KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd will shut down its office in London, UK, managing director Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan confirmed yesterday.

He told the Free Malaysia Today portal that the London office was one of the "high-cost” locations that he previously told the Bloomberg news service were not part of the fund’s future plans.

"Yes, we can manage the assets from HQ and our other offices. Part of our cost savings,” he said in a text message to the Malaysia portal.

According to the earlier Bloomberg report, another location that could be affected in the near-term is Khazanah’s Turkey outpost, which Shahril said was not justified by the level of Khazanah’s activities there.

Khazanah holds stakes in some of Malaysia’s most prominent companies including Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, but is reportedly divesting its holdings in some.

In 2018, the net value of the fund’s portfolio declined by 21.6 per cent to RM91 billion.