Khazanah eyes investment opportunities in Central Asia

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, plans to widen investment activities beyond Turkey and is eyeing potential opportunities in Central Asia, a region it has no presence yet.

Executive Director of Finance/Chief Financial Officer, Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani said the investment could be varied, with the exception of the oil and gas and plantation sector, as the national strategic fund is not involved in both.

"We are already big in Turkey, with various investments such as in an airport and hospital. We can extend our healthcare business to here (Central Asia).

"We have also investments in hospitals in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and soon, in China. It's good to complete the whole geography. Central Asia has been on our radar," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Malaysia-Kazakhstan Energy Business Forum held here today.

He was a panellist at the Session 1 titled, Investment Opportunities and Collaborations Between Malaysia and Kazakhstan, which was moderated by Malaysia's Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Syed Mohamad Bakri Syed Abd Rahman.

Mohd Izani did not rule out investment possibilities in Kazakhstan, Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner among the Commonwealth of Independent States countries.

"Kazakhstan's sovereign fund has been to our office to understand the way we undertake transformation. The meeting was more of a business engagement," he said.

The one-day business forum was held as a culmination of Malaysia's participation at the Astana EXPO 2017, spearheaded by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water.

The EXPO provided an unique platform for the public and private sectors to explore business opportunities during the business matching sessions at the Malaysia Pavilion.It included pocket talks highlighting Malaysia''s strength in various fields of energy, green technology and the economy. -- BERNAMA