KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong-based Evergreen Offshore Inc (Evergreen) has allocated HKD2 billion (RM1 billion) out of its HKD10 billion (RM5 billion) Asia Pacific One Belt One Road Tourism Industry Fund (the Fund) for tourism investment in Malaysia over the next five years.
The open-ended Fund will be managed by Hong Kong-based Ever Centurion Ltd, while AFV Consultants Group Sdn Bhd (AFV) will be its exclusive strategy partner in Malaysia to assist in project assessment and due diligence processes.
"The Fund is set up with a long-term vision of up to five years to promote the tourism sector in countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Malaysia, given its location, is very important to this overall initiative," said AFV group chief executive officer Louis Loh at the media briefing this morning.
"It is our understanding as well that the Malaysian government will increase its investment in the tourism industry eventually, given that tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earnings contributor to the country," he added.
Loh stressed that the RM1 billion fund allocation might be increased over time, depending on interest.
"This is an open-ended fund, and we are planning to be here over the long term. Evergreen will also not limit itself to just tourism-related investments, and might branch out to other segments like project developments, infrastructure and the like," said Loh.
"By working with Hong Kong and mainland China, Malaysia will gain better financial leverage, thus strengthening its existing foundation and infrastructure in the hopes of achieving more integrated productivity and investments," he added.
Other than Malaysia, Evergreen will also use the Fund to invest in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.