KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) is giving out a combined dividend and bonus dividend of 4.6 sen for its largest unit trust fund, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), for 2022.
The 4.6 sen comprised 3.35 sen dividend and 1.25 sen bonus dividend, PNB said today.
PNB is also giving out a special bonus dividend of 0.5 sen for the first 30,000 units held by a unit holder.
The dividends involve a total payout of nearly RM9 billion to 10.6 million ASB unit holders.
PNB group chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said despite difficult market conditions, the group had delivered a competitive income distribution for ASB unit holders, which this year includes a "Bonus Tambahan".
"The total distribution of RM8.9 billion will benefit 10.6 million unit holders who hold 186.4 billion units in ASB.
"The Bonus Tambahan is to assist our unitholders during a period of cost of living pressures," he said in a statement today.
PNB president and group chief executive Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said this year, Malaysian companies emerged as the largest contributor to returns, driven by ASB's investments in financial services, plantation and healthcare sectors.
"ASB took advantage of the relatively strong domestic equity market performance in the first half of 2022 to capture gains, rebalance its portfolio and increase its cash holdings," he said.
ASB continues to deliver sustainable and competitive returns, outperforming the benchmark of Malayan Banking Bhd's 12-month fixed deposit rate.
ASB's number of accounts increased by more than 200,000 to 10.6 million accounts, while units in circulation rose by 4.6 billion or 2.53 per cent to 186.4 billion units.
"This indicates continued confidence in ASB as an essential saving and investment tool for Bumiputeras in their financial planning.
"ASB has continued to deliver a return over its benchmark, resulting from the asset allocation and diversification strategies that we have employed in recent years.
"We are pleased to see the steady rise of Malaysians investing with us, as well as the increase in their size of their investments.
"ASB remains a fundamental component for our unit holders' financial planning," Ahmad Zulqarnain added.
PNB said for the first 11 months of the year, the group's total assets under management (AUM) increased from RM336.7 billion to RM343.1 billion.
During the same period, units in circulation for all ASNB's 17 funds increased from 276.2 billion units to 283.2 billion while the number of account holders stood at 15.2 million from 14.8 million in 2021.
Transactions for ASB at Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) branches and agents, including all online channels and internet banking, have been suspended temporarily from Dec 22 to Dec 31.
Unitholders may resume transactions at myASNB portal or via myASNB mobile application on Jan 1, 2023, or at any ASNB branch or its agents nationwide starting Jan 3, 2023.