AAE International Trust

Call Directions Website Contact the business

AAE International Trust Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from AAE International Trust, Business consultant, Unit 2-08, Level 2 Times Square, Jalan Merdeka, Labuan.

We are a Malaysian grown full-fledged trust company with the powers to incorporate Labuan companies, provide advisory on how to obtain a financial license, act as a trustee and manage wealth through instruments such as trusts and foundations.

LABUAN 101 — BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT LABUAN… 🤔Let’s go back to basics.Don't even start with this: ❌ “How much does a...
28/09/2026

LABUAN 101 — BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT LABUAN… 🤔

Let’s go back to basics.

Don't even start with this:

❌ “How much does a Labuan company cost?”

❌ “How fast can you incorporate?”

❌ “Can I get a Work Permit?”

Ask yourself TWO questions first.

1️⃣ DO I WANT THE 3% TAX BENEFIT?

If YES, then you need to think about:

👉 Economic Substance Requirements (ESR)

👉 Which business nature / Code 1–23 applies?

👉 Physical office in Labuan

It’s not:

“I want 3% tax → give me a Labuan company.” 😂

There are requirements.

OR…

2️⃣ DO I JUST WANT TO MOVE TO MALAYSIA FOR 2 YEARS?

If that's your real objective, your considerations are different.

👉 Are you comfortable with tax at 17–24%?

👉 Physical office in Labuan

👉 Pay yourself RM10,000, with total personal income tax of RM12,000

👉 I have a university degree

So…

WHAT IS YOUR REAL OBJECTIVE?

Tax?

Business?

Or simply…

“I want to live in Malaysia for 2 years.” 😆

Start there.

Then we talk about the Labuan structure.

LABUAN STORYA Malaysian businessman came to us.“Can my Labuan company provide services to a Malaysian company?”🤔 My firs...
28/08/2026

LABUAN STORY
A Malaysian businessman came to us.

“Can my Labuan company provide services to a Malaysian company?”

🤔 My first question:
“What does your Malaysian company do?”

He explained.
🌍 The Malaysian company had customers outside Malaysia.
📦 It was dealing with international suppliers.
💱 The business was receiving and making payments in foreign currency.
Now the question became very different.

This wasn't simply:
“Malaysian company serving Malaysian customers.”

There was an international business element.

And this is what I want people to understand about Labuan.
You can have Malaysian clients.
Ensure your Malaysian clients know you are a Labuan company. Ask each one of them if the Income Tax (Deductions Not Allowed for Payment Made to Labuan Company by Resident) Rules 2018 will affect them.
Once you get the green light - you can set up your Labuan company

But look at the substance of the transaction.
👉 Where is the business happening?
👉 Who are the customers?
👉 Where are the operations?
👉 What currency are you dealing in?
👉 What exactly is the Labuan company providing?
👉 When you have business dealings in Malaysia, do you need to obtain any licences or requirements from local authorities that you must be a SSM incorporated company (locally known as Sdn Bhd)?

Don't just tell me:
“My client is Malaysian.”

Tell me the whole story.

Because sometimes the Malaysian client is not the issue.

The real question is:
Is the business itself genuinely international ❓

26/08/2026

LABUAN TRUTH
“I’m a foreigner.
I don’t want to set up a Sdn Bhd.
I don’t want the local director requirement.
So I’ll use Labuan.”

🚩 No. Labuan is not a shortcut.

Under Section 196(4) of the Companies Act 2016, a Malaysian private company must have at least 1 director ordinarily resident in Malaysia.
👍 A Malaysian citizen / PR generally qualifies.
👍 An expatriate may also qualify if they meet the ordinary residence requirements. Perhaps if you hold a resident pass or work permit or you married a Malaysian spouse...

So don't think:
“I'll just use Labuan to avoid this.”

And there's another issue.

If your Malaysian client pays your Labuan company, there can be tax deduction restrictions on their side:
👉 Interest — 33% not deductible
👉 Lease rental — 33% not deductible
👉 Other payments — 97% not deductible.

So imagine telling your Malaysian client:
“Pay my Labuan company.”
And they then discover that 97% of that payment may not be deductible for tax purposes.
Not exactly a comfortable conversation.

So before you say:
“Let's use Labuan.”

Ask yourself:
Is my business genuinely international ❓

Labuan can be a great structure.
But it is not a backdoor into Malaysia ‼️

Structure first.
Then incorporate.

LABUAN 101Can a Labuan company have Malaysian clients?👉 YES.But before you get too excited — let me explain.Labuan is fo...
24/08/2026

LABUAN 101
Can a Labuan company have Malaysian clients?
👉 YES.

But before you get too excited — let me explain.
Labuan is for international business.

So if your Malaysian client itself has international business:
🌍 International customers
🌍 International operations
💱 Foreign currency transactions
✔️ Then yes — we can look at it.

