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Hello reader,
The grass overseas has always seemed greener to me.
My mother has often told me that even when I was young, she knew I would leave Northern Ireland as soon as I could. The world has just always seemed too big and interesting to stay in “Our Wee Country.”
I recognize I come from a privileged position, as I can move anywhere I can find work. And I think it’s a privilege that should be extended to everyone – because why should your birthplace dictate what opportunities you can go after?
Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional seems to be taking a similar approach as it’s going where it sees opportunity. In this case, it appears to be weighing up an investment in India’s Oyo, despite a national mandate to invest at home. But isn’t home where the opportunity is?
Today we look at:
- Khazanah Nasional’s overseas ambitions with Oyo
- Some laid-off Lazada employees get a piece of good news
- Other newsy highlights such as Delivery Hero denying that its talks to sell Foodpanda units have failed and fintech player Validus receiving fresh funding.
Premium summary
Khazanah sets sights on overseas investments
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, is reportedly in talks to lead a US$400 million funding round in India’s Oyo Hotels & Homes.
The news confused some Malaysia-based investors and founders, as government-linked investment companies (GLICs) had been told to focus investments on local firms by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
- Inside track: Officials working at GLICs told Tech in Asia that the report should have come as no surprise, despite the national mandate. They explained that finding quality investments in Malaysia was tough due to the country’s lack of early-stage startups.
- Losses on lingerie: Khazanah’s first ecommerce investment in India in 2015 left the fund with egg on its face. The fund bet on Indian lingerie maker Zivame and later faced losses of US$20 million in 2018, according to then Economics Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali. However, its US$250 million injection into Alibaba in 2012 was a big hit, scoring returns of US$1.2 billion seven years later.
- Teething problems: While Khazanah and other GLICs have made some progress in investing in local companies, fundamental problems remain. Insiders told Tech in Asia that Khazanah has been held back by two things: a lack of talent to properly evaluate startups as investments, and its board, made up of the prime minister and two or three other ministers and bureaucrats. This can inject a political element into where the fund makes its investments.
Read more: Khazanah’s Oyo bet points to greater focus on overseas deals, say investors
A lift for laid-off Lazadans
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