The Ministry of Finance (MOF) today launched the 2026 GEAR-uP Report Card, the first full-year report of the Government-linked Enterprises Activation and Reform Programme (GEAR-uP).
In 2025, the Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) committed and deployed RM20.3 billion in domestic direct investment, about three times the RM6.6 billion recorded in 2024. Of this, RM1.4 billion went into the semiconductor industry and RM1.8 billion into digital and logistics infrastructure, with further investments in energy, healthcare, food security and young Malaysian companies.
“GEAR-uP works to turn capital into capabilities. That means building businesses, creating good jobs and paying Malaysians fairly. This report shows what a full year of that work has delivered,” said YB Senator Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Finance Minister II.
“We do not measure success in ringgit alone. We measure it in wages raised, in graduates starting good jobs, in firms growing, and in supply chains taking root in Malaysia,” he added.
Growth that is felt by all
As at December 2025, 91.7% of the 206,987 permanent Malaysian employees across the GLICs and their 37 Government-linked Companies (GLCs) earned at least RM3,100 a month, the living wage benchmark. This follows the commitment the six GLICs made together in May 2025.
The GLICs and GLCs also invested RM641 million in community programmes in 2025, 20% more than the year before. Their scholarships supported an average of 7,526 students a year between 2020 and 2025, 88% of them from B40 and M40 households. Bumiputera empowerment remains central to the programme. In 2025, the GLICs invested RM1.3 billion directly into Bumiputera companies to help them grow, while GLCs and PETRONAS bought around RM49 billion a year of goods and services from Bumiputera businesses over 2022 to 2025.
The year ahead
GEAR-uP enters 2026 with momentum. The 37 GLCs under the six GLICs are now part of the programme, having delivered an 8.0% shareholder return for the overall portfolio in 2025 against a 7.5% target. Most of the RM120 billion commitment is still to be deployed, and that capital will keep flowing into semiconductors, digital infrastructure, healthcare and energy transition. Bakat MADANI will bring training and job opportunities to 25,000 Malaysians by the end of 2027, and the work of the next two years is to stay the course and deliver.
The full 2026 GEAR-uP Report Card is available at https://mof.gov.my/gearup
Ministry of Finance
Putrajaya
7 August 2026
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Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) [KWAP] or the Retirement Fund (Incorporated) was established on 1st March 2007 under the Retirement Fund Act 2007 (Act 662) replacing the repealed Pensions Trust Fund Act 1991 (Act 454).
KWAP manages contributions from the Federal Government and relevant agencies made into the Retirement Fund [Fund] to obtain optimum returns on its investments through sound management and investment of the Fund in equity, fixed income securities, money market instruments, and other forms of investments as permitted under the Retirement Fund Act 2007 (Act 662). The Fund shall be applied towards assisting the Federal Government in funding its pension duties. In 2015, KWAP was officially appointed as an agent of the Federal Government for the purpose of payment of pension, gratuity, and other benefits granted under any written law from the Consolidated Fund as agreed between the Federal Government and KWAP.
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