KUALA LUMPUR: Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) is keen to invest in the US real estate sector, said chief executive officer Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad.
"Currently, our international exposure is only 13 per cent. As we seek to reap better returns to our stakeholders we need to venture out," he told reporters in a briefing here today.
He explained that five years ago, 54 per cent of KWAP's assets were in fixed income, 36 per cent in equity and the remaining 10 per cent were in alternative investments.
As the pension fund evolved to raise its risk appetite, over the years, Wan Kamaruzaman said, KWAP's portfolio in fixed assets have been pared down to 46 per cent while 40 per cent are in equities and 14 per cent in alternative investments.
"In 2016, we sold a property in the UK and last year, we sold another in Australia. As of now, we're under-invested in terms of international exposure.
“We have received board approval and have a mandate to invest in the US, especially in the technology and real estate sectors," he said.
"We're not in a hurry. We're selective in our investment as the US tax structure is quite complicated," he added.
Wan Kamaruzaman's statement is in line with that of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Khazanah Nasional Bhd's plan to expand their investments in the US. This follows Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's working visit to the US, last year, upon the invitation of US President Donald Trump.