TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: Alliance Investment Management Bhd (AIMB) has declared a gross income distribution of three sen per unit for its fixed-income fund, Alliance Moneyplus Fund (AMF), for the year ended June 30, 2008.
In a statement yesterday, AIMB said the distribution, which translates to a yield of 5.55%, was the highest paid out cash distribution since the fund's inception in 2002. Last year's distribution was two sen.
"Performance wise, the fund had gained 4.35% from 0.5176 sen to 0.5401 sen. The average net asset value (NAV) during the 12-month period was 0.5410 sen," said AIMB head and executive director Nik Azhar Abdullah.
According to the Lipper Fund Table, dated July 14, 2008, AMF was ranked second, ninth and fourth out of 38, 26 and 19 funds in the same category on the back of a 4.35% return for the one year period, 13.42% for three years and 25.98% for five years, respectively.
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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Public Mutual unveils new capital protected fund with exposure in gold and oil & gas related sectors
PublicMutual
Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual will launch Public Capital Protected Select Portfolio Fund (PCPSPF) on 29 July 2008 (Tuesday). The fund allows investors to enjoy capital protection upon maturity of the fund while participating in the upside growth potential of the gold and oil & gas related sectors.
Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said while PCPSPF is a 100% capital protected fund, it provides investors with the additional benefit of participating in the upside potential of the gold and oil & gas sectors as well as hedge part of their investments against inflation. “Historically, gold has been perceived as a hedge against rising inflation as gold provides a stable store of value amidst uncertainties in financial assets. Investing in the oil & gas sector is also a hedge against the current cycle of inflation which was fuelled by the uptrend in oil prices in recent years,” he explained.
PCPSPF seeks to achieve capital appreciation over the tenure of the fund while providing capital protection upon maturity of the fund. At least 85% of its net asset value (NAV) will be invested in Ringgit-denominated zero-coupon negotiable instrument of deposits (ZNIDs) and liquid investments comprising high quality debentures and money market instruments. The balance of the fund’s NAV will be invested in a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs), equities and equity-related securities of gold and oil & gas related sectors.
The Initial Offer Price of PCPSPF is at RM0.9901 per unit during the 45-day initial offer period of 29 July 2008 to 11 September 2008. The service charge is at RM0.0099 per unit, which is 1% of the NAV of the fund during offer period. “As PCPSPF is a closed-end fund, the units will only be sold during Offer Period. The minimum investment for the fund is RM1,000,” said Tan Sri Teh.
Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Teh added that PCPSPF’s capital is protected with a Capital Protected Value of RM1.0000 per unit at the Maturity Date. The Maturity Date is on 21 September 2011 or earlier if the fund is fully sold before 11 September 2008.
PCPSPF is suitable for risk adverse investors. The fund is distributed by Public Mutual unit trust consultants. Interested investors can contact any Public Mutual unit trust consultant or call its Customer Service Hotline at 03-6207 5000 for more details of the fund.
Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia, and it manages 63 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 May 2008, the total NAV of the funds managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.
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.
Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual will launch Public Capital Protected Select Portfolio Fund (PCPSPF) on 29 July 2008 (Tuesday). The fund allows investors to enjoy capital protection upon maturity of the fund while participating in the upside growth potential of the gold and oil & gas related sectors.
Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said while PCPSPF is a 100% capital protected fund, it provides investors with the additional benefit of participating in the upside potential of the gold and oil & gas sectors as well as hedge part of their investments against inflation. “Historically, gold has been perceived as a hedge against rising inflation as gold provides a stable store of value amidst uncertainties in financial assets. Investing in the oil & gas sector is also a hedge against the current cycle of inflation which was fuelled by the uptrend in oil prices in recent years,” he explained.
PCPSPF seeks to achieve capital appreciation over the tenure of the fund while providing capital protection upon maturity of the fund. At least 85% of its net asset value (NAV) will be invested in Ringgit-denominated zero-coupon negotiable instrument of deposits (ZNIDs) and liquid investments comprising high quality debentures and money market instruments. The balance of the fund’s NAV will be invested in a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs), equities and equity-related securities of gold and oil & gas related sectors.
