ISKANDAR PUTERI (Sept 26): The investments that the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) are setting aside for the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) GEAR-uP programme will not adversely affect the retirement fund's investment targets, according to KWAP's chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Nik Amlizan Mohamed.
Nik Amlizan assured that all of KWAP’s investment proposals will still be required to meet the minimum expected returns and within the risk parameters that have been set by the fund’s board.
According to her, KWAP is pledging RM40 billion to be invested in the domestic private market, out of the RM120 billion in direct domestic investments pledged by six main government-linked investment companies (GLICs) over the next five years under the GEAR-uP programme led by MOF, which aims to synergise efforts across these entities to catalyse growth in key economic sectors.
“It’s quite clear for us that whenever we do investments, the headline numbers and the expected returns still remain intact,” she told a panel session at the Invest Malaysia 2024 conference here on Thursday.
“I can share with you, for example, the target investment return for private equity is 15%. We have specific targets, our capital market target is for us to make 7% in the long term. And we remain committed to achieve that,” Nik Amlizan added.
Besides KWAP, there are five other GLICs involved in the programme: Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Lembaga Tabung Haji, and the Armed Forces Fund Board.
Under the programme, KWAP will take the role of strengthening the private market in Malaysia across private equity, infrastructure and real estate, with a focus on providing catalyst funding for venture capital as well as growth stage firms through its two funds — Dana Perintis dan Dana Pemacu. KWAP has also identified eight target investment sectors, including food security and digital economy.
“So, we're not foregoing anything. It's just a matter of putting things together, making sure that we actually nurture the entrepreneurs. We have actually put in place the necessary ecosystem to make sure all aspects of the investment value chain are addressed,” Nik Amlizan said.
KWAP, she added, will announce a new fund to further support the GEAR-uP programme in the near future.