Kenanga Investors Bhd has confirmed the launch of the Kenanga Sustainability Series: Frontier Fund.
The fund will reportedly focus on making investments in equity securities of international firms that exhibit long-term sustainable growth potential, are getting ready for initial public offerings (IPOs), and have created products that are linked to tech-driven solutions.
Kenanga Investors’ management noted that the fund would allow investors to capture the sustainable value generation of these firms, which were previously available only to institutional clients.
Its executive director and CEO Ismitz Matthew De Alwis stated that the company aims to transform the current private equity sector in Malaysia by addressing the shortage of available gateways for investors to access high-potential investment deals in early-stage startups.
Ismitz Matthew De Alwis stated:
“Since 2016, emerging digital companies have won over the ‘old economy’ by being among the top five most valuable corporations. Given the constant development of new technologies, it is unsurprising that new technology companies are sprouting. We began this process of bridging the gap between prominent players of the new ‘Big Tech’ and our investors back in 2019.”
De Alwis added that the fund’s primary focus will be on frontier tech breakthroughs and is indicative of Kenanga Investors’ journey to a sustainable investing roadmap.
He further noted:
“Frontier tech represents a multitude of opportunities in boosting the development curve of the future, from utilisation of technologies to reduce carbon emissions, new medical discoveries to propel patient empowerment to the democratisation of financial services, the advent of frontier tech will allow for greater societal benefits and driving sustainable returns.”
Kenanga Investors also mentioned that the fund aims to feed into the Ericsenz Frontier Fund and is intended for professional investors who may have medium to long-term investment plans.
The offer period is scheduled from Oct 27 to Dec 3, 2021. It’s currently available in Ringgit and US dollar classes so that investors are able to decide how they want to invest.
The fund manager, Ericsenz Capital Pte Ltd, is a VC and private equity company that is authorized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).