Cradle Fund, the agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Finance, says it has strengthened support for angel investments in the country by launching a dedicated body to oversee such activities.

The Malaysian Business Angel Network was created to encourage more angel investments and to grow accredited angel investors in the country through education and training, the group said in a statement. The Cradle Fund has been lobbying support for angel investments over the past years and had been successful in including a tax incentive offering for angel investors in government budget for 2013.

"Via MBAN, we are building linkages with Singapore, India, Hong Kong, China, Australia and New Zealand and pursuing linkages to networks in the UK and the US in the near future" said Nazrin Hassan, chief executive of Cradle Fund.

To-date there is no organisation tracking statistics related to angel investments. MBAN will be responsible for the accreditation of individual angel investors and angel investor clubs, creating awareness and training and monitoring investment statistics in the country. Cradle serves as the interim secretariat for MBAN.

There are currently 4 angel clubs in Malaysia and around 150 angels, with a total investment of almost RM10 million over the last two years. 

"The MBAN is not looking at only multi-millionaires and billionaires as potential angel investors. Anyone with income of RM15,000 a month is the starting point," added Hassan.