PENJANA Kapital Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian government-backed start-up development initiative, had signed a memorandum of cooperation with Indonesian-focused investment firms Indies Capital Partners and AC Ventures.
Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz witnessed the signing ceremony during the PM’s two-day working visit to Jakarta.
A press release today said the memorandum creates a framework for Penjana Kapital, Indies Capital Partners and AC Ventures to investigate co-investment opportunities in Malaysia-Indonesia growth companies via existing and soon-to-be-launched funds.
The framework promotes cross-border investments and technology transfer in the data centre, education, hospitality, mobility and waste management sectors, which include Indonesian and Malaysian start-ups.
According to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade), total trade value between Malaysia and Indonesia increased by 43.5% in 2021 to US$21.73 billion (RM95.1 billion) from 2020. Total Malaysian exports to Indonesia increased by 32.5% to US$8.962 billion, while total imports increased by 52.3% to US$12.769 billion during the same period.
The partnership will help Penjana Kapital find new and impactful investment opportunities from emerging sectors in Indonesia’s fast-growing economy. Further, Indies Capital Partners and AC Ventures, with the help of Penjana Kapital, will help Indonesian and Malaysian companies pursue scalable business opportunities, exchange key knowledge and share technology for industry development and trade networking.
“Penjana Kapital, Indies Capital Partners and AC Ventures are all major players in the investment landscapes of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Through cross-border cooperation and investment, our firms have the opportunity to tap into new markets, access new sources of capital and expertise, and drive innovation and growth in both markets,” founding partner at AC Ventures and managing partner at Indies Capital Partners, Pandu Sjahrir said.
“By working together, we can also deepen economic ties between Indonesia and Malaysia, and promote a more interconnected and prosperous Asean region. The key to realising this potential is in fostering a spirit of collaboration and prioritising the interests of both nations,” he added.
Indies Capital Partners was an early player in South-East Asia’s (SE Asia) private credit-focused managers. Today, the firm is a top-quartile alternative asset manager with over US$800 million in assets under management. Its strategy includes everything from private credit to private equity.
AC Ventures is a SE Asian venture capital firm focused on early-stage Indonesian and Asean start-ups. AC Ventures currently manages over US$500 million in assets spread across five funds. Since 2012, the firm’s partners had invested in over 100 regional technology companies.
Penjana Kapital’s flagship programme, Dana Penjana Nasional, has raised a total commitment of US$297.05 million for its eight funds as of December 2022 on a roughly 1:1 matching basis — the Ministry of Finance will match every ringgit that the fund successfully brings in.
Foreign and private local investors contributed US$164.73 million to the total.
Penjana Kapital also announced that Dana Penjana Nasional has approved 53 investments valued at US$130.85 million. — TMR / pic TMRfile