Malaysia’s PNB, EPF, KWAP co-invest in high-tech industrial asset Kulim II for $420M

Malaysian funds Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) have signed a sale and leaseback transaction agreement valued at MYR2 billion ($420 million) with OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned domestic subsidiary of Austria-based intelligent sensors and emitters provider ams OSRAM AG.

The funds said in a joint statement on Monday that the sale and leaseback transaction is expected to conclude in December 2023.

According to the statement, PNB, EPF and KWAP will each own 33.3 percent equally.

The transaction offers a unique opportunity for PNB, EPF, and KWAP to invest in a high quality and high specification industrial real asset in Malaysia which provides competitive returns.

The investment is for a ten-year period with a clear exit strategy.

“In addition, the investment catalyzes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by enabling our partner to deploy more capital in Malaysia,

“This aligns with one of the goals of the Madani Economy Framework, which aims to establish Malaysia as a leading Asian economy and enhances our global competitiveness, resulting in high impact growth investments for the country,” said the statement.

Furthermore, the move is in line with Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP30), in its objective of advancing economic complexity.

The injection of capital to the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector enables ams OSRAM, a global leader, to establish the world’s first fully automated 8-inch LED and micro LED manufacturing facility.

The facility will foster the development of an ecosystem to support high value-added activities such as semiconductor fabrication.

It also underscores Malaysia’s vision of becoming a prominent high-tech manufacturing hub that would rejuvenate the ‘Made in Malaysia’ brand.

It is also noted that the products manufactured in ams OSRAM’s Kulim II will contribute to the country’s goal of expanding hightech manufacturing exports and establishing a global presence, which solidifies additional employment opportunities in the country in the field of science and high-tech semiconductors.

PNB is one of the largest fund management companies in Malaysia with assets under management (AUM) exceeding MYR300 billion ($62.99 billion).

Its portfolio covers strategic investments in Malaysia’s leading corporates, global equities, private investments and real estate.

Established in 1951, the EPF is the largest institutional fund manager in Malaysia under the purview of the Ministry of Finance with more than MYR1 trillion ($210 billion) of assets under management.

KWAP or the Retirement Fund (Incorporated) was established in 2007 to manage contributions from the federal government and relevant agencies made into the Retirement Fund to obtain optimum returns on its investments through sound management and investment of the fund in equity, fixed-income securities, money market instruments, and other forms of investments.

HASHTAG: Tech

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