Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund appoints SenseTime founder to board as it seeks to expand tech investments
- Khazanah has US$32.9 billion in assets under management and was an early investor in Alibaba
Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund has appointed the founder of artificial intelligence (AI) start-up SenseTime as a board member – marking the first time a foreign national has been formally appointed to such a position at Khazanah Nasional.
Tang Xiao’ou, a mainland Chinese national and professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong, will advise on AI-related matters, according to an announcement on Monday.
The fund also appointed Malaysian national Lau Seng Yee, senior executive vice-president and chairman of group marketing and global branding at Tencent Holdings, as a board member.
The appointment by Khazanah – which means “treasure” in Malay – comes amid the US$38 billion fund’s efforts to step up technology investments by tapping outside expertise.
Malaysian interest in Chinese technology is high, with the country’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad including tours of SenseTime’s Beijing office, Alibaba Group Holding and car maker Geely in his visits to the country over the past year.
