LONDON: Sarawak hopes to build on the savings made through surplus of funds by setting up their own sovereign wealth fund.
In reiterating this proposal, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state’s resilient financial position is an enabler to this.
“Sarawak’s financial position is now quite strong so we want to generate revenue from future surplus funds for the benefit of our future generations,” he said.
He said this when leading a delegation to meet officials of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in London as part of the study before setting up Sarawak’s very own sovereign wealth fund recently.
Abang Johari told the officials that Sarawak hoped to learn and gain insights on the best practices and experience of UK Sovereign Wealth Fund’s investment strategies, management and governance as well as its legal and policy framework as part of the benchmarking process.
He also expressed hope that IFSWF officials would be able to share their experiences and expert knowledge on the operation and governance of such state-owned investment funds.
According to its website, IFSWF, formed in 2008, is a voluntary organisation of global sovereign wealth funds around the world that are committed to working together and strengthening the community through dialogue, research and self-assessment.
Joining the Sarawak delegation were deputy premiers Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian; State Secretary Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Marzuki; State Attorney-General Datuk Seri Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid and State Financial Secretary, Datuk Seri Wan Lizozman Wan Omar.
Later, the Premier and his delegation met fund managers of the UK Government Investment Ltd (UKGI), a company wholly owned by HM Treasury to understand, among others, policy structures intervention and expert advice on the development of sovereign wealth funds.
The Premier had previously said that an ordinance would be tabled at the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) in November to provide the legal framework for the formation of the fund.
He had travelled to Norway and Singapore to make similar studies of the models used in these countries.
