Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) has announced a total distribution payout of 5.25 sen per unit for its flagship fund, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), for the financial year ending 31 December 2023. This is higher than the 4.60 sen payout per unit that was declared back in 2022, and is set to benefit 10.8 billion unitholders with a total income payout of RM9.3 billion.

In a statement, ASNB – which is wholly owned by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) – clarified that the total 5.25 sen payout per unit is comprised of an income distribution of 4.25 sen per unit, in addition to a bonus of 1 sen per unit. It also noted that the returns recorded outperformed its benchmark, which is Maybank’s 12-month fixed deposit rate.

During the announcement, chairman of PNB, Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda emphasised that PNB and ASNB have been consistently delivering competitive returns for its fixed price funds, despite volatile market conditions.

“Therefore, people are encouraged to continue saving for the long term and for a secure future. We recognise the importance of championing financial literacy, and guided by our recently refreshed purpose to uplift the financial lives of Malaysians across generation, we are committed to serving our unitholders and delivering competitive outcomes,” said Raja Tan Sri Arshad, who also noted that PNB saw its number of accounts increase from 15.2 million last year to 15.6 million as of October 2023.

Meanwhile, the number of ASB accounts, specifically, rose by more than 200,000 to a total of 10.8 million accounts.

President and group chief executive officer of PNB, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn also commented that ASB has recorded a strong performance in 2023 because of its asset accumulation and diversification strategy. “A number of important transactions have been conducted to increase value for unitholders. ASB will continue to be the investment of choice for millions of bumiputera individuals, and provide consistent returns, thereby forming part of the savings plan for over 10.8 million customers,” he said.

Moving forward, PNB will intensify its digitalisation efforts, as well as ensure that it is on track to achieve its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments. It will also be more active in reaching out to the public to help improve financial literacy among Malaysians.

In the meantime, PNB said that all ASB transactions will be temporarily suspended from 22 to 25 December 2023, with a new feature that allows additional cash investment transactions in ASB to be rolled out on 26 December. The units reinvested from the income distribution, on the other hand, will be credited into unitholders’ accounts on 1 January 2024.

(Source: ASNB)

• TAGS:
• Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn
• Amanah Saham Bumiputera
• Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB)
• Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd
• ASB
• ASNB
• Income Distribution Payout
• Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda