Maisy Ng

Malaysia’s Forest City SFZ: Carving a Niche for Southeast Asian Family Offices The family office landscape in Asia is evolving quickly. While Singapore and Hong Kong remain the dominant hubs, Malaysia’s Forest City Special Financial Zone (SFZ) is quietly emerging as a credible alternative and Southeast Asian families are paying attention. 🔹 Investor traction ▪ 32 companies have expressed interest in the SFZ ▪ 19 are actively exploring family office setups from Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand ▪ First approvals from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC): CMY Capital and Yow Kee Family Office 🔹 Malaysia’s model: Incentives with substance Unlike Hong Kong’s light-touch or Singapore’s regulator led approach, Malaysia’s 0% tax incentive comes with conditional approval from the SC as a gatekeeper to ensure credibility. To qualify, family offices must demonstrate: ▪ Verified family ownership (family tree, UBO proof) ▪ Local economic presence (bank account, staff, governance) ▪ Legal compliance under the Capital Markets & Services Act This approval-based model is designed to attract genuine family offices, not shell entities. 🔹 Strategic positioning ▪ Located right next to Singapore, but with lower entry thresholds (RM30m AUM vs. Singapore’s higher 13O/13U bar) ▪ Well-aligned with Southeast Asian families seeking regional diversification ▪ Potential gateway for ASEAN + China family offices into alternative investments, real assets, and Shariah-compliant structures For Southeast Asian family offices, Forest City may not replace Singapore or Hong Kong but it is carving out a niche as an accessible, incentive-driven hub for families looking closer to home. #FamilyOffice #Malaysia #ForestCity #WealthManagement #AlternativeInvestments #PrivateCapital

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I had the pleasure of attending the DealStreetAsia PE-VC Summit 2025 in Singapore. The summit brought together an exceptional community of investors, entrepreneurs, and dealmakers to reflect on the evolving dynamics of private equity and venture capital across Asia. The conversations highlighted both the opportunities and challenges. Four impressions: 1. SEA activity muted and likely to remain so in the short term 2. Politics and Geopolitics seems to be hurting (read: destroying) economics 3. All countries/regions need to create platforms of liquidity and vibrant capital markets. Rich countries need that even more. 4. Venture Capital to Private Equity has a chasm in the middle. Tech fueling innovation but also making it obsolete quicker than the investment cycle At Praxis Global Alliance, we continue to partner with clients and stakeholders in creating long-term value across India, Middle East and Asia. #DealStreetAsia #PraxisGlobalAlliance #BusinessFirstAI Excited to launch our Private Capital report on SEA. Download here. https://lnkd.in/dnWn5X-J

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