KUCHING, July 29 — The Sarawak government is hoping to learn from the best practices and experience of the sovereign wealth funds in the United Kingdom (UK) as part of its preparation to set up a similar fund in the state.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said Sarawak needed to study the fund management and governance along with their investment strategies, legal and policy framework as part of its benchmarking process.
“Sarawak’s financial position is now quite strong, so we want to generate revenue from future surplus funds for the benefit of our future generations,” he said in a statement issued by his office after leading a delegation to meet officials from the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in London today.
He added that through the meeting, which was held at the PWC headquarters in London, he hoped the IFSWF officials would be able to share their experiences and expert knowledge on the operation and governance of such state-owned investment funds.
According to its website, IFSWF, formed in 2008, is a voluntary organisation of global sovereign wealth funds that are committed to work together and strengthen the community through dialogue, research and self-assessment.
Abang Johari’s delegation include Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, state secretary Datuk Seri Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, state attorney-general Datuk Seri Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid, state financial secretary Datuk Seri Dr Wan Lizozman Wan Omar and deputy state secretary Datuk Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel.
Later, the Sarawak delegation met fund managers of the UK Government Investment Ltd (UKGI), a company wholly owned by the Treasury to understand, among others, policy structures intervention and expert advice on the development of sovereign wealth funds.
The premier had previously said that an ordinance would be tabled at the Sarawak State Assembly sitting in November to provide the legal framework for the formation of the fund.
He had travelled to Norway and Singapore to make similar studies of the models used in these countries to operate such a fund.
