PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Shipowners’ Association (Masa) has welcomed Budget 2027 measures to extend the income tax exemption for Malaysian shipping companies until Year of Assessment 2036 (YA 2036) and reduce financing costs for vessel purchases and construction.
Masa said the measures announced in Budget 2027 would give shipowners greater certainty when making capital-intensive investment decisions while lowering transaction costs associated with acquiring and building Malaysian vessels.
Under Budget 2027, the full income tax exemption for Malaysian shipping companies will be extended until the YA 2036, while stamp duty on loans to purchase or build Malaysian ships will be fixed at RM2,000 for loans of up to RM100 million and RM5,000 for loans exceeding RM100 million.
Masa said the measures demonstrated the government’s recognition of ship financing as a key enabler of domestic shipping capacity.
“The extension of the income tax exemption to 2036 provides a longer-term policy horizon for shipping companies undertaking capital-intensive investment decisions.
“At the same time, the fixed stamp duty treatment for ship financing will help reduce transaction costs associated with the acquisition and construction of Malaysian vessels,” it said in a statement.
The association’s response comes amid concerns about access to financing for Malaysian shipowners, with Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook highlighting the difficulties industry players face in securing vessel financing ahead of the Budget.
Masa said the Transport Ministry had submitted proposals to the Finance Ministry on taxation and financing support for the sector before the Budget announcement.
It added that the measures sent an important signal to shipowners, financial institutions and other maritime stakeholders that the government recognised the strategic importance and capital-intensive nature of shipping.
Masa chairman Mohamed Safwan Othman previously told SunBiz in an interview that Malaysia’s shipping ecosystem could require more than RM15 billion in investment to strengthen capacity and address fleet and strategic-tonnage gaps.
He said the association’s maritime financing-gap analysis identified a requirement of RM8 billion to RM10 billion for offshore support vessels and domestic shipping over five to seven years.
“The gap’s still there. We hope that we can close the gap in the next three years,” he said in the September interview.
The financing requirement reflects the substantial upfront costs of vessel investment, which can take more than a decade to generate returns, making predictable policies important for long-term planning.
Masa said strengthening Malaysian ship ownership and expanding domestic shipping capacity would contribute to maritime resilience and support the country’s long-term economic interests.
Moving forward, the association said it looked forward to working with the Finance Ministry, Transport Ministry and relevant agencies to ensure the measures translated into tangible growth in Malaysian ship ownership and domestic maritime capacity.
It also called for policies that encourage Malaysian cargo to be carried on Malaysian ships, improve access to maritime financing, stimulate fleet renewal and strengthen the domestic maritime ecosystem.
