Malaysia sovereign fund opens London office as its Europe HQ

[LONDON] Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has opened an office in London, its first in Western Europe, to support its investment activities on the continent, the fund said.

The investment fund, which has some RM150 billion (S$51 billion) under management, has established a London office for Khazanah Europe Investment Ltd (KEIL) to better assess opportunities in technology-enabled sectors in Europe, it said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Khazanah's office is in The Shard skyscraper, London's tallest building. The Shard said the fund had agreed a 10-year lease. It is Khazanah's fifth regional office after Beijing, Mumbai, San Francisco and Istanbul.

KEIL is headed by Javier Santioso, who joined Khazanah in August 2015. It has already invested in UK-based companies such as travel search engine Skyscanner Holdings and Atomico, a Europe-focused technology venture capital fund.

Khazanah's managing director, Tan Sri Azman Hj Mokhtar, said Europe was an important market because it is a significant hub for technology firms, start-ups and has top-ranked universities.

REUTERS