Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has clarified that the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) did not liquidate any specific assets to fund the Covid-19-related withdrawal schemes that were offered to the public. These include the i-Lestari, i-Sinar, and i-Citra schemes, as well as the RM10,000 special withdrawal facility.

Instead, the liquidation of assets performed by the EPF was made based on the “ordinary course of business” to cover the withdrawals made under the schemes.

Tengku Zafrul also stressed that all purchase and sale of EPF investment assets will be subjected to investment portfolio rebalancing, which is to be guided by EPF’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA). Ultimately, this should result in tangible and distributable income for dividend payments to EPF members.

“The EPF adopts a disciplined investment approach and solid liquidity management guided by SAA which reduces the impact of the stated withdrawals on the EPF portfolio. This is important to ensure that the EPF’s investment objectives to protect and increase the value of members’ savings can be achieved especially in challenging times,” said Tengku Zafrul in a written parliamentary reply.

Additionally, the minister commented that the maturity of investment instruments and generation of investment income has been able to provide the EPF with healthy monthly net contributions and consistent cash inflows. “As a retirement fund with total assets reaching RM1 trillion, EPF always ensures sufficient cash balance to support any needs and expenses,” he said.

(Source: The Edge Markets)

• TAGS:
• Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz
• Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
• EPF
• EPF i-Citra
• EPF i-Sinar
• EPF Withdrawals
• i-Citra
• i-Lestari
• i-Lestari Withdrawal Scheme
• i-Sinar
• i-Sinar Withdrawal Scheme
• Special Withdrawal Facility