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Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Khazanah Nasional Berhad was incorporated in 1993 as the Malaysian government's sovereign investment arm, taking over custodianship of government-linked...
Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Khazanah Nasional Berhad was incorporated in 1993 as the Malaysian government's sovereign investment arm, taking over custodianship of government-linked companies previously held by the central bank. Its sole shareholder is the Minister of Finance Incorporated, with the Prime Minister serving as Chairman — making it unusually responsive to both fiscal policy and public accountability. The fund's initial portfolio centered on dominant Malaysian corporations: stakes in CIMB Group, Tenaga Nasional, Telekom Malaysia, and Malaysia Airlines defined its first decade. The fund today operates across public and private markets with a geographical split that reaches well beyond Malaysia. It makes direct equity investments, fund commitments, and co-investments across sectors including financial services, infrastructure, energy transition, healthcare, and technology. Confirmed international holdings have included JD.com, Flipkart, and Alibaba, alongside regional champions like CIMB and Axiata Group. Its real-asset footprint includes joint-venture developments with Temasek Holdings — notably the Marina One and DUO mixed-use projects in Singapore, developed through M+S Pte Ltd — and domestic projects in Johor's Iskandar Puteri corridor (per public record). The fund also absorbed Malaysia Venture Capital Management and Penjana Kapital to consolidate the country's venture ecosystem under a single strategic umbrella. Analysts estimate the portfolio between $30B and $40B, though Khazanah ceased publishing a precise AUM figure in its annual disclosures after 2018. It operates from its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur with additional investment offices in Singapore, London, San Francisco, Mumbai, Beijing, and Istanbul. In January 2024, Khazanah named Dato' Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir as Managing Director, a former senior executive at Permodalan Nasional Berhad and CIMB Group, signaling a renewed emphasis on operational discipline and capital markets execution (per Bloomberg, January 2024). Philanthropic activities run through two linked foundations: Yayasan Hasanah, which funds community development and social inclusion programs, and Yayasan Khazanah, which provides educational scholarships. What distinguishes Khazanah structurally is its uncommonly explicit public-reporting framework. As a signatory to the Santiago Principles via the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, it publishes a GRI-compliant sustainability report alongside its annual review, itemizing commitments by sector, asset class, and development objective. No other Southeast Asian sovereign fund matches this level of public disclosure, creating a governance posture closer to a Canadian pension plan than to the region's typical reserve managers.
General information
Firm type
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Year founded
1993
Location
Region
Asia
Country
Malaysia
City
Kuala Lumpur
Corporate office
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Additional offices
Mumbai · Singapore · San Francisco · London · Beijing · Istanbul
Principals
Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Chairman
Dato' Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir
Managing Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at Khazanah Nasional?
The Managing Director leads the investment team under the oversight of a Board of Directors chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Dato' Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir assumed the Managing Director role in January 2024, bringing experience from CIMB Group and Permodalan Nasional Berhad. Investment committees govern approvals for direct investments, fund commitments, and strategic divestments.
How does Khazanah balance its commercial and strategic mandates?
Khazanah operates under a dual mandate: generating risk-adjusted financial returns while supporting Malaysia's long-term economic development. In practice, this means the portfolio includes both purely commercial stakes — such as its historical international technology investments — and strategic domestic holdings in sectors like utilities, telecoms, and aviation. Performance is reported against both a Total Shareholder Return metric and development-outcome indicators published in its annual review.
What happened to Khazanah's AUM disclosure after 2018?
Khazanah previously published a portfolio realisable asset value in its annual review; it suspended that specific figure from its public reports after the 2018 review. The fund attributed the change to an internal transition in valuation methodology. Independent analysts currently estimate the portfolio in the $30B–$40B range based on disclosed holdings, though Khazanah itself has not confirmed a precise number.
Does Khazanah co-invest alongside other sovereign funds?
Yes. Khazanah has a well-documented co-investment relationship with Singapore's Temasek Holdings through two joint ventures: M+S Pte Ltd, which developed the Marina One and DUO projects in Singapore, and Pulau Indah Ventures, focused on development in Malaysia's Iskandar region. The fund has also joined co-investment rounds with global institutional investors across its technology and infrastructure portfolios.
What is the relationship between Khazanah and Penjana Kapital?
In 2023, Khazanah absorbed Penjana Kapital and Malaysia Venture Capital Management under its direct management. Penjana Kapital was originally established by the Malaysian government in 2020 as part of a pandemic-era stimulus program to fund venture capital allocations to domestic startups. The consolidation brought the country's venture-ecosystem funding vehicles under a single investment-office roof, with Khazanah overseeing fund-of-funds allocations and direct venture commitments.
How are Khazanah's philanthropic activities structured?
Two linked foundations operate alongside the investment office: Yayasan Hasanah, which deploys grants for community development, education, and social inclusion; and Yayasan Khazanah, which runs a scholarship program funding Malaysian students through undergraduate and postgraduate degrees domestically and abroad. Both are funded by Khazanah's returns and governed separately from the investment side.
Which sectors does Khazanah currently underweight or avoid?
Khazanah has publicly reduced its exposure to fossil-fuel-linked industries as part of its net-zero commitment under the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. It has also progressively exited its controlling stake in Malaysia Airlines over the past decade and signaled reduced appetite for legacy airline and thermal-coal assets. Its current strategy emphasizes renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and healthcare services.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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