How a Malaysian pension fund’s investment in an Indonesian unicorn became a governance flashpoint
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia’s RM163.4 million (US$40 million) investment in Indonesian startup eFishery has become the latest in a string of controversies over the years involving the country’s public and retirement funds.
The backlash follows revelations in parliament that the civil service pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) or Kwap fell victim to what the government described as a sophisticated fraud scheme.
The case has raised concerns over how public pension money is invested, whether existing due diligence processes are sufficient for private-market investments, and what lessons institutional investors should draw from one of South-east Asia’s biggest startup scandals.
