Gobi Partners has onboarded home healthcare service provider Care Concierge, while Principal Malaysia has launched the Principal Islamic Global Responsible Equity Fund.
Gobi Partners backs Care Concierge
Pan-Asian venture capital firm Gobi Partners has invested in home healthcare service provider Care Concierge from its newly established Gobi Dana Impak Ventures (GDIV) fund.
The fund will allocate $1.3 billion over five years as part of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad Dana Impak’s ‘Advancing Malaysia’ strategy, which seeks to invest across six themes based on issues and challenges facing the nation.
The Gobi Dana Impak Ventures fund was launched as part of Khazanah’s “Future Malaysia Programme” announced this month. The programme aims to support the Malaysian startup ecosystem of entrepreneurs, startups, venture capital, and corporate venture programmes through collaborations with domestic and international partners such as Gobi Partners.
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, Gobi has raised 15 funds to date and invested in over 350 startups and 10 unicorns. The company has grown to 15 locations across key markets in Bangkok, Beijing, Cairo, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, Manila, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Surabaya.
Gobi Partners had invested in four Malaysian startups last month, including Islamic-themed subscription-based streaming service Durioo+ and B2B e-commerce marketplace Lapasar, from its $10-million early-stage, tech-focused venture fund.
Launched in 2017, Care Concierge provides health professionals for post-hospitalisation recovery, eldercare, and health screening.
Principal Malaysia fund to focus on ESG
Principal Malaysia has launched the Principal Islamic Global Responsible Equity Fund for investors seeking a sustainable investing strategy adhering to Shariah principles.
The fund seeks to provide capital growth by investing in a globally diversified portfolio of equities. It will only back companies that have an aggregate carbon risk level 15% lower than the benchmark index and meet Shariah requirements, according to a release.
“With growing consciousness around sustainability issues, we believe that offering investments with ESG values may translate to outperformance over the medium to long term,” said Patrick Chang, Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Malaysia and CIO Equities, ASEAN.
The fund is a part of the Islamic Global Responsible Equity Fund, which is the target fund managed by Principal Islamic. As a qualified Sustainable and Responsible Investment fund in Malaysia, the fund is targeting investors who seek exposure to Shariah-compliant global equities and have an investment horizon of at least five years.
Launched as a joint venture between Principal Financial Group and CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, Principal Asset Management Berhad serves more than 2 million investors with unit trusts, retirement schemes, discretionary mandates, and asset management solutions cross Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.