But if your plan is:
❌ Set up a Labuan company
❌ All clients are Malaysian
❌ Invoice them in RM
❌ Everything happens in Malaysia
🤔 Then I have questions.

Because there are also tax consequences for the Malaysian resident paying your Labuan company.
Under the Income Tax (Deductions Not Allowed for Payment Made to Labuan Company by Resident) Rules 2018, certain payments made by Malaysian residents to Labuan companies have restrictions on tax deductibility.

So don't just ask me:
“Can my Labuan company service a Malaysian client?”

👉 Tell me:
What does the Malaysian client actually do?
If they are doing international business, that's a different story.

If they are purely domestic…
🚩 Then Labuan may not be the structure you think it is.
This is why I always say:

Don't start with the company.

👉 Start with the business.

Then we decide whether Labuan fits.

LABUAN STORY: “WHY DID THE BANK REJECT MY MONEY?!”We had a client who was expecting an incoming payment into their Labua...
21/08/2026

LABUAN STORY: “WHY DID THE BANK REJECT MY MONEY?!”

We had a client who was expecting an incoming payment into their Labuan bank account.

Seriously, it wasnt USD10million. It was a fraction of that. 😆

The bank sent an email.

They needed some documents to verify the incoming funds.

The client didn't respond.

Then the funds didn't come in.

And eventually…

The client called AAE — very angry — blaming the bank and using some rather colourful language. 😅

But here's the thing.

The bank wasn't necessarily rejecting the funds.

They were asking for information.

And once the bank query wasn't answered, getting an update became much more complicated.

You can't simply pick up the phone and speak directly to the bank officer handling the matter.

You may need to submit a bank maintenance form to request an update.

Or call customer service and get rerouted to different officers.

All this…

when the whole thing could have been much simpler.

Just respond to the bank's email.

And if you don't understand what the bank is asking?

Forward the email to AAE.

We'll help you understand:

✔️ What the bank is asking for

✔️ What documents you need to provide

✔️ Whether the incoming funds can be accepted

✔️ What supporting documents may be required

✔️ How to respond to the bank

We can also assist with documentation to support the incoming funds where appropriate.

So before shouting at the bank…

Before getting frustrated…

Before the issue becomes bigger than it needs to be…

Just forward the email to us.

We'll guide you on the action plan from there.

And yes —

we promise the fastest response time.

Because when it comes to banking, how you respond matters.

But how quickly you respond matters too.

LABUAN TRUTH: IGNORING THE LETTER CAN COST YOU.You received a letter.You put it aside.“I'll deal with it later.”Then lat...
19/08/2026

LABUAN TRUTH: IGNORING THE LETTER CAN COST YOU.

You received a letter.

You put it aside.

“I'll deal with it later.”

Then later becomes too late.

Let's talk about what can actually happen when you don't respond.

1️⃣ You don't file your Annual Return.

The penalty starts from USD30 for late filing of the Annual Return, depending on how late you are.

2️⃣ You don't pay your Annual Fee.

Late payment penalties can start at USD30 for 1–89 days.

90–179 days: USD50

More than 180 days: USD400

And if the annual fee remains unpaid for 6 months after the anniversary date, the LFSA can escalate the penalty under the 50% heavy penalty rule.

So that email from your Co Sec?

Don't ignore it.

3️⃣ LFSA writes to you.

If LFSA issues a letter requiring you to respond within a certain period — commonly 14 days — and you don't respond, you may expose yourself to an administrative penalty of up to RM10,000.

That is no longer an email you can “get to later”.

4️⃣ LHDN sends you a Notice of Power to Call for Information.

This one is important.

It is NOT automatically a penalty.

It is essentially LHDN saying:

“Hey, we need more information about your tax filing.”

Maybe something in your previous year's tax filing raised a question.

Maybe they need supporting documents.

Maybe — just maybe — they are looking at something that could result in a tax refund.

It's okay to have wild dreams. 😂

But seriously — RESPOND.

Because if you don't provide the information, LHDN may make its conclusion based on the information already available to them.

And that may be exactly the information you didn't want them relying on.

So:

Call your auditor.

Appoint a tax agent.

Get 3 quotations if you need to.

Ask AAE what you should do.

But don't sit on the letter.

Tax penalties can be difficult to appeal once they have been formally imposed.

The lesson?

The letter is not necessarily bad news — ignoring it can make it bad news.

RESPOND.

17/08/2026

LABUAN 101: RESPOND.
If you own a Labuan entity, you will get queries.
From your Co Sec.
From your auditor.
From the bank.
From the tax authority.
And sometimes, you will get a deadline.

For Co Sec, there are really only 2 key annual deadlines to remember:
1️⃣ Annual Return (Form 27) — filed in the 11th month before your anniversary.
2️⃣ Annual fees — paid to your Co Sec and LFSA before your incorporation anniversary.
Simple, right?

