The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has said that it is looking to increase investment in various domestic asset classes in 2022, given the reopening of economies and businesses within the country.

According to the chief executive officer of the EPF, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, the EPF is a major investor in Malaysia’s financial markets, and this move will play a role in boosting economic activities. “We believe that the reopening of economies and businesses, as well as various initiatives under the National Economic Recovery Plan, would provide fertile ground for the EPF to increase its investment efficiencies and leverage the opportunities that a recovery brings,” he said during a media briefing.

Datuk Seri Amir further shared that this decision is made based on the EPF’s internal data, which indicated a recovery in Malaysia’s labour market back to pre-pandemic levels during the fourth quarter of 2021. “With international borders set to reopen and vaccination rates among the best in the world, Malaysia is poised for a rebound in 2022,” he said.

As of December 2021, about 37% of the EPF’s investment assets were foreign investments, made across all assets, including equities. Datuk Seri Amir highlighted that these overseas assets were key contributors to the overall performance of the EPF’s portfolio last year, which ultimately allowed the provident fund to announce a dividend of 6.10% and 5.65% for its conventional and shariah savings for 2021, respectively.

“Equities, particularly foreign-listed equities, which recorded a return on investment (ROI) of 10.44% continued to be the driver of returns. Total income contributed by the equity asset class was RM38.93 billion, or 58%, of the EPF’s total gross income,” said Datuk Seri Amir.

The EPF’s overall investment assets, meanwhile, grew 0.8% from RM1 trillion in 2020 to RM1.01 trillion in 2021. Membership base also grew by 2% to 15.2 million by December 2021.

(Source: The Star)

• TAGS:
• Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan
• Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
• EPF
• EPF Dividend 2021
• EPF Dividends