The Initial Offer Price of PCPSPF is at RM0.9901 per unit during the 45-day initial offer period of 29 July 2008 to 11 September 2008. The service charge is at RM0.0099 per unit, which is 1% of the NAV of the fund during offer period. “As PCPSPF is a closed-end fund, the units will only be sold during Offer Period. The minimum investment for the fund is RM1,000,” said Tan Sri Teh.
Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Teh added that PCPSPF’s capital is protected with a Capital Protected Value of RM1.0000 per unit at the Maturity Date. The Maturity Date is on 21 September 2011 or earlier if the fund is fully sold before 11 September 2008.
PCPSPF is suitable for risk adverse investors. The fund is distributed by Public Mutual unit trust consultants. Interested investors can contact any Public Mutual unit trust consultant or call its Customer Service Hotline at 03-6207 5000 for more details of the fund.
Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia, and it manages 63 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 May 2008, the total NAV of the funds managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.
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.
Monday, July 28, 2008
HwangDBS to stay in defensive mode
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd will continue to hold a defensive position with respect to domestic equities and will retain a cash buffer to cushion the impact from any weakness.
HwangDBS IM chief executive officer and executive director Teng Chee Wai said Malaysian equities continued to take the cue from regional and global market peers in the second quarter.
He said expectations were that politics would continue to dominate the local front and would weigh negatively on equities until a clearer sign of stability was seen.
“On a broader perspective, however, Asian equities underperformed other equity markets over the (second) quarter as inflation concerns featured more significantly in the region.
“Additionally, concerns over secondary and spill-through effects from the economic slowdown experienced in the US affected confidence over the highly export-driven Asian markets,” Teng said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, HwangDBS IM announced an annual gross income distribution of 10 sen per unit for its flagship fund, the HwangDBS Select Opportunity Fund (SOF), for the financial year ending July 31, 2008.
All SOF unitholders registered as at July 18, 2008 are eligible to receive the income allotment, which represents the equity and growth fund’s seventh distribution since its launch on Sept 7, 2001 and final distribution for the said financial period.
Since its inception, the SOF has outperformed the KLCI by a total of 90.03%, distributed a total of 63 sen in dividends, HwangDBS said.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd will continue to hold a defensive position with respect to domestic equities and will retain a cash buffer to cushion the impact from any weakness.
HwangDBS IM chief executive officer and executive director Teng Chee Wai said Malaysian equities continued to take the cue from regional and global market peers in the second quarter.
He said expectations were that politics would continue to dominate the local front and would weigh negatively on equities until a clearer sign of stability was seen.
“On a broader perspective, however, Asian equities underperformed other equity markets over the (second) quarter as inflation concerns featured more significantly in the region.
“Additionally, concerns over secondary and spill-through effects from the economic slowdown experienced in the US affected confidence over the highly export-driven Asian markets,” Teng said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, HwangDBS IM announced an annual gross income distribution of 10 sen per unit for its flagship fund, the HwangDBS Select Opportunity Fund (SOF), for the financial year ending July 31, 2008.
All SOF unitholders registered as at July 18, 2008 are eligible to receive the income allotment, which represents the equity and growth fund’s seventh distribution since its launch on Sept 7, 2001 and final distribution for the said financial period.
Since its inception, the SOF has outperformed the KLCI by a total of 90.03%, distributed a total of 63 sen in dividends, HwangDBS said.
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.
Friday, July 25, 2008
HwangDBS declares payout for flagship fund
BusinessTimes
HWANGDBS Investment Management Bhd has declared an annual gross income distribution for its flagship fund - HwangDBS Select Opportunity Fund (SOF) at 10 sen per unit for the financial year ending July 31 2008.
This is the seventh distribution since its launch on September 7 2001, and final distribution for the financial period.
The fund, since its launch, has outperformed the KLCI by a total of 90.03 per cent and has distributed a total of 63 sen.
"Amid the falling market and slow economic growth locally and globally, HwangDBS Investment Management is pleased to be able to declare an income distribution for an equity fund such as SOF," chief executive officer and executive director Teng Chee Wai said in a statement.
Teng added that the second quarter of 2008 market outlook started off a better note as global equities generally rebounded strongly in April.
