KUALA LUMPUR: Prudential Fund Management Bhd, a unit of Britain-based Prudential plc, has sold nearly half of the 800 million units of its PRU 08 Capital Protected Asian Infrastructure Fund.
The fund has been offered for sale at 25 sen per unit since Oct 16. It is a two-year closed-end capital protected fund that offers investors eight opportunities (based on four quarters to a year) to cash out early.
A tenth of the capital raised would be used in an over-the-counter swap contract with investment bank Merrill Lynch International Bank Ltd offering exposure linked to the performance of three Asian infrastructure-based companies.
The remainder would be invested in ringgit-denominated money market instruments or fixed income securities.
The offer period ends on Nov 14.
Prudential's launch of PRU 08 capital protected Asian Infrastruture Fund. From Left to Right: PFMB Chief Officer Retail Marketing & Distribution Paul Khoo, PFMB CEO Mark Toh
Retail marketing and distribution chief officer Paul Khoo said the fund would allow investors to cash out every quarter based on a potential payout of 2% per quarter, depending on the equity markets' performance, or reap a potential 16% payout should the fund run its entire lifespan.
“This is the first time we're offering this type of structured fund in the country. Other countries where it is popular are Singapore and South Korea,” he told reporters at the fund launch yesterday.
The fund would be invested in stocks of South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, Japan's Komatsu Ltd and Singapore Airlines Ltd.
Hyundai Heavy Industries is involved in shipbuilding, Komatsu manufactures mining and construction equipment while Singapore's flagship carrier provides passenger and cargo transportation as well as airport management.
Khoo said Prudential Fund Management picked the three companies given Asia's strong economic growth.
The three stocks, he added, were the top picks based on the 300 stocks the company had researched on, and also selected on their consensus-wide ratings.
“The need for the flow of raw material due to the economic growth in China and India necessitates the use of transportation and heavy machinery to extract or move the raw material,” he said.
He added that the Asia-Pacific region needed another RM3.5 trillion in infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, Khoo said two more funds would be rolled out this year, of which one had been approved by the Securities Commission.
He said the company had raised RM600mil from the six funds launched this year.
“We'll be launching at least six funds next year, with a mixture of offshore and structured funds plus Islamic funds,” Khoo said, adding that there were many growth opportunities for Islamic funds.
Disclaimer: Reading materials in this site are obtained from its respective website and it is for information purposes only. It is not Malaysia Unit Trusts - administrator view and it is not to be used against Malaysia Unit Trusts - administrator.
