Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) has granted its approval for China Construction Bank Corporation Labuan Branch (CCBL) to conduct digital banking activities in the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC).

CCBL was the first to clinch Labuan FSA’s digital bank approval, the two parties said in a joint statement.

Fintech News Malaysia reached out to the parties involved to clarify if a new guideline was issued to facilitate the approval of a digital bank, a representative clarified that the approval was on the basis that CCBL has an existing digital banking services license in China and commercial license in Labuan.

So strictly speaking this is an approval conduct digital banking services and not a digital bank license that is in the similar vein of the licenses issued by Hong Kong or the  virtual banking framework by Bank Negara Malaysia

“With CCBL being the pioneer in conducting digital banking in Labuan IBFC, this represents the beginning of an exciting journey that will further solidify Labuan IBFC’s positioning as the preferred jurisdiction for businesses seeking to connect with Asia’s economies and beyond.

“Essentially, China Construction Bank (CCB) is supporting key customers of the Belt and Road Initiative, bilateral trading companies and local large-scale infrastructure construction projects, which are also in tandem with the development of Labuan IBFC’s banking sector in the era of financial technology or digital evolution in the global financial industry,” the parties added in a media statement.