"However, sentiment remained fickle and equities consolidated over the subsequent months, wiping out almost all gains achieved in April, and proving that April's performance was merely a technical rebound from the lows recorded in March.
"Expectations are that politics will continue to dominate the local front and will weigh negatively on Malaysian equities until a clearer sign of stability is seen," he said.
HwangDBS Investment Management will continue to hold a defensive position with respect to the domestic equities and will retain a cash buffer to cushion the impact from any weakness seen in Malaysian equities, Teng added.
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.
HWANGDBS Investment Management Bhd has declared an annual gross income distribution for its flagship fund - HwangDBS Select Opportunity Fund (SOF) at 10 sen per unit for the financial year ending July 31 2008.
This is the seventh distribution since its launch on September 7 2001, and final distribution for the financial period.
The fund, since its launch, has outperformed the KLCI by a total of 90.03 per cent and has distributed a total of 63 sen.
"Amid the falling market and slow economic growth locally and globally, HwangDBS Investment Management is pleased to be able to declare an income distribution for an equity fund such as SOF," chief executive officer and executive director Teng Chee Wai said in a statement.
Teng added that the second quarter of 2008 market outlook started off a better note as global equities generally rebounded strongly in April.
"However, sentiment remained fickle and equities consolidated over the subsequent months, wiping out almost all gains achieved in April, and proving that April's performance was merely a technical rebound from the lows recorded in March.
"Expectations are that politics will continue to dominate the local front and will weigh negatively on Malaysian equities until a clearer sign of stability is seen," he said.
HwangDBS Investment Management will continue to hold a defensive position with respect to the domestic equities and will retain a cash buffer to cushion the impact from any weakness seen in Malaysian equities, Teng added.
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.
Others say keep interest rate unchanged
TheStar
PETALING JAYA: Concerns on stagflation and weaker growth have led some economists to recommend keeping interest rates unchanged.
According to Kuwait Finance House, a rate hike at this juncture would increase growth concerns and affect lending, especially to the retail sector.
Consumer sentiment had already plunged to a record low of 70 points, well below the 100-point level, the foreign research house said in a report.
CIMB-GK Research regional economist Song Seng Wun said the Malaysian economy faced downside risks with global demand slowing.
Furthermore, expectation of inflation is contained, to a certain extent, as employees may not be pushing too much for salary adjustments amidst slowing growth. This limits concerns on the rising cost of doing business.
With global commodity prices retreating and coming off their peaks, inflationary pressures might also ease, Song said.
OSK Investment Bank, in a report yesterday, said an interest hike would erode earnings margins and beat down consumer sentiment.
“The hike in interest rates could widen the positive differential between the US Fed funds rate and the OPR (overnight policy rate), which will probably attract ‘hot money’ inflows into Malaysia,” it said.
An alternative to mitigate inflations would be to allow the ringgit to appreciate against the US dollar so that imports would be cheaper.
TA Securities in a report said the current inflationary environment was attributed to the cost-push effect. Demand had most likely slowed in June as disposable income was crimped following the fuel price hike.
“We expect that the OPR may remain at the nine-month constant rate of 3.5% and Bank Negara may review it if the inflation rate breaks pass the 4% neutral level in the coming months,” the brokerage said.
Aseambankers shared similar views, noting that a “gloomy economic outlook and recession warnings” had been issued by central banks and government officials in developed countries.
It expects Bank Negara to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 3.5% when it meets today and for the rest of the year. This is to sustain economic growth amid the growing risk of a weakening global economy and downside risk to domestic economic activities due to political and inflation factors.
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.
PETALING JAYA: Concerns on stagflation and weaker growth have led some economists to recommend keeping interest rates unchanged.
According to Kuwait Finance House, a rate hike at this juncture would increase growth concerns and affect lending, especially to the retail sector.
Consumer sentiment had already plunged to a record low of 70 points, well below the 100-point level, the foreign research house said in a report.
CIMB-GK Research regional economist Song Seng Wun said the Malaysian economy faced downside risks with global demand slowing.
Furthermore, expectation of inflation is contained, to a certain extent, as employees may not be pushing too much for salary adjustments amidst slowing growth. This limits concerns on the rising cost of doing business.
