BY: Michelle Liew
Sarawak will be cooperating with the Norwegian Government as an initial step to establish and manage its own sovereign financial fund soon, said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
According to Abang Johari, being the first state to set up the fund in Malaysia, the cooperation is important because Norway is known for its efficiency and success in managing the fund.
“The high administrative standards of the Norwegian government since the establishment of the fund in 1996 will be the yardstick for Sarawak in managing the fund in the future,” he said when addressing ministry officials and Norges Bank Investment Management during a visit to the bank’s headquarters on Thursday.
Last year, Abang Johari announced that Sarawak was looking into setting up the fund, which is believed to double the state’s revenue.
This, he said, could be done because Sarawak had a continuous income chain, especially after implementing a special tax on oil and gas revenue, as well as water.
For the record, a Norwegian sovereign financial fund known as the Government Global Retirement Fund has been set up to manage the country’s oil revenue money.
The fund received its first capital injection of 2 billion kroner from the Norwegian Government in 1996, as a result of the country’s oil.
In 2021, the fund’s total overseas equity and real estate investments are reported to reach USD1.34 trillion.
Abang Johari is currently on a two -day visit to Norway, as part of his official visit schedule to Europe.
Earlier this week, the Sarawak Premier was honoured to deliver a keynote address at the 2022 World Hydrogen Summit and Exhibition in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Commenting further on the upcoming cooperation, Abang Johari admitted that there are many similarities between Sarawak and Norway, especially in terms of its scattered population.
“Both also own a diversity of natural resources, especially oil and gas in addition to hydropower.”
He believed that in line with the determination to develop a multi -generational sustainability strategy for Sarawak, the state could not use and enjoy all the results obtained.
“Instead, it should distribute a portion of this proceeds to future generations in the form of the Sovereign Fund,” he stressed.
Present in Abang Johari’s entourage included Sarawak Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas; Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Dr Hazland Abang Hipni; State Attorney General, Datuk Seri Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid and State Financial Secretary, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Lizozman Wan Omar.
