Malaysias Khazanah to steer more capital to power grids, chip firms, chief says in Davos
Khazanah will help local chip companies move up the value chain
Data centers largely geared towards private capital, fund says
Khazanah sees room for ringgit strength
By Divya Chowdhury and Yantoultra Ngui
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd plans to inject more capital to strengthen its power system and support local semiconductor firms as artificial intelligence drives the next investment cycle, its chief told Reuters on Monday.
Khazanah Managing Director Amirul Faisal Wan Zahir said in an interview at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos that growing AI computing needs are reshaping what is “investable” in the AI boom, with energy supply and grid flexibility at the heart of competitiveness.
“What it needs is computing power, and computing power means energy. That’s when we look to capture some of that growth,” Amirul Faisal told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.
As global investors pour money into data centers, Khazanah will instead focus on infrastructure, he said.
“We’re really looking at the energy part, so again we’re looking at grid flexibility,” he said, adding that cheap and reliable energy, including renewable energy, will be critical as AI infrastructure grows.
SEMICONDUCTORS, NOT DATA CENTERS
Amirul Faisal said the firm also “sees how we can help finance some of the capital requirements of our semiconductor players to move the value chain into advanced packaging.”
Malaysia is introducing industrial policies aimed at strengthening its role in the global chip supply chain.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said in May 2024 that the government aims to attract at least 500 billion ringgit ($123.40 billion) in semiconductor investment, backed by at least $5.3 billion in fiscal stimulus, and plans to develop local capabilities in chip design and advanced packaging.
Khazanah invests across Malaysian and international markets, asset classes, sectors and geographies and counts the country’s second-largest lender CIMB Group and national carrier Malaysian Aviation Group among its portfolio.
Net asset value rose 22% to 103.6 billion ringgit ($25.57 billion) in 2024 from 84.8 billion ringgit the previous year.
Amirul Faisal said he expects Khazanah’s international portfolio share to gradually increase over time.
When asked about the ringgit, he said there was “room” for the currency to strengthen relative to the US dollar, but did not specify a level, citing uncertainty over the path of US interest rates.
($1 = 4.0520 ringgit) (Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Davos and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