With global commodity prices retreating and coming off their peaks, inflationary pressures might also ease, Song said.
OSK Investment Bank, in a report yesterday, said an interest hike would erode earnings margins and beat down consumer sentiment.
“The hike in interest rates could widen the positive differential between the US Fed funds rate and the OPR (overnight policy rate), which will probably attract ‘hot money’ inflows into Malaysia,” it said.
An alternative to mitigate inflations would be to allow the ringgit to appreciate against the US dollar so that imports would be cheaper.
TA Securities in a report said the current inflationary environment was attributed to the cost-push effect. Demand had most likely slowed in June as disposable income was crimped following the fuel price hike.
“We expect that the OPR may remain at the nine-month constant rate of 3.5% and Bank Negara may review it if the inflation rate breaks pass the 4% neutral level in the coming months,” the brokerage said.
Aseambankers shared similar views, noting that a “gloomy economic outlook and recession warnings” had been issued by central banks and government officials in developed countries.
It expects Bank Negara to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 3.5% when it meets today and for the rest of the year. This is to sustain economic growth amid the growing risk of a weakening global economy and downside risk to domestic economic activities due to political and inflation factors.
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.
Rates: To raise or not to raise?
TheStar
Some economists say interest rate hike can contain inflation
PETALING JAYA: Economists say any interest rate hike by Bank Negara following today's policy meeting will be carried out in response to the current inflationary pressure and to counter the negative real rate of return.
According to figures released by the Government on Wednesday, the consumer price index had risen to a 27-year high of 7.7% for the month of June largely due to the increase in fuel price and would likely stay at the same level this month following the hike in electricity tariff.
Daiwa Securities chief economist for Asia ex-Japan Prasenjit K. Basu said a hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR, the key interest rate that affects commercial banks' lending rates) was likely at the meeting. “Certainly by end-August there'll be a hike of 50 basis points,” he told StarBiz yesterday.
Basu said the central bank had a policy of maintaining a positive real deposit rate and would need to raise the OPR in order to maintain the policy. The OPR currently stands at 3.5% while banks' average one-year deposit rates stood at 3.70%.
Fortis Bank senior economist Joseph Tan said the country needed to raise rates to check inflation expectations as well as to avoid a negative feedback loop.
“If the market sees the country as behind the loop in containing inflation, the ringgit might weaken and this would increase the cost of imports,” he said, adding that Malaysia should not follow the path of Thailand and South Korea, which did not do enough to contain inflation.
Tan said while higher prices and the fuel price hike mainly drive inflation, other factors must also be considered to check on inflation expectations.
Kenanga Research economist Wan Suhaimie Saidi said in a research note that Bank Negara might revise the OPR upwards to 4% in the next six months with a 50% probability that there would be a 25-basis-point rate hike to 3.75% at the policy meeting.
He said the upsurge in consumer prices, along with the regional rate-tightening trend, had put the central bank's pro-growth policy in a quandary and posed an increasing challenge to maintaining the current monetary policy stance.
Given the current scenario, Wan Suhaimie said policy makers might be more focused on combating inflation and wrestling with the huge negative real rate of return.
Meanwhile, AmResearch Sdn Bhd said in an economic update that interest rates were likely to be adjusted upwards in line with the international trend.
Earlier in the month, the European Central Bank had raised its benchmark refinancing rate to 4.25% following a jump in inflation to over 4% due to surging oil prices. Closer to home, the Indonesian central bank had raised interest rates by 25 basis points each month in the last three months. Other countries in the region, including India, had also raised rates recently as they grappled with inflation.
AmResearch said a gradual increase in the OPR would be expected, with a 25-basis-point hike following the August meeting and another before year-end, which would put it at 4%.
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.
Some economists say interest rate hike can contain inflation
PETALING JAYA: Economists say any interest rate hike by Bank Negara following today's policy meeting will be carried out in response to the current inflationary pressure and to counter the negative real rate of return.
According to figures released by the Government on Wednesday, the consumer price index had risen to a 27-year high of 7.7% for the month of June largely due to the increase in fuel price and would likely stay at the same level this month following the hike in electricity tariff.
