TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd will put their investors money mainly in local oil and gas (O&G) companies, plantation and construction stocks.
The asset management company also plans to launch 20 unit trust schemes this year, an exercise that is expected to increase its fund size by more than a third to some RM26 billion.
Speaking to reporters yesterday at the launch of the CIMB Islamic DALI Equity Theme Fund, the firm’s third new offering this year, CIMB-Principal chief executive Datuk Noripah Kamso said Malaysia’s O&G sector would be driven by global energy demand, while soaring palm oil prices, and construction jobs under the Ninth Malaysian Plan would spur the plantation and construction industries respectively.
“Our remaining 17 funds will be largely Islamic because we are targeting the Middle East market,” Noripah said.
Of the 20 schemes to be unveiled this year, seven products will be launched by the firm’s Indonesian unit. Last year, CIMB-Principal Asset Management launched 11 new offerings to reach a combined fund size of approximately RM19 billion.
Meanwhile, the CIMB Islamic DALI Equity Theme Fund, expected to yield up to 12% in annual returns, will, initially, capitalise on the growth of local O&G, plantation and construction stocks, said Noripah.
At 25 sen apiece, the open-ended 600 million unit fund translates into a RM150 million scheme that will invest 98% of its net asset value in Islamic-compliant shares on the local exchange.
“Targeted returns for this fund will range from 8% to 12 % per annum. Malaysia is resilient in the global backdrop,” she said.
The unit trust is also expected to invest in other growth sectors including water, automobile and retail, according to its prospectus dated Feb 18.
Meanwhile, according to the Lipper FundMarket Insight Reports on Malaysian unit trust funds, Islamic schemes here fell 2.83% in January but still outperformed the broader unit trust market’s 3.99% drop during the month.
The broader market’s dip came because equity funds had to bear the brunt of the downturn in global bourses to finish at the bottom of the scoreboard with a 6.47% loss, dragged down by losses in funds investing overseas, notably greater China, and real estate plays.
In 2007, Islamic unit trusts rose 1.95% in December to end the year with a 22.84% gain, surpassing the overall unit trust market’s 1.42% and 21.33% advance respectively, as soaring commodity prices bolstered the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index.
CIMB-Principal, formerly known as Commerce Trust Berhad, is jointly-owned by CIMB Group and US-based Principal Financial Group on a 60:40 equity basis.
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