KL launches capital fund

KL launches capital fund

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The Malaysian Technology Development Corp. has launched a 50-million-ringgit (US$20-million) venture capital fund to help native Malays and other indigenous groups acquire equity in high-growth firms, a newspaper said yesterday.

The Sumber Modal Satu Bhd. fund will enable the so-called bumiputeras to invest in companies which have the potential for listing on the local bourse within two to three years, the Business Times said.

"It (the fund) is an investment holding company which will invest in private companies with high-growth potential," Omar Abdul Rahman, chairman of the Malaysian Technology Development Corp., said at the launch Thursday.

The fund is open for subscription until December 20. The minimum investment is 10,000 ringgit (US$4,000) and the maximum is 500,000 ringgit.

The government already has two unit trust funds limited to "bumiputeras" -- the 1.3-billion-ringgit Amanah Saham Nasional and the 20.7-million-ringgit Amanah Saham Bumiputera.