# GLC — Government-Linked Company

> Companies in which the Malaysian government holds a controlling or significant stake, usually through a government-linked investment company such as Khazanah, EPF or PNB.

- Category: glossary
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-24
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/glossary/glc

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**Bahasa Malaysia:** Syarikat Berkaitan Kerajaan · **English:** Government-Linked Company · **中文:** 政府关联公司

A **GLC** is a company in which the Malaysian government holds a controlling
stake or otherwise exercises significant influence over its direction. The
government rarely holds these shares directly — ownership normally sits with a
**GLIC**, a government-linked *investment* company.

## In practice

The distinction between GLC and GLIC is the one most often confused:

| Term | What it is | Examples |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **GLIC** | The state-owned *investor* that holds the shares | Khazanah Nasional, EPF (KWSP), PNB, KWAP, LTAT, Tabung Haji |
| **GLC** | The *operating company* whose shares they hold | Utilities, banks, telcos, plantation and transport groups |

Two consequences follow from that structure:

- **GLCs are ordinary commercial companies.** Many are listed on Bursa Malaysia,
  file the same accounts, and are bought and sold by the public like any other
  counter. Being a GLC is a fact about the shareholder register, not a different
  legal form — a GLC is still typically a Berhad incorporated under the
  Companies Act 2016.
- **They carry a dual expectation.** A GLC is expected to deliver commercial
  returns to its shareholders while also being answerable, indirectly, to public
  and political expectations. That tension is the source of most public debate
  about GLCs.

GLC ownership is concentrated in sectors seen as strategic — electricity, water,
banking, telecommunications, postal services, airports, plantations and
transport — which is why the term appears so often in Malaysian business news.

## Related terms

- [Sdn Bhd](/en/glossary/sdn-bhd)

## Sources

- Khazanah Nasional Berhad — https://www.khazanah.com.my/ (Khazanah Nasional)
- Ministry of Finance Malaysia — https://www.mof.gov.my/ (Ministry of Finance)
- Bursa Malaysia — https://www.bursamalaysia.com/ (Bursa Malaysia)

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