KUALA LUMPUR – Kenanga Investors Bhd has been appointed as the fund manager for the Emergency Wakaf Fund, a relief fund established for the purposes of channelling resources to those affected by climate change-related disasters, as well as future pandemics.
Kenanga Investors as fund manager, together with wakaf administrator Yayasan Waqaf Malaysia (YWM) and distribution agency MATCH Foundation, signed a memorandum of agreement on November 10 to ensure the funds collected are invested and distributed according to wakaf principles.
The signing was witnessed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad and British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay.
In a statement today, Kenanga Investors executive director and chief executive officer Ismitz Matthew De Alwis said the appointment is attributed to Kenanga Investors’ track record in fund management and experience in the management of wakaf assets through the Kenanga Wakaf Al-Ihsan Fund launched in April this year.
The Emergency Wakaf Fund will be receiving a portion of the RM10 million allocated in Budget 2022 as part of its initial seed funding, announced in October this year.
“Funds received from institutional investors would be invested directly into a wholesale fund established by Kenanga Investors, which will manage and invest it accordingly in line with the proposed fund structure.
“Derived income will be distributed to investors and YWM respectively. YWM will then channel the allocated percentage of funds to MATCH Foundation for emergency response activation for the returns to reach communities at risk,” he said.
In Malaysia, he said, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) appointed PwC Malaysia as the consultant for the Islamic social finance space, which then reported the necessity of establishing an emergency fund to mitigate climate-related disasters and to protect the lives and livelihoods of those most vulnerable.
“FCDO, under the purview of the British High Commission, runs the Financial Services and Intellectual Property Programme to strengthen economic growth by addressing poverty and inequality issues in developing Southeast Asian countries.
According to De Alwis, the programme is an international effort and operates in six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
He said it provides technical assistance to Malaysia’s Year 1 of the Prosperity Asean Economic Reform Programme through six workstreams – financial technology, accounting standards, intellectual property, anti-money laundering and financial crime, capital markets, and Islamic finance.
“Kenanga Investors recognises the importance of a firm driven by environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and goals.
“It is our responsibility, on behalf of asset owners, to generate positive ESG impact through their investments. With this appointment, we hope to drive impact investing in Malaysia to new heights,” he added. – Bernama, November 18, 2021
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