KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK) chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said he views the Asean Power Grid, a multilateral initiative set to play a major role in the region’s energy transition, as a feasible project.

Khairussaleh said that while lenders play a crucial role in financing the energy transition, it is important for them to carefully assess the feasibility of the projects.

He shared his excitement on Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (KL:TENAGA) deal with Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and Sembcorp Industries Ltd last month to start discussions on exporting renewable energy from Vietnam to Malaysia and Singapore.

“I think this is very much aligned with that bigger picture of the Asean Power Grid. I think that part of it, as a banker, we have to look at whether these projects are feasible or not on their own.

“In my view, something like (the Asean Power Grid) is feasible, because there is that committed take-up, there is that visibility on revenue,” Khairussaleh said during a dialogue session at Energy Asia 2025 on Tuesday.

“So, it's easy for financial institutions, whether it's bilateral or through the capital markets, to help raise funding,” he added.

On the other side, Khairussaleh said there are also projects that may not be directly feasible and may require “more creative” capital sources.

“Potentially one of them that is not so clear is CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage), because we need to consider in terms of the committed take-up rate of the facilities.

“This is where we then have to be a bit more creative in looking not just at financial institutions, but at the capital market as a source, blended finance, philanthropic capital, and to a certain extent, we may also have to tap the capital even from the government potentially,” he said.

Net-zero proponents have underlined that investments towards the region’s energy transition lag behind the pace required to achieve net zero by 2050.