The Malaysian government signed 25 Letters of Intent (LOIs) with sovereign wealth funds, international venture capital firms (VCs) and various global ecosystem players at the inaugural edition of KL20 Summit 2024 to propel Kuala Lumpur into the ranks of the top 20 global startup hubs by 2030.
The 25 entities participating in the LOIs have a combined Assets Under Management (AUM) valuation exceeding US$1 billion.
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The first category of LOIs signed was for Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Malaysia Semiconductor Fund under the ASEAN Investment Initiative, worth up to US$1 billion. The signatories were Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Retirement Fund (KWAP) and Blue Chip Venture Capital.
The second category of LOIs was with VCs, including those setting up new offices in Malaysia, such as K3 Ventures, Nordstar, GP Bullhound, HOPU Investments, and Lever VC. Representatives of new VC funds established in Malaysia were also present, including CGS Malaysia and The Hive Climate AI.
Launched by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, KL20 Summit was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from April 22 to 23. The conference brought together a mix of sovereign wealth funds, international VCs and unicorn founders to explore the challenges and opportunities in Malaysia’s tech sector. A thousand international investors, startups, and over 3,000 global and local participants attended KL20 Summit 2024.
“The summit, organised by the government and spearheaded by the Ministry of Economy, aims to move Kuala Lumpur into the ranks of the top 20 global startup hubs by 2030. We want to nurture Malaysia’s startup ecosystem by rolling out supportive government policies, attracting funding and growing the talent pool. The ultimate goal is to transform Malaysia’s economy into a high-income, high value one,” said Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Economy.
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Some renowned global names who spoke at the summit included Jenny Lee, Senior Managing Partner of Granite Asia; Dr Qi Bin, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of China Investment Corporation; CK Tseng, President for ASEAN and Taiwan at Arm; Ben Prade, Partner at GP Bullhound; and Datuk Pua Khein-Seng, Founder and CEO of Phison and inventor of the USB flash drive.
They shared ideas on enhancing the startup ecosystem, such as attracting venture capital in Asia, opportunities in the trillion-dollar semiconductor industry and why it is Malaysia’s time to shine in innovation.
KL20 Summit also included dedicated activities such as investor speed dating, networking lunches and soirées to facilitate meaningful connections and catalyse potential collaborations.
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