Brunei seeks Chinese captives

As the number of financial offshore centres continues to increase, financial services companies with global plans are increasingly spoilt for choice. But Brunei’s brand new offshore jurisdiction is seeking to distinguish itself by taking a highly specialist approach right from the very start. The Brunei International Financial Centre (BIFC) unveiled in July by the Sultan of Brunei himself is now being marketed both as a centre for Islamic finance and as the ideal place for large mainland Chinese enterprises to set up captive insurance companies. The latter plan is being promoted by Robert Miller, head of Supervision at the BIFC. Prior to his appointment, Mr Miller acted as an advisor to the Malaysian government and played a leading role in establishing the island of Labuan as an offshore centre.