According to a Reuters report, Malaysia is expected to name Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, group CEO of the country’s largest asset manager Permodalan Nasional Berhad , as the head of its biggest state pension fund EPF, the news agency said three people familiar with the matter had said.
The appointment will fill the role left vacant after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in December named Datuk Sri Amir Hamzah Azizan, the previous CEO of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), as second finance minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
Ahmad Zulqarnain’s appointment is expected to be announced as early as at the end of January, two of the sources said.
In an emailed response to a Reuters’ query on Thursday, a spokeswoman at the EPF said the pension fund is “unable to offer any comments at this time on leadership changes.”
The prime minister’s office and PNB did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak with the media.
The appointment comes as the EPF, the world’s 12th largest pension fund, looks to rebuild its reserves following record withdrawal of subscriber funds during the COVID pandemic.
Under his leadership, PNB spearheaded the creation of Malaysia’s largest automotive group to support the country’s electric vehicle push, and sought to add infrastructure assets into its portfolio as part of a diversification strategy, among others.
Before joining PNB, Ahmad Zulqarnain was previously Deputy Managing Director at Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
