2 fund managers picked for Penjana VC scheme linked to Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR – Two local fund managers chosen for the RM1.75 billion Penjana Nasional venture capital fund have links to Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

According to publicly available records, Tuas Capital Sdn Bhd founder Syed Haizam Syed Jamalullail is linked to Tengku Zafrul through extended ties in the Selangor royal household.

Syed Haizam is the nephew of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, while Tengku Zafrul traces his lineage to Selangor royalty through his paternal great-grandmother, who was the then sultan’s daughter.

Zafrul’s wife, Raja Datin Sri Johanna Raja Arshad, is the great-granddaughter of the fifth Selangor sultan.

RHL Ventures Sdn Bhd co-founder Raja Hamzah Abidin, meanwhile, is Tengku Zafrul’s cousin.

Raja Hamzah’s father is former Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, whose sister – Datuk Raja Zaharaton – is Zafrul’s mother.

The Penjana Nasional VC fund is a matching funds-of-funds programme that is part of the government’s economic recovery plan and is spread across different funding stages – seed, series A & B, growth and venture debt.

The government, through Finance Ministry-owned Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd, will match up to RM600 million – on a 1:1 basis – funds raised by the VC fund managers from foreign and private local investors, with a target allocation of RM1.2 billion.

But according to a December 14 press release, private investors increased their investments, bringing the fund to a total of RM1.75 billion, with the government maintaining its RM600 million allocation.

Eight foreign investors and their local partners were selected from a pool of 51 applications after a request for proposal was called last September.

Aside from Tuas Capital and RHL, six local partners selected are Tenggara Capital Sdn Bhd, Vertex Force Sdn Bhd, Emissary Capital Sdn Bhd, Bintang Capital Partners Sdn Bhd, KAF Investment Bank Bhd and Crewstone International Sdn Bhd.

Penjana Kapital said the funds will be deployed primarily into Malaysian start-ups, with the balance into Asian investee companies that can bring tangible economic benefits to the Malaysian economy.

The target core sectors include fintech, edutech, agritech, mobility and artificial intelligence, it added. – The Vibes, January 28, 2021