Latest news with #VynnCapital
The Sun
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Govt introduces new tax incentives to strengthen venture capital, private equity sectors
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has introduced new tax incentives to strengthen the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors in the country, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan. He said the new incentive offers a concessionary tax rate of 5% for up to 10 years for investment funds that invest at least 20% of their capital in local startups. In addition, VC and PE management companies registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia will benefit from a 10% tax rate. The incentives also apply to onshore limited liability partnership structures. 'Capital alone is not enough. For innovation to flourish, policy reform must walk hand in hand with investment,' he said in his speech at the announcement of the appointment of Fund Managers under Jelawang Capital's Emerging Fund Managers' Programme (EMP) and Regional Fund Managers' Initiative (RMI) today. Previously, Malaysia offered tax exemptions rather than concessionary rates. VC firms investing at least 70% of their funds in early-stage startups could apply for a 100% tax exemption on statutory income for five years, and could apply to extend it. Management companies also enjoyed exemptions, but only on income from VC management fees, and were subject to strict qualifying conditions and definitions. To complement these changes, Amir Hamzah said, Bank Negara Malaysia is enhancing the Foreign Exchange Policy (FEP) framework. 'VC and PE firms may now apply based on their fund mandate size, rather than on a transactional basis, for cross-border fundraising and investments exceeding standard FEP limits.' He said this streamlines VC and PE operations to enable capital to move more efficiently across Malaysia's borders and boosting regional competitiveness. 'These reforms mark meaningful progress in positioning Malaysia as a globally competitive hub for venture and private capital,' he added. Khazanah Nasional Bhd and its subsidiary Jelawang Capital have selected the first five VC firms under the EMP and the RMI. 'Together, these five managers are expected to deploy over RM200 million. A significant portion of this will be channeled into Malaysia-Nexus companies, supporting around 50 early-stage firms,' said Khazanah managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir. Out of the first five fund managers appointed, three firms were selected under the EMP. The programme is structured to support Malaysian fund managers in raising their first, second, or third fund, with the aim of developing regionally competitive venture capital firms by improving governance, building investment track records and attracting capital. The first of the three is Vynn Capital, a home-grown venture capital firm focused on specific sectors. It was established in response to Malaysia's role within the regional innovation landscape. Vynn Capital will focus on the mobility and supply chain sectors, investing across seed to Series A stages, with a regional focus on Southeast Asia. The second firm, Kairous Capital, is a venture capital firm with roots in private equity. It invests in technology companies and is positioned as a cross-border specialist, supporting Malaysian startups in expanding into key Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Kairous also facilitates regional growth through the transfer of innovation and know-how from more advanced technology markets like China. The third is First Move, a venture capital firm that invests in pre-seed stage startups across Southeast Asia. The firm partners with second-time founders and domain experts, not just as early investors, but also as co-builders, to help turn ideas into scalable businesses. First Move often serves as the first institutional investor. In addition to these three EMP recipients, two regional firms were selected under the RMI, which is designed to attract regional and global fund managers who are committed to enriching Malaysia's startup ecosystem. This includes supporting the growth of Malaysian startups into regional and global players, facilitating the redomiciliation of global companies in Malaysia, expanding local job opportunities, and attracting high-quality talent. The first RMI partner is AppWorks, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Taiwan. AppWorks combines an equity-free accelerator with founder-first capital to help scale tech startups across Greater Southeast Asia. The firm has a performance track record, with top-quartile distributions to paid-in capital. AppWorks' investment focus includes artificial intelligence, blockchain and the digital economy. It plans to launch Malaysia-focused cohorts for Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, supported by in-market experts, capital, and a regional network of founders to help accelerate the growth of Malaysian startups. The second RMI partner is Granite Asia, a multistage investor with a record of building over 115 unicorns and achieving 61 initial public offerings globally. Through its early-stage fund, Granite Asia will invest in startups in sectors such as consumer tech, enterprise software, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and automation. The firm will collaborate with Khazanah and Jelawang Capital to give Malaysian founders access to ecosystem programmes, strategic guidance and Granite Asia's extensive network of top founders and industry players.
Malay Mail
17 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Khazanah, Jelawang Capital name first five VC firms under EMP and RMI, eye RM200m deployment
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah) and its subsidiary, Jelawang Capital (Jelawang), today announced the selection of the first five venture capital (VC) firms under the Jelawang Emerging Fund Managers' Programme (EMP) and Regional Fund Managers' Initiative (RMI). The five VC firms are Vynn Capital, Kairous Capital, First Move, AppWorks and Granite Asia. Home-grown VC firms Vynn Capital, Kairous Capital, and First Move have been selected under the EMP, while AppWorks and Granite Asia are partners under the RMI. EMP is a programme structured to support Malaysian fund managers in raising their first, second or third fund with the goal of creating regionally competitive VC fund managers by strengthening fund governance, building track record and crowding in capital. RMI is an initiative aimed at attracting regional and global fund managers who are committed to enriching the local startup ecosystem by supporting the growth of Malaysian startups to be regional and global players, facilitating the re-domiciliation of global companies in Malaysia to expand local job capabilities, and attracting quality talent in the Malaysian ecosystem. Khazanah managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said the selection of the five VC firms reflects its commitment to nurturing local fund managers and VC ecosystem. 'Together, these five managers are expected to deploy over RM200 million. A significant portion of this will be channelled into Malaysia-Nexus companies, supporting around 50 early-stage firms. 'These five represent a blend of local roots and regional reach, and, most importantly, an alignment of values. They will back startups that dare to build, that dare to scale, and that carry Malaysia's ambition into the region and beyond,' he said in his speech when announcing the EMP and RMI here today. He said that beyond capital, the selected managers, especially under the RMI (AppWorks and Granite Asia), have also committed to capacity-building programmes for Malaysian founders, including mentorships, accelerators, and masterclasses starting in 2025. Also present at the event was Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan. The five VC firms were selected through a rigorous evaluation process focused on the funds' investment thesis, strength of core team, governance and alignment with strategic national development priorities. Overall, the selection of these partners under the EMP and RMI is in line with strategic approaches under the Malaysian Venture Capital Roadmap 2024 – 2030 to transform Malaysia into a preferred regional VC hub by 2030. The first group of appointees marks a milestone in the broader RM1 billion committed under the MADANI Economy framework to support high-growth entrepreneurs and crowd-in institutional capital in early-stage fundraising. This month, Kuala Lumpur entered the top 20 emerging startup ecosystems globally, ranking 18th in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 by Startup Genome. Today, Malaysia's VC ecosystem remains modest, with just US$429 million (RM1.8 billion) in funding recorded in 2024. — Bernama
