Tengku Zafrul Aziz is the Chairman of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and a former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia (2022–2025). During his tenure at MITI, he led efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s investment and trade performance and advance industrial upgrading, including the rollout of key national strategies such as the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 and the National Semiconductor Strategy. Under his leadership, Malaysia recorded strong trade performance, with annual trade reaching record levels and exports remaining resilient despite a challenging global environment. He also drove initiatives to enhance investor facilitation and accelerate high-value investments aligned with priority sectors, while deepening Malaysia’s economic engagement with key markets and regional partners.

He previously served as Malaysia’s Minister of Finance (2020–2022), leading the country’s crisis response and recovery efforts during the COVID-19 period. This included curating and implementing eight stimulus and aid packages, the four-phased National Recovery Plan, and three national budgets (2021–2023). Malaysia recorded GDP growth of 8.7% in 2022 — the highest in over two decades — following the reopening and recovery measures put in place during this period.

Prior to public service, Tengku Zafrul spent over 25 years in the banking and financial sector, specialising in investment banking, sustainable finance, change management and regional strategy execution. He served as Group CEO and Executive Director of CIMB Group, a leading ASEAN universal bank with presence in 13 countries and a global leader in Islamic finance, and previously held senior leadership roles across regional banking and capital markets.

A keen sports, sustainability and youth development enthusiast, he has supported a range of initiatives spanning financial literacy, scholarships, sustainability platforms and community programmes. He is also President of the Badminton Association of Malaysia and an Honorary Captain in the Royal Malaysian Navy Volunteer Reserve.