Malaysia Debt Ventures tech fund to invest up to $954m

The fund will be raised through the issue of Islamic medium-term debt notes and is expected to back about 300 companies. About MYR100 million worth of projects across areas including robotics and e-commerce are said to be under consideration for investment within six months.

"This time around, we will focus [disbursements] on new technologies, namely artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and 4D printing, among others," Zubir Ansori Yahaya, managing director and CEO of MDV, told local media. "We are also trying to fund the earlier stage companies with good ideas and business plans."

MDV was incorporated in 2002 with a MYR1.6 billion IT fund backed by Japan Bank of International Cooperation. The firm closed its second fund in 2008 at MYR2.5 billion with an expanded mandate including biotechnology.

Malaysia is set to play a leading role in Islamic finance as a number of global trends drive growth in the industry. The value of the country's Islamic fund assets grew by around 24% per year across the six years ending 2015 and amounted to $14.2 billion by last year.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Malaysia