Daiwa Securities chief economist for Asia ex-Japan Prasenjit K. Basu said a hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR, the key interest rate that affects commercial banks' lending rates) was likely at the meeting. “Certainly by end-August there'll be a hike of 50 basis points,” he told StarBiz yesterday.
Basu said the central bank had a policy of maintaining a positive real deposit rate and would need to raise the OPR in order to maintain the policy. The OPR currently stands at 3.5% while banks' average one-year deposit rates stood at 3.70%.
Fortis Bank senior economist Joseph Tan said the country needed to raise rates to check inflation expectations as well as to avoid a negative feedback loop.
“If the market sees the country as behind the loop in containing inflation, the ringgit might weaken and this would increase the cost of imports,” he said, adding that Malaysia should not follow the path of Thailand and South Korea, which did not do enough to contain inflation.
Tan said while higher prices and the fuel price hike mainly drive inflation, other factors must also be considered to check on inflation expectations.
Kenanga Research economist Wan Suhaimie Saidi said in a research note that Bank Negara might revise the OPR upwards to 4% in the next six months with a 50% probability that there would be a 25-basis-point rate hike to 3.75% at the policy meeting.
He said the upsurge in consumer prices, along with the regional rate-tightening trend, had put the central bank's pro-growth policy in a quandary and posed an increasing challenge to maintaining the current monetary policy stance.
Given the current scenario, Wan Suhaimie said policy makers might be more focused on combating inflation and wrestling with the huge negative real rate of return.
Meanwhile, AmResearch Sdn Bhd said in an economic update that interest rates were likely to be adjusted upwards in line with the international trend.
Earlier in the month, the European Central Bank had raised its benchmark refinancing rate to 4.25% following a jump in inflation to over 4% due to surging oil prices. Closer to home, the Indonesian central bank had raised interest rates by 25 basis points each month in the last three months. Other countries in the region, including India, had also raised rates recently as they grappled with inflation.
AmResearch said a gradual increase in the OPR would be expected, with a 25-basis-point hike following the August meeting and another before year-end, which would put it at 4%.
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.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
ING Funds’ new global emerging market fund
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: ING Funds Bhd has launched its latest global fund, the ING Global Emerging Markets Debt, a fund that provides investors with a regular income stream through investments in a diversified selection of fixed income securities, money market instruments, derivatives and deposits.
In a statement yesterday, ING Funds said the fund would be mainly denominated in the local currencies of the developing countries in Latin America, Asia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Africa.
It said those were markets where economic reforms had been carried out and where the economic growth had exceeded that of developed countries over the past decade.
ING Global Emerging Markets Debt fund feeds into a target fund — the ING (L) Renta Fund Emerging Markets Debt Local Currency (IRFEMD) which has a total asset under management (AuM) of more than US$2 billion (RM6.5 billion) and is domiciled in Luxembourg.
IRFEMD is managed by ING Asset Management in the Netherlands which is part of ING Investment Management (ING IM) Europe. ING IM has managed emerging markets local currency since 1993.
“Emerging markets represent an important growth opportunity. Strong domestic demand, high exports to developed markets and large populations with rising wages are just some of the factors which have been creating value and delivering higher returns for investors,” said Ismitz Matthew De Alwis, head of retail distribution of ING 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.
KUALA LUMPUR: ING Funds Bhd has launched its latest global fund, the ING Global Emerging Markets Debt, a fund that provides investors with a regular income stream through investments in a diversified selection of fixed income securities, money market instruments, derivatives and deposits.
In a statement yesterday, ING Funds said the fund would be mainly denominated in the local currencies of the developing countries in Latin America, Asia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Africa.
It said those were markets where economic reforms had been carried out and where the economic growth had exceeded that of developed countries over the past decade.
ING Global Emerging Markets Debt fund feeds into a target fund — the ING (L) Renta Fund Emerging Markets Debt Local Currency (IRFEMD) which has a total asset under management (AuM) of more than US$2 billion (RM6.5 billion) and is domiciled in Luxembourg.
IRFEMD is managed by ING Asset Management in the Netherlands which is part of ING Investment Management (ING IM) Europe. ING IM has managed emerging markets local currency since 1993.
