The agreement’s objectives include promoting investments between both countries by supporting the entry of Khazanah and its subsidiaries into the Italian market.

It will also support Italian companies who are interested in expanding their business in the Asean region.

The MoU is the first of its kind between Italy and Malaysia, both parties said in a joint statement today. It was signed during the seventh edition of the High Level Dialogue on Asean Italy Economic Relations held in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, Khazanah will evaluate potential investment opportunities in CDP Group’s subsidiaries such as CDP Equity, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, CDP Venture Capital SGR and Simest.

Besides that, the two parties will analyse potential collaborations with major Italian businesses based in Europe or Malaysia.

“CDP and Khazanah will focus mainly on analysing potential investment opportunities in Malaysian subsidiaries of Italian companies.

“This signifies the Italian business network’s readiness to strengthen economic relations with Asean nations including Malaysia, by exploring investment opportunities in the country,” the statement said.

Khazanah managing director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said the sovereign wealth fund is honoured to be a part of the strategic alliance with the CDP Group, which will significantly boost two-way relations between Italy and Malaysia.

“Through this partnership, we are able to jointly facilitate and establish further opportunities for Italian enterprises currently investing or willing to invest in Malaysia, and vice versa, enhancing the economic strength and resilience of both nations,” he said.

Meanwhile, CDP Equity CEO Francesco Mele said the MoU represents an important milestone in the process of strengthening relations with international institutional investors, fostering the potential growth of Italian companies in Southeast Asia.