Khazanah expects 2018 budget to have tech initiatives
KUALA LUMPUR: Government investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, expects the 2018 Budget to have initiatives to promote the development of technology,
Managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said this was in line with the government’s aspiration for the Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) plan, which strove to optimise the use of technology for future development.
“TN50 is something the government is working on. Khazanah in also contributing to this process in looking to the future, where we want to use the best of technology, to produce better development for everyone,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2017 ( KMF 2017) here today.
He said Khazanah, as the government strategic investment agency, has been actively investing in technology companies.
To- date, he said, Khazanah has invested US$ 1 billion ( US$ 1 = RM4.22) in 25 technology companies globally after seeing huge potentials from its investment in Chinese online trading giant Alibaba.
“We have made a good investment in Alibaba and we are sit-
TN50 is something the government is working on. Khazanah in also contributing to this process in looking to the future, where we want to use the best of technology, to produce better development for everyone. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Khazanah Nasional Managing director
ting on unrealised gains totalling US$ 1.4 billion,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said, Khazanah continued to balance its investment portfolio to benefit the nation not just in terms of financial.
“At the same time we talk about building through value as we help develop the country in our role as the strategic agency whereby value is not just financial but also from economic, strategic and societal,” he said.
He said, on average, Khazanah invested in not more than 20 companies annually.
For every investment decision, he said, Khazanah would evaluate between 30 and 50 potential investments.
The KMF 2017, themed ‘Cerebrum vs Algorithm: Building True Value in a Post-Truth World’, explores the relationship between artificial intelligence (algorithm) and human intelligence (cerebrum) and ways to use the relat ionship that can benefit the economy and the people. — Bernama