KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): Government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have been urged to make domestic direct investments (DDIs) of about RM120 billion over five years to stimulate the country's economic growth, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said the government’s emphasis and key performance indicators are not solely profit-driven, but are based on an approach referred to as “GEAR-uP”.

“GEAR-uP involves six GLICs, and the collective strength of the GLICs investing around RM120 billion over five years (RM25 billion for this year) will generate economic growth, in addition to the approved budget,” Anwar said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara on Thursday.

He was responding to a question from Senator Datuk Mustafa Musa regarding the current focus of government-linked companies (GLCs) and GLICs to ensure that dividend contributions would strengthen the government's estimated revenue for 2025.

Anwar noted that the latest development budget is the highest compared to those in the previous years.

He said that in addition to the RM440 billion in public market investments under existing investment programmes, the investments are focused on high-growth, high-value (HGHV) sectors such as energy transition, state-of-the-art manufacturing, particularly in semiconductors, involving investments across all stages of a company's lifecycle — from start-ups and venture capital to mid-tier companies — and supporting the listing of these companies.

According to Anwar, Malaysia has already started to see positive momentum in investments directed toward the HGHV sector, such as Khazanah Nasional Bhd, through its Dana Impak, setting aside RM1 billion for its three main initiatives of Jelawang Capital, Semiconductor Investment, and Mid-Tier Companies.

Additionally, under Budget 2025, Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP) is investing through the RM1 billion Dana Perintis and RM6 billion Dana Pemacu, along with other GLICs like Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), which strengthens the Bumiputera investment “relay race” by developing strategic industrial parks such as the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park.

Anwar also said the 2024 performance of GLICs like Khazanah, KWAP and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was strong and encouraging, driven by the performance of the GLCs and the country’s broader investment landscape.

“This performance reflects the success of the Madani Economy [framework], which drives strong economic growth through economic reforms that inspire confidence in investors, contributing to the performance of the capital market in 2024,” he said.

Anwar also highlighted that the Madani reforms emphasise governance, which is a priority for GLICs to ensure responsible and effective investment management.

Meanwhile, he urged GLICs and GLCs to become an exemplary benchmark for efficient and trustworthy management to prevent wastage.

“Wasteful practices must be stopped, because we hold the trust and public funds,” he said.

“I am pleased to announce that GLICs and GLCs are adhering strictly to directives, which is why their performance has significantly improved with reduced management costs and leakage prevention, leading to better profits,” he added.

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Govt investment firms commit RM120b in direct domestic investments over next five years

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