KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd unveiled a new investment strategy on Tuesday that classifies its portfolio into a commercial and a strategic fund, even as it reported weak results for last year.
The rejig comes as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urgently needs to raise money for government coffers, depleted by a fiscal deficit and a massive debt from a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
“Our performance in 2018 was affected by several key global and domestic developments,” Khazanah managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, who took charge in August, told reporters at a news conference.
“At the same time, the government initiated a reset of Khazanah, which involved significant changes including a refreshed mandate,” he said.
Khazanah said the realisable asset value of its portfolio fell to RM136 billion in 2018 from RM157 billion in the previous year.