On 9 October 2026, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim presented Malaysia’s Budget 2027. For families, the key measure is a multi-family office model in Forest City, a special financial zone in Johor, across the strait from Singapore. Licensed fund managers would be allowed to serve several families, including approved single family office funds, The Edge Malaysia reported. No further details were given.
What already exists
Forest City’s single family office incentive was announced in September 2024 and is coordinated by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). Its rules were gazetted in October 2025, with effect from 1 September 2024. In short:
- Rate and period. A qualifying family investment company pays 0% tax on income from eligible investments for 10 years, and for 10 more if it meets tougher conditions: up to 20 years in total.
- First 10 years. At least RM30 million (roughly $7.5 million) under management; at least two full-time staff, including an investment professional paid at least RM10,000 a month; RM500,000 a year of local spending; and the lower of RM10 million or 10% of assets in eligible local investments.
- Next 10 years. RM50 million under management, four staff, RM650,000 of local spending, and the higher of RM10 million or 10% of assets invested locally.
- Window. Applications close on 31 December 2034, according to EY.
The SC’s annual report, released in April 2026, said the scheme had secured nine family offices with about RM670 million under management. The target is RM2 billion by the end of 2026.
What Budget 2027 adds
A single family office needs a family large enough to staff and run its own vehicle. A multi-family office shares staff and systems, so smaller fortunes can join. Fung Mei Lin, a tax partner at PwC Malaysia, said in comments reported by Bernama that the model could attract families of different sizes and create work for fund managers, trustees and lawyers. She also called for “clear guidance on licensing, tax treatment, substance requirements” and on how the two schemes fit together.
Hubbis, a wealth industry publication, sees the zone as a cheaper secondary base next to Singapore, the region’s main hub.
The budget also asks more of high earners. The 30% top rate of personal income tax will start at RM1 million of chargeable income instead of RM2 million, according to Deloitte, so income between the two will be taxed at 30% instead of 28%. Two middle bands get a one-point cut.
What to watch
- The licensing rules and tax treatment for multi-family offices.
- Whether the scheme reaches the SC’s RM2 billion target by the end of 2026.
- How Forest City’s offer develops next to Singapore as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone takes shape.
A fair caveat
The multi-family office model is an announcement, not yet a rule. The incentive depends on real substance: staff, spending and local investment, kept up over time. Malaysia’s 0% rate does not decide how a family’s home country taxes that income.
Questions to bring to your advisors
Would a shared office in Forest City cost less than our own once licensing and substance are counted? How would our home country tax income earned through a Malaysian vehicle? These are questions to bring to your lawyers and tax advisors, not advice.