Weak ringgit foils PNB bid to hold less cash

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S largest state-owned fund manager is looking to hold less cash even as it struggles to make acquisitions that would generate attractive returns.

A fifth of Permodalan Nasional Bhd's RM266 billion (S$84.5 billion) of assets under management is in cash and money markets, and chairman Abdul Wahid Omar said in an interview that the fund could reduce such holdings by at least five percentage points. That would free up about RM13.3 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.