But here is where people get into trouble.
They don't respond.
They see the email.
They tell themselves they'll deal with it later.
Then they forget.
Or worse — they sweep it under the carpet.
Then get penalty. Then come to us and ask - HOW LAH?

Penalty lah....
How you respond is important.
When you respond is important.
But most importantly —

RESPOND.

Even if you don't have the answer yet.
Even if you need more time.
Even if the answer is not what you hoped for.
At least right, we could have discussed it and given you some light to see at the end of the tunnel
An unanswered email does not make the problem disappear.
It usually makes it bigger.

📖 Labuan Story: “Why is my bank account taking so long?!”We had a client who was VERY frustrated.He said:“Other jurisdic...
14/08/2026

📖 Labuan Story: “Why is my bank account taking so long?!”

We had a client who was VERY frustrated.

He said:
“Other jurisdictions can open my account in 3 days!”
Labuan?
1–2 months for compliance.
Then another 2 weeks for internet banking.
He complained.
And complained.
And eventually...
The bank rejected him.

So what went wrong?
He was too secretive.
He didn't want to give us much information about his business.

But the bank wanted to know:
Who are your customers?
What are you selling?
Where will the money come from?
Who are your suppliers?
What are your expected transactions?

Simple things like:
📄 Sample invoices
📄 MOUs
📄 Contracts
📄 Business forecasts
📄 Previous business experience
would have helped.

Think about it.

The bank isn't necessarily saying:
“We don't believe you.”

They're saying:
“Give us something so we can believe you.”
That's the difference.

So my advice?
Don't fight the bank.
Don't fight AAE.
Work WITH us.

If the bank asks questions — answer.
If they want documents — give them.
If your business is complicated — explain it.
Because trying to hide information?
🚩 That's when you start looking suspicious.

Labuan banking may take longer.
But you get the benefits of a Labuan structure AND Malaysian commercial banking.
So...
Change the mindset.
Don't ask:
“How do I get around the bank?”
Ask:
“How do I make it easy for the bank to say YES?”

Much easier lah. 😂

🔥 Labuan Truth: Bank account opening is actually quite straightforward.BUT...You need to understand the current banking ...
12/08/2026

🔥 Labuan Truth: Bank account opening is actually quite straightforward.
BUT...

You need to understand the current banking environment.

Banks today are looking at:
Who are the directors?
Who are the shareholders?
Where is the money coming from?
Who are your customers?
Which countries are involved?
What business are you actually doing?

And yes...

Some businesses will get more scrutiny.
Russia-related exposure?
Iran?
North Korea?
FATF high-risk jurisdictions?
Crypto?
Expect more questions.
Not because the bank hates you.
Because compliance has become much tighter.

Take crypto.
Digital assets are not legal tender in Malaysia, and certain digital-asset activities are regulated by the Securities Commission.
So if your Labuan company is involved in crypto...
Don't expect the bank to say:
“Sure boss, no questions asked.” 😂
They will want to understand everything.

And that's okay.

The trick is not to hide.
Explain. Document. Cooperate.
C’mon lah.
Banks aren't asking you to be perfect.
They just need to understand who you are and what your business does. 🙌

That's the real Labuan Truth.

🏦 Labuan 101: So where do you open your bank account?You have your Labuan company.You have your office.Now...Where do yo...
10/08/2026

🏦 Labuan 101: So where do you open your bank account?
You have your Labuan company.
You have your office.

Now...
Where do you put the money? 😂
For Labuan, the main banks we commonly work with are:
👉 OCBC
👉 Maybank
👉 CIMB
👉 Alliance Bank
Other banks may consider you too — especially if you are already a preferred customer.

But here's the thing.
Many international banks still hear “Labuan” and think:
🚨 Offshore
🚨 High risk
🚨 Money laundering
Oh please lah. 😂
Labuan companies bank with commercial onshore Malaysian banks.
Labuan is a regulated international business centre.

So how do you make the bank say YES?
1. Show them your business.
Business plan.
Potential clients.
Target markets.
MOUs.
Contracts.
Sample invoices.

2. Show them your 3-year plan.
Where are you going?
What are you trying to achieve?

3. Show credibility.
Previous businesses.
Existing bank accounts.
Relevant experience.
Don't just tell the bank:
“I have a business.”
Show them.

The easier you make it for the bank to understand your business, the easier it is for them to assess you.

Simple lah. Kaothim. Ok!

Address

Unit 2-08, Level 2 Times Square, Jalan Merdeka
Labuan
87000

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:30
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:30
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:30
Thursday 08:00 - 17:30
Friday 08:00 - 17:30

Telephone

+60172282331

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when AAE International Trust posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to AAE International Trust:

Shortcuts

Share

Category