MALAYSIA: Malaysian pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) will place half of the new RM6 billion (US$1.28 billion) Dana Pemacu (Booster Fund) in Shariah compliant investments.
This Malaysia-focused fund will invest in private equity, infrastructure and real estate with the aim to strengthen the nation’s private market’s ecosystem while boosting the trajectory of local firms with high growth potential.
This fund’s launch at the Global Forum on Islamic Economics and Finance (GFIEF) 2024 in Kuala Lumpur also saw a private sector initiative to elevate this nation’s Labuan offshore financial center into a regional digital settlement and trading hub similar to Dubai.
Aiming to set up cooperation among both local and international parties, including blockchain outfits, the initiative is being spearheaded by Labuan Islamic digital assets firm Tijarah which is working with Malaysia’s central bank on a separate domestic project.
Both projects were officially launched by Malaysian Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan on the first day of the GFIEF 2024 (held on the 28th May 2024), along with a book titled ‘Sadaqa House: Inspiring Adl and Ihsan in the Realm of Islamic Banking and Finance’ and Maybank Islamic’s translated book of Yusuf al-Qardawi titled ‘The Role of Values and Ethics in Islamic Economy’.
