Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir will step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Malaysian government-linked private equity firm Ekuinas by the end of this month.
Aliff Omar Mohamad Omar, currently Senior Director of Investment, will assume the role of acting CEO, according to a statement.
Omar joined Ekuinas in 2017, and has been working closely with Syed Yasir Arafat on strategy and value creation at the firm. He has over 16 years of experience in corporate finance, M&A, and capital markets.
Meanwhile, Syed Yasir Arafat has been with Ekuinas since its inception, and took the helm in 2016.
During his tenure, Syed Yasir Arafat has transformed Ekuinas into a 4 billion ringgit ($900 million) private equity fund, deploying 5.6 billion ringgit across 28 companies. He also led the creation of Dana Asas, a Bumiputera-focused private equity fund, and introduced private credit as a new investment asset class.
During an interview with DealStreetAsia, Syed Yasir Arafat said he saw an “ample opportunity” for Ekuinas to provide loans to small- to mid-sized companies in Malaysia.
To date, Ekuinas has undertaken 80 investments, out of which 57 are direct investments and 23 made through outsourced fund managers. The firm is focused on the education, fast-moving consumer goods, oil & gas, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors.
