KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s venture capital fund-of-funds, Jelawang Capital Sdn Bhd, has appointed Howard Soh as CEO, effective Oct 1.

Soh’s appointment comes about 15 months after former CEO Bryan Lim left Jelawang and its parent, Khazanah, at the end of June 2025, ending a 20-year stint at the sovereign wealth fund.

Soh joins from Asia-based investment firm LemmaTree, where he was group chief investment officer. He previously served as CEO of Sea Malaysia and director of investments at Ekuinas, and founded and led the early Malaysian operations of Lazada, Zalora and Foodpanda.

Earlier in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company and CIMB. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Master of Law degree from Tsinghua University.

Jelawang chairman Datuk Hisham Hamdan said Soh will lead the fund-of-funds as it expands its work with venture capital managers.

“Soh brings institutional investment experience, venture building and operating leadership in Malaysian technology businesses to an organisation whose programmes are now growing.

“I look forward to seeing him lead the strategic direction of Jelawang Capital and further strengthen its approach to investing through and partnering with fund managers, as it continues to catalyse Malaysia’s venture capital and startup ecosystem,” he said.

In January, Jelawang opened applications for the second cohort of its Emerging Fund Managers’ Programme. It introduced a rolling request for proposals, allowing eligible Malaysian venture capital managers raising their first, second or third fund to apply throughout the year.

Jelawang selected Vynn Capital, Kairous Capital and First Move for the programme’s first cohort. It also selected Taiwan’s AppWorks and Granite Asia under its Regional Fund Managers’ Initiative, which works with regional and global venture capital firms to support
Malaysia’s start-up ecosystem.

The national fund-of-funds also works with partners on events for founders and developers. In May, it co-hosted an AI builders’ session in Kuala Lumpur with January Capital and OpenAI. In July, it provided the venue for Solana Builders Day, where Malaysian teams showcased their work to investors and other industry players.