Khazanah: Investments key to Malaysia's next growth phase

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia must ensure that investments are channelled towards strengthening firms, deepening industrial linkages, and building higher-value capabilities to support the country’s next phase of economic development.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said strengthening these key areas is essential; otherwise, the economy risks remaining active without becoming meaningfully stronger.

"As geopolitical competition increasingly shapes economic outcomes, countries no longer compete solely on cost or market access, but also on resilience, capability and strategic relevance within global supply chains.

"This is where domestic capital plays an important role. Through initiatives such as Dana Impak’s Jelawang Capital and Malaysia Growth Innovation Programme, Khazanah seeks not only to deploy capital, but also to strengthen the ecosystem surrounding key sectors, enabling companies, suppliers and talent to scale alongside global investments,” he said in his message in the Khazanah Report 2025, today.

He said Khazanah’s strategic initiatives also strengthened Malaysia's semiconductor ecosystem, namely the investment in the United States (US)-based edge artificial intelligence (AI) company Syntiant, which recently expanded with a manufacturing plant in Penang, and in the local fabless integrated circuit (IC) design company, SkyeChip.

"These investments contribute towards higher-value capabilities, skilled employment and deeper participation within global technology supply chains,” he said.

Amirul also said Malaysia's competitiveness will depend not only on attracting industries, but on building the depth of local talent and technical capability required to sustain them.

He noted that programmes such as K-Youth continue to strengthen workforce readiness in strategic sectors, with 9,934 youths trained in 2025 and more than 34,000 since its inception.

"The focus increasingly is on matching industry demand with the capabilities required in semiconductors, aviation, technical and vocational education and training, and digital and technology industries.

"A stronger pipeline of skilled talent remains essential to ensuring that economic growth translates into enduring national capability,” said Amirul.

In 2025, Khazanah delivered resilient financial and strategic performance, with total assets rising by RM5 billion to RM156 billion from RM151 billion in 2024, while its profit from operations increased to RM5.6 billion from RM5.1 billion in 2024.

The sovereign wealth fund also declared a dividend of RM2 billion to the government, bringing cumulative dividends paid since 2004 to RM21.1 billion, while cumulative shareholder returns since 2004 stood at RM93.1 billion. - BERNAMA