Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has defended its choice to not make an early funding in Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and meals supply superapp Grab.

Chief Investment Officer Azmil Zahruddin informed CNBC the fund’s funding technique was once to concentrate on huge investments — no longer direct startup offers. 

Khazanah may no longer shut an early deal to fund the Malaysian-founded Grab.

Other traders together with Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek ultimately took a stake in Grab and the ride-hailing large moved its headquarters to Singapore. The corporate went on to lift $4.5 billion and listed on Nasdaq in late 2021 through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp, making Grab the most important record within the U.S. through a Southeast Asian corporate.

Khazanah came under criticism for what some have mentioned was once a “missed opportunity” for Malaysia.

“You have to take a look at what Khazanah is and what its DNA is,” Zahruddin mentioned in an unique interview with “CNBC Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday. 

“Our DNA is that we set up huge investments. [Venture capital] making an investment isn’t truly what we do, and it isn’t truly our experience and ability set.”

“So what we attempt to do is, as an alternative of looking to do the ones investments at once, we if truth be told seed investments into VC budget who then make investments into firms across the area.”

Zahruddin agreed, on the other hand, that it was once essential for Malaysia to give a boost to its marketers and retain its ability. 

He mentioned Khazanah would proceed to lend a hand Malaysian startups via an oblique way of making an investment into funders that take a stake in those new firms and probably making an investment in them at once after they’ve matured to a dimension that meets the fund’s funding standards. 

To that finish, Zahruddin mentioned Khazanah invested in Grab’s competitor Uber via an middleman funder which was once keen to put money into Uber at an early level. 

Khazanah’s funding within the foreign-owned Uber as an alternative of Grab, which was once began through two Malaysians, raised eyebrows within the Malaysian funding neighborhood. 

Zahruddin said the venture capital markets have been quite challenging and lots of endowment budget which have been energetic in mission capital have observed their investments fall through as much as 40% previously 12 months. 

But Khazanah would proceed to deploy budget into the era sector and has been doing so previously 10 years. 

“In hindsight, this is a just right factor that we aren’t truly ready to do direct investments anyway, as a result of this is one thing this is moderately difficult for any person who is been in VC,” Zahruddin mentioned.

Khazanah posted a just about 80% drop in annual profits in 2021 to 670 million Malaysian ringgit, or $150.36 million. The 12 months ahead of income additionally fell about 60% to RM $2.9 billion. 

The sovereign wealth fund mentioned the autumn in income have been because of its persevered extension of economic help to its airways and tourism investments affected by Covid-19 disruptions. 

Last month, Khazanah introduced it might discover new funding alternatives in Turkey following a gathering between representatives from the fund and the Turkey Wealth Fund in Istanbul.