KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) is urging for more private venture capital funding in the country to boost innovation and transformation towards becoming a high-income nation by 2020.

Group chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said currently in Malaysia, the majority of such funding came from government sponsored institutions.

As nearly 70 per cent of venture capital funding is currently derived from the government, the role of the private sector is very little in this regard, in comparison to the United States where over 80 per cent of such funding would actually come from private institutions, he pointed out.

"The idea here is to get more of the private sector to allocate a portion of their wealth to start investing in start-ups, new ventures and venture capital funding,” Abdul Wahid said.

He was speaking to reporters after launching a book entitled ‘Malaysia at a Crossroads: Diagnosing the Constraints to High Income Status’ at the Growth Diagnostics Forum organised by PNB Research Institute (PNBRI ) here today.

Abdul Wahid also observed a very active angel investor community in the US which was lacking in Malaysia.

"We know some tycoons are doing it on the quiet. But we like to see more of these high-net- worth inviduals to come on board to make investment in the startups and Small and Medium Enterprises,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abdul Wahid highlighted the 10 recommendations stated in the book which included upgrading risk capital and more private capital funding.

The book further recommends greater regional and state-level approaches to understanding growth drivers to ensure transformation is felt at the district and local levels.

PNB will work with a few parties to see how these recommendations could be implemented, he added.

The Growth Diagnostics study was commissioned by PNBRI and led by Professor Datuk Seri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali, vice-chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), who is also a member of PNBRI and Amanah Saham Nasional Board, together with Mpumelelo Nxumalo, economist-in-residence in the vice-chansellor’s office at UKM, and lead consultant of Bright Vision Consulting Sdn Bhd, Jared Glanz-Berger. — Bernama