KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has stressed that it is not moving away from the domestic market as it comprises over 68% of its overall portfolio, according to its president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.
Speaking during the virtual Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) dividend announcement on Thursday (Dec 23), Zulqarnain said sustainability and strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) will be the big theme for the fund in its future investment decision making.
“For us, it's about constructing the right asset allocation to generate the sustainable returns that are required.
“As an investment house, we will continue to deploy capital into Malaysian companies via initial public offering (IPO) subscription, sukuk, investment into real estates and also into private Malaysian companies.
“We look for growth as an investor and we also look for companies with strong ESG credentials,” Zulqarnain elaborated.
Meanwhile, he also revealed that PNB is in the midst of finalising its sustainability framework and has undertaken a comprehensive review to understand issues that are important to its stakeholders and unitholders.
“We have defined our sustainability aspirations across three pillars. On the environment, there will be great focus on transitioning both PNB and its portfolio companies towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions and meeting Malaysia’s net zero carbon emission by 2050.
“On social and governance, we will be making commitments on improving sound governance practices that we believe are right for this market and also reducing inequality and improving diversity.
“We really look forward to launching the sustainability framework in the first quarter next year and we will be releasing more details over the next few months,” Zulqarnain highlighted.