This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 16, 2023 - January 22, 2023

TENGKU Datuk Seri Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz has resigned from his role as chief investment officer of Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

Azmil, who was the No 2 at the sovereign wealth fund, left at the end of last year, two months after his contract expired in October. He is understood to have stayed on till the end of the year at Khazanah’s request.

 In an emailed response to queries from The Edge, a Khazanah spokesperson confirmed Azmil’s resignation.

It is not clear what Azmil’s plans are after his departure. He joined Khazanah in October 2011 as executive director of investments.

Prior to joining the leadership team at Khazanah, Azmil was the managing director and CEO of national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS). He joined MAS as an executive director and chief financial officer in August 2005.

He took over the role of MAS managing director from Datuk Seri Idris Jala, who left to join the Datuk Seri Najib Razak administration as a minister.

Before joining Idris at MAS, ­Azmil was the head honcho of Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd (PMB), the parent company of MAS. Both PMB and MAS are ultimately subsidiaries of Khazanah.

Azmil began his career as an accountant and had stints with PricewaterhouseCoopers at its London and Hong Kong offices. While his departure from Khazanah is unexpected, it is learnt that it is not politically motivated.

There are expected to be some changes at other government linked companies (GLCs), following the leadership change in Putrajaya last November.

Some say the changes could take place as early as after Chinese New Year.

Speculation is rife that there will be changes at the helm of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). Its current chairman is Tan Sri Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir and its CEO is Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

However, when asked about the possibility of changes, one senior EPF executive says, “Rather than musical chairs, one should focus on getting things done … In this period, of course there are a lot of rumours, but it’s only true when in black and white.”

Ahmad Badri, the former secretary-general of the Treasury, was appointed EPF chairman on May 1, 2020. Amir Hamzah, meanwhile, was appointed to the top job at EPF in March 2021 after a stint at state-controlled utility company, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and a number of companies under Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

EPF is one of the oldest and largest retirement funds in the world with about RM1 trillion in assets under management.

Some of its key assets are banking and financial services outfit RHB Bank Bhd, in which the pension fund has 42.14% equity interest; Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (36.21%), and highway operator PLUS Malaysia Bhd (49%). Khazanah controls 51% of PLUS Malaysia.

There is also speculation changes will take place at Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), where the chairman is Tun Arifin Zakaria. The 72-year old former Chief Justice of Malaya may opt to leave, according to sources. His likely successor is not known.

PNB, which had RM336.7 billion in assets under management as at end-2021, has a number of subsidiaries. They include Malayan Banking Bhd, in which it has about 47% equity interest, and Sime Darby Bhd, where it has about 50% interest.

PNB is also a major shareholder of Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (56%), Sime Darby Property Bhd (57%), Sapura Energy Bhd (40%), developer S P Setia Bhd (about 60%) and Velesto Energy Bhd (52%), among others.

Also in the spotlight is ailing Boustead Holdings Bhd and its 59.42% shareholder, Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT).

The group managing director of Boustead Holdings, Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, left in November last year after completing his two-year contract. Chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, who was a former minister and member of parliament under Bersatu, resigned last week.

LTAT’s chairman is General (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, while its CEO is Datuk Ahmad Nazim Abd Rahman.

Through Boustead Holdings, LTAT has 65% equity interest in Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd, 57.4% in Boustead Plantations Bhd and 20.85% in Affin Bank Bhd. LTAT also has a direct 33.08% stake in Affin Bank.

It is understood that the contract of Lembaga Tabung Haji’s (LTH) managing director and CEO Datuk Seri Amrin Awaluddin is ending in May this year and according to sources, he is not keen to have it renewed.

Some of LTH’s large investments include 30% in IT and telecommunications company Theta Edge Bhd, almost 74% in TH Plantations Bhd, 48.28% in Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd and 28.26% in insurance player Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd.

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