CIMB's Nazir Razak plans Asean fund of up to US$1b

PROMINENT banker Nazir Razak, brother of Malaysia's prime minister, together with four others including an outgoing senior executive at Singapore's Temasek Holdings plan to set up an "indigenous Asean" private equity fund with a capital of between US$700 million and US$1 billion.

The PE fund to be based in Singapore is still very much at an "early stage" and if everything works out to plan, could be launched by the third quarter of next year, a source told The Business Times.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Mr Nazir, who is chairman of Malaysia's second largest bank - CIMB Group - plans to keep his role at the bank while acting as one of the fund's five partners.