Six Malaysian state-linked companies pledge US$26.9 billion in domestic investments
A general view shows increasingly busy streets as Malaysia reopens a majority of businesses, after a movement control order was imposed to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 4, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng)
KUALA LUMPUR: Six Malaysian government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have pledged to invest 120 billion ringgit (US$26.85 billion) in domestic direct investments over the next five years, the finance ministry said on Thursday (Aug 8).
The investments will be directed primarily towards high-growth high-value industries, such as energy transition and advance manufacturing, especially in semiconductors, the ministry said in a statement.
The companies involved include sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, pension funds the Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), and asset manager Permodalan Nasional Berhad.
The investments are part of a government programme aimed at boosting growth in key economic sectors, the ministry said.
"By getting the GLICs to heighten their focus on domestic investments, this deployed capital can benefit Malaysians equitably and birth new economic ecosystems," Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Finance Minister, said in the statement.
The companies will also take steps to improve the lives of their workers, including at the companies they invest, such as ensuring a living wage for permanent Malaysian employees, the ministry said.
