PNB Named Top Malaysian Sovereign Investor, 17th Globally In Global SWF Rankings
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has been recognised as the top Malaysian sovereign investor and ranked 17th globally in the 2025 GSR (Governance, Sustainability, and Resilience) Scoreboard published by United States-based research firm Global SWF.
The GSR Scoreboard has become the measuring stick of best practices among state-owned investors around the world. It evaluates more than 200 sovereign wealth funds (SWF) and public pension funds worldwide on governance practices, sustainability commitments and institutional resilience.
In a statement today, PNB said it received an overall score of 84 per cent, including a perfect 10 out of 10 for sustainability, in recognition of its climate targets, environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, and transparency in reporting.
'The ranking reflects the significant progress PNB has made in strengthening governance, embedding sustainability across its investment processes, and enhancing its long-term institutional resilience,' it said.
PNB deputy president and group chief executive Datuk Rick Ramli said the ranking reflects the fund's ongoing efforts to incorporate responsible and sustainable practices in its operations and investment activities.
'It is also a strong encouragement for us to continue pushing for long-term value creation for our unit holders and the wider Malaysian economy, in line with PNB's purpose of uplifting the financial lives of Malaysians across generations,' he said.
PNB said that notable progress includes a 98 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its 2022 baseline, in line with its target to achieve net zero operations by 2025.
On portfolio-level targets, PNB has pledged to achieve a net-zero investment portfolio by 2050 and has so far channelled RM5.5 billion into green and transition assets, representing 55 per cent of its RM10 billion target by 2030.
PNB has also implemented a living wage policy for its employees since 2023 and is now encouraging its investee companies to adopt similar practices under the government's GEAR-uP initiative.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Star
26 minutes ago
- The Star
Perak one of Malaysia's top durian-producing states, says Saarani
LARUT: Perak emerged as one of the leading durian-producing states in Malaysia, with a production volume of 59,217.3 tonnes worth RM462.28mil in 2024. Sgtate Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said this contributed to the country's agri-food economy and proved Perak's capability in the durian export market. Saarani said Perak durians were exported to over 41 countries between 2017 and 2023, with 73% of the export value concentrated in China. "In 2022, Malaysia's durian export value reached RM1.14bil, including RM887mil to China, yet demand for varieties such as the Musang King, Black Thorn, D24, IOI and premium durian kampung from Perak continues to rise. "In addition, Topone Solution Sdn Bhd successfully exported 30 containers of durians worth RM20mil in 2024, including five containers of durian kampung worth RM1mil, as well as 100 tonnes of durian kampung paste worth RM5.25mil," he said when officiating the closing ceremony of the 2025 Perak state-level Durian Fest at Dataran Selama, near here on Sunday (July 20). He said Malaysia began exporting fresh durians to China on Aug 24, 2024, involving 413.61 tonnes (RM24.84mil), following the phytosanitary agreement between the two countries after official approval was obtained in June 2024. "Since then, Malaysian durians have penetrated 16 key provinces in China and received an overwhelming response as a premium exotic product, with the durian kampung from Perak also gaining global recognition. "Malaysia's durian export value is expected to reach RM1.8bil by 2030, with an annual growth rate of between 20% and 25%, driven by advancements in logistics, frozen supply chain technology and downstream product innovation," he said. He added that the current focus is on widening access to premium durian kampung from Perak through branding strategies, quality certification and digital marketing. "Durians from Perak are also in demand from Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia, with the price of durian kampung from Malaysia reaching RM29 per 600g, while the Musang King is sold up to RM400 per 2.5kg. "There are even local entrepreneurs who are aggressively introducing durian-based products like durian chocolates, durian coffee, durian cakes, instant tempoyak sambal and durian ice-creams that are also being marketed to China," he said. – Bernama

Barnama
44 minutes ago
- Barnama
'The Destination' Shines A Light On Saudi Arabia's New Image As It Moves Toward A Global Future
KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- Saudi Arabia has launched a new documentary titled "The Destination", showcasing the country's sweeping transformation under its Vision 2030 programme, spanning the political, economic, sports, and cultural sectors. Produced by the Konoz Initiative under the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Media, the documentary goes beyond chronicling achievements. It offers a visual narrative of how Saudi Arabia—long associated with a conservative image—is now emerging as a competitive and modern global destination. In a statement issued on Sunday, Konoz said the film features mega projects, local talent development, and a cultural innovation boom, delivering a clear message: the Arab world is on the move, and Saudi Arabia is leading the way. bootstrap slideshow "The documentary presents stunning visuals from across Saudi Arabia—from deserts to smart cities—telling the story of a nation's rise, now seen as a new benchmark in the modern Islamic world," the statement said. According to Konoz, the documentary will be broadcast on Shahid, STC TV, Saudi national television, and the official platforms of the Saudi Ministry of Media. Prominent figures featured in the film include Chairman of the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, Prince Turki Al-Faisal; Saudi Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud; Ministerial Advisor Mazen Al-Sudairi; CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, Jerry Inzerillo; and Head of Cardiac Surgery at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Dr Firas Khalil. Meanwhile, Konoz said that for Malaysia, "The Destination" raises fundamental questions about how to construct an inclusive national visual narrative—one that reflects the nation's values and transformative changes, while speaking to the world in its own language. 'Saudi Arabia's aspirations in developing local content reflect a strategic vision aligned with Malaysia's efforts to build a sustainable and borderless media industry,' the statement added. Konoz also noted that cooperation between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia in this area could be expanded, particularly in co-productions, media training, and expertise exchange in telling stories of social transformation.


