuan and self-regulatory organisations10
Licences Labuan FSA issues
Lesser-known services for applicants
Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment
Applicants may contact Labuan FSA by email before lodging a formal application, to discuss a proposed innovative financial services (fintech) business and get guidance on the applicable regulations; this pre-application engagement is free of charge.5
Innovation hub
No dedicated 'innovation hub' page or standing programme was found on Labuan FSA's own site; fintech proposals appear to be handled instead through the ordinary pre-application email enquiry and existing licensing categories.5
Regulatory sandbox
Labuan FSA does not operate a regulatory sandbox. Its own guidance explicitly contrasts Labuan with jurisdictions that isolate fintech start-ups in sandboxes or incubators, stating that Labuan requires such businesses to operate directly in the real, open international market, subject to ordinary AML/CFT and market-conduct rules.5
Fee schedule: Official Annual Licence Fee Schedule dated 3 January 2024, listing the yearly fee for every Labuan licence category, from USD 200 for a Labuan Foundation up to USD 30,000 for a Labuan Bank/Investment Bank.6
Compare with other regulators: pre-application meetings · sandboxes and innovation hubs.
Fees and timelines
| Licence | Fee | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Money Broking licence (Labuan financial business) | annual | USD 1,5006 |
| Labuan Investment Bank licence (Labuan investment banking business) | annual | USD 30,0006 |
| Fund Manager licence (public funds) | annual | USD 1,5006 |
| Securities Licensee licence (dealing in / advising on securities) | annual | USD 1,5006 |
| Labuan Trust Company licence (trust company business), including Labuan Managed Trust Company and Labuan Private Trust Company registration | annual | USD 800 a year for a Labuan company, USD 1,500 for a foreign Labuan company6 |
Changing the owner of a licensed firm
Prior approval required. For a Labuan bank/investment bank licensee, no participant holding 15% or more of paid-up capital may be changed without Labuan FSA's prior written approval, and a foreign Labuan company must promptly notify the Authority of any such change (LFSSA 2010 s.95(4)). The same 15%-of-paid-up-capital threshold and prior-approval requirement applies on a continuing basis to Labuan insurers (s.107(6)). Thresholds for other licence types, such as money broking and fund management, were not independently verified in this session.10
Buying a company that already holds one of these licences is often faster than applying. See ready-made licensed companies · investment brokerage.
Laws Labuan FSA applies
Contacts and public register
Address: Level 17, Main Office Tower, Financial Park Complex, Jalan Merdeka, 87000 Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia1
Website: labuanfsa.gov.my3
Check whether a firm is licensed: official register4 · official register7 · official register8 · official register9.
Frequently asked questions
What is Labuan FSA and what does it license?
Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) is the Malaysian statutory body, established in 1996, that regulates the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, an offshore zone within Malaysia. It licenses Labuan banks and investment banks, money brokers, fund managers, securities licensees, trust companies and insurers, mainly under the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010.
Does Labuan FSA license cryptocurrency or digital asset exchanges?
Yes, but there is no separately named crypto licence. Labuan FSA treats digital asset exchanges and other digital financial services as activities needing its prior written approval, often as an add-on to an existing licence such as money broking, subject to AML/CFT rules issued jointly with Bank Negara Malaysia.
How much does a Labuan money broking licence cost?
According to Labuan FSA's Annual Licence Fee Schedule (3 January 2024), the annual fee for a Money Broking licence is USD 1,500. A Labuan money broker may only arrange foreign-currency transactions between buyers and sellers as an intermediary, not deal as principal.
Is there a fintech regulatory sandbox in Labuan?
No. Labuan FSA's own guidance says that, unlike some other markets, it does not isolate fintech start-ups in a sandbox or incubator; such businesses must operate directly in the open international market, subject to ordinary licensing and AML/CFT requirements.
How do I search the Labuan FSA register of licensed entities?
Use the Financial Institutions Directory on labuanfsa.gov.my, either by typing an entity's name or by choosing a category such as banks, money brokers, fund managers, digital financial service providers or trust companies from the 'BY LIST' menu. Licence numbers are not published in the directory.
Where is Labuan FSA based?
Labuan FSA's head office is Level 17, Main Office Tower, Financial Park Complex, Jalan Merdeka, in the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia, the offshore centre it has regulated since being established there in 1996.
Sources
- labuanfsa.gov.my: contact us · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: Labuan Financial Services Authority Act 1996 Act 545 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: financial institutions directory · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: Frequently Asked Questions Innovative Financial Services I (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: Annual Licence Fee Schedule 03012024 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: list of labuan banks and investment banks · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: list of fund managers · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: list of labuan digital financial service providers · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 Act 704 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
- labuanfsa.gov.my: digital financial services · retrieved 2026-09-24
Applying to Labuan FSA, or buying a firm it licenses?
Tell us your business model and target markets. We check the fit before you spend on an application, then handle the licence end to end.
A free preliminary assessment: we check your business model against the licence before you spend on an application. We handle this licence and any other fintech licence, including jurisdictions the Atlas does not cover yet.