KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) has announced a total income distribution of 5.25 sen per unit for its flagship fund, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023), outperforming the benchmark fixed deposit rates of 2.85 per cent.
The total consists of an income distribution of 4.25 sen a unit and a bonus of 1.00 sen a unit.
The total payout amounts to RM9.3 billion and will benefit 10.8 million ASB unit holders.
Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), in a statement today, said ASB managed to grow the number of accounts by more than 200,000 to 10.8 million accounts, indicating continued confidence in ASB as an essential savings and investment tool for Bumiputeras in their financial planning.
"Despite the volatile market conditions, PNB has consistently delivered competitive returns through our fixed-price funds, of which all had outperformed their benchmark over the years.
"Therefore, people are encouraged to continue saving for the long term and 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 Generations', we are committed to serving our unit holders and delivering competitive outcomes," PNB group chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Arshad Raja Tun Uda said in the statement.
"This year, we saw the increase in number of accounts to 15.6 million as of October 2023 (from 15.2 million last year).
"The sustained popularity of our unit trust products was evident through the findings from the 2023 RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS) with ASNB products maintaining their position as the most popular investment choice," he added.
Transactions for ASB at ASNB branches and agents, including all online channels and internet banking, will be suspended temporarily from Dec 22 to 25, 2023.
A special feature is introduced this year to encourage Malaysians to continue saving, which allows additional cash investment transaction in ASB starting Dec 26, 2023.
These investment transactions will be taken into account for the monthly minimum balance in January 2024, allowing unit holders to enjoy the full calculation of income distribution from January 2024.
Unit holders may resume transactions at all online channels and internet banking beginning Jan 1, 2024, and at any ASNB branches and agents beginning Jan 2, 2024.