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
China's open source AI is ‘a catalyst for global progress', Jensen Huang says
Nvidia's co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang lauded China's progress in open source artificial intelligence and pledged to work with Chinese companies, as the chip designer driving the growth of AI resumes shipping its sought-after chips to the country. Large language models (LLM) developed by Chinese companies, including DeepSeek, Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings, MiniMax and Baidu, were 'world class', 'developed here and shared openly', and had spurred AI developments worldwide, Huang said. China's open source AI was a 'catalyst for global progress' that was 'giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution', he said on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the China International Supply Chain Expo, which until Sunday in Beijing. Clad in a dark suit instead of his signature black leather jacket, Huang was speaking as the guest of honour at the expo on his third trip to the Chinese capital city this year. His California-based chip-design firm, established in 1993, is poised to resume shipments of its made-for-China H20 chips to China. The US government 'assured Nvidia that licences will be granted' for exporting the H20 chip, a made-for-China product that was less powerful than Nvidia's gold-standard acceleration chip, according to a Tuesday statement by the company. After the announcement, Tencent said it was in the process of applying to buy Nvidia chips, according to a Reuters report. ByteDance said the report of its application was 'not accurate'. 'I'm very happy that the export control has been lifted on H20 so that we can serve the market,' Huang said during a group interview on Tuesday in Beijing. Nvidia also planned to release a 'new, fully compliant' RTX PRO graphics processing unit (GPU) for China that was 'ideal for digital twin AI for smart factories and logistics,' the company said. The resumption of sales was a boon for Nvidia as the world's first US$4 trillion company gained access to one of the largest investors in AI, where funding could grow 48 per cent this year to US$98 billion, according to a forecast by Bank of America. It is also a breakthrough for China's developers of LLMs and other AI uses, as they get their hands on some of the most advanced chips for high-powered computing. Huang's affirmation of China's open-source progress came as Nvidia seemingly shrugged aside the 17 per cent plunge in its valuation in late January after DeepSeek's roll-out opened the possibility that LLMs could be developed at a fraction of the cost typically needed. Nvidia's shares have since regained their surge, pushing the company to become the first in history to surpass US$4 trillion in capitalisation. Huang on Wednesday also stressed Nvidia's role in Chinese tech firms' achievements. China achieved 'super fast innovation' thanks to its researchers, developers and entrepreneurs, and more than 1.5 million developers in China were building on Nvidia platforms today, he said. Switching between English and halting Mandarin, the Taiwanese-American entrepreneur said that the expo had 'a massive scale and a vibrant atmosphere', which showed China's 'support for innovation'. Huang's comments reflect his efforts to convey Nvidia's commitment to the Chinese market amid a tumultuous chip war between the world's two largest economies. Nvidia's H20 GPU, released in early 2024, was tailor-made for the Chinese market after exports of its advanced AI chips such as the A100, H100, A800 and H800 were banned under intensifying US export controls. The US chip giant said in May that Washington would start to require a licence to export H20 chips to China, a move Huang called 'deeply painful' and 'deeply uninformed'. Nvidia expected the ban to cost the company around US$5.5 billion. Huang also shared a positive outlook for AI's role in manufacturing. The world's most advanced factories will be powered by robots and AI within a decade, as machine learning and automation replace humans in assembly line work, especially those that were repetitive and hazardous, he added. 'Today, AI is [a] fundamental infrastructure, like electricity and the internet before, [and] AI is revolutionising the supply chain, changing how we build and move things,' Huang said. 'Hundreds of projects in China are simulating digital twins in Nvidia's omniverse to design and optimise factories and warehouses.' -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST