Sovereign Wealth Funds
The government owns and operates several sovereign wealth funds that invests in local companies and also foreign companies. One such funds are Khazanah Nasional Berhad which was established in 1993. Its objective is to help shape selected strategic industries in Malaysia and develop those investment for the benefit of Malaysia. The fund invest in major companies in Malaysia such as Proton Holdings in the automotive sector, CIMB in the banking sector, Pharmaniaga in the medical sector, UEM Group in the construction sector, Telekom Malaysia in the communications industry and many other companies in many other industries. It is estimated that the fund size of Khazanah Nasional stands at around US$19 billion.
Another fund that is owned by the Malaysian government is the Employees Provident Fund which is claimed to be the fourth largest state run pension fund in Asia. Like Khazanah Nasional, the EPF invests and sometimes owns several major companies in Malaysia such as RHB Bank. EPF investment is diversified over a number of sectors but almost 40% of their investment are in the services sector. Fund size in 2007 is estimated at US$100 billion.
Permodalan Nasional Berhad is a major fund manager controlled by the Malaysian Government. It offers capital guaranteed mutual funds such as Amanah Saham Bumiputera and Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 which are open only to Malaysian and in some cases, Bumiputeras. As of April 2008, it manages MYR120 billion of funds (36 billion USD), of which MYR76 million is unit trust funds. The fund manager is a sizable investor in strategic companies such as MMC Corporation Berhad, Maxis Communications Berhad and TM International Berhad among others.
Other than federal government funds, some states have created their own investment authority to manage state-owned sovereign wealth funds. First of such funds are launched by the state of Terengganu through the establishment of Terengganu Investment Authority in December 2008. It initial fund size will be around USD 3 billion and derived from its oil royalties.
Read more about this topic: Northern Corridor Economic Region, Economic Policies
Famous quotes containing the words sovereign and/or wealth:
“Every new sovereign brings his own ministers.”
—Chinese proverb.
“When I did first impart my love to you,
I freely told you all the wealth I had
Ran in my veins: I was a gentleman;
And then I told you true.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)