KWAP not taking part in Airbnb’s IPO, fundraising

PETALING JAYA: Public sector pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) or KWAP is not participating in San-Francisco-based Airbnb’s potential initial public offering (IPO) or fundraising exercise.
However, KWAP CEO Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad said the fund is eyeing more investment opportunities following its US$30 million (RM124 million) injection into ride-sharing app Uber Technologies recently.
He noted that the fund has been evaluating various investment proposals, including homestay aggregator Airbnb.
“Honestly, we did look at Airbnb, unfortunately their funding requirement is so tight and we’re not able to meet their timeline expectation, so at this moment we’re not considering,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2016.
Kamaruzaman said KWAP does not discount any possibility provided that it meets the fund’s investment criteria. “One of the criteria is it must be cash flow positive with a clear exit strategy. We’re not venture capital, we’ve to fit in our profile of what we can do.” – by Lee Weng Khuen