MALAYSIA’S largest asset manager, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), said on Friday (Jan 26) its president and group CEO, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, would resign to take the helm of the country’s biggest state pension fund, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

The news of the change at EPF, the world’s 12th largest pension fund with total assets of about RM1 trillion (S$283.6 billion), confirms a Reuters report on Thursday that Malaysia was set to make the appointment.

In a separate statement on Friday, EPF said Ahmad Zulqarnain’s appointment would take effect on Feb 19.

“With his extensive corporate experience, we are looking forward to his dynamic and focused leadership,” the fund’s chairman, Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir, said in the statement.

Markets will be keenly watching Ahmad Zulqarnain’s role in scaling up domestic investments following calls by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for government-linked institutions to support the economy.

He succeeds previous CEO Amir Hamzah Azizan, who joined the Cabinet as second finance minister in a December reshuffle.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

Before his stint at PNB, Ahmad Zulqarnain, a Harvard University graduate, was deputy managing director at sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional.

He was appointed in July 2020 to head PNB, which managed RM343.1 billion of assets by Nov 30, 2022, its website says.

Under his leadership, PNB spearheaded the creation of Malaysia’s largest automotive group to support a push into electric vehicles, and sought to add infrastructure assets in efforts to diversify its portfolio.

“His leadership has been instrumental in laying out the new three-year strategic plan,” said PNB’s group chairman, Arshad Raja Tun Uda, adding that he had steered the asset manager towards better portfolio returns and operational agility.

PNB will announce a new president and group CEO in due course, it said. REUTERS