“Emerging markets represent an important growth opportunity. Strong domestic demand, high exports to developed markets and large populations with rising wages are just some of the factors which have been creating value and delivering higher returns for investors,” said Ismitz Matthew De Alwis, head of retail distribution of ING 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.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Ringgit drops on politics, rate outlook; bonds gain
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit declined yesterday on concern that political jitters will cause the central bank to delay raising interest rates amid accelerating inflation.
The currency was trading at 3.2325 against the US dollar as at 5.52 pm, down from 3.2275 the day before, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The prospect for the ringgit may not be so great with the political drawback. The central bank also risks being way behind the curve if it doesn’t raise interest rates this month,” said Joanna Tan, an economist and currency strategist at Forecast Singapore Pte.
Central bank governor, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar said on July 9 that inflation exceeded 6% last month, something last seen in June 1998. The report on June consumer price changes is due on July 23, and economists are expecting a 6.4% increase from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg survey.
Bank Negara has kept its overnight policy rate unchanged at 3.5% for 17 straight meetings since April 2006, and the next meeting scheduled on July 25 is expected to see a quarter point raise to help curb inflation, Tan said.
The benchmark three-month intervention rate was 11% the last time inflation exceeded 6%, according to Bloomberg.
However, economist Wan Suhaimi Saidi of Kenanga Investment Bank predicted that the central bank would leave the interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week. “The local economy is doing okay, but the political stuff is still going to bug investors,” he said.
Ten-year government bonds rose for the third day, pushing yields to the lowest since the start of the month as traders pared expectations for higher interest rates.
“People mostly aren’t expecting any rate increase next week. That is a small positive for bonds, especially after yields reached a good level this week,” said Mohd Syam Yunus, a bond trader at EON Bank Bhd
The yield on the 4.24% note maturing in Feb 2018 fell two basis points to 4.83%, according to the electronic bond exchange of Bursa Malaysia Bhd. The price rose RM1.50 per RM1000 face value to RM95.50.
Ten-year yields jumped more than 1% since the end of March to reach a two year high of 5.02% on July 14, according to Bloomberg.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit declined yesterday on concern that political jitters will cause the central bank to delay raising interest rates amid accelerating inflation.
The currency was trading at 3.2325 against the US dollar as at 5.52 pm, down from 3.2275 the day before, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The prospect for the ringgit may not be so great with the political drawback. The central bank also risks being way behind the curve if it doesn’t raise interest rates this month,” said Joanna Tan, an economist and currency strategist at Forecast Singapore Pte.
Central bank governor, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar said on July 9 that inflation exceeded 6% last month, something last seen in June 1998. The report on June consumer price changes is due on July 23, and economists are expecting a 6.4% increase from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg survey.
Bank Negara has kept its overnight policy rate unchanged at 3.5% for 17 straight meetings since April 2006, and the next meeting scheduled on July 25 is expected to see a quarter point raise to help curb inflation, Tan said.
The benchmark three-month intervention rate was 11% the last time inflation exceeded 6%, according to Bloomberg.
However, economist Wan Suhaimi Saidi of Kenanga Investment Bank predicted that the central bank would leave the interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week. “The local economy is doing okay, but the political stuff is still going to bug investors,” he said.
Ten-year government bonds rose for the third day, pushing yields to the lowest since the start of the month as traders pared expectations for higher interest rates.
“People mostly aren’t expecting any rate increase next week. That is a small positive for bonds, especially after yields reached a good level this week,” said Mohd Syam Yunus, a bond trader at EON Bank Bhd
The yield on the 4.24% note maturing in Feb 2018 fell two basis points to 4.83%, according to the electronic bond exchange of Bursa Malaysia Bhd. The price rose RM1.50 per RM1000 face value to RM95.50.
Ten-year yields jumped more than 1% since the end of March to reach a two year high of 5.02% on July 14, according to Bloomberg.
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.
ASM Investment set to double assets
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: ASM Investment Services Bhd targets to double its current total assets to RM1bil in two years.
Chief executive officer Nik Mohamed Zaki Nik Yusoff said the company, which currently manages 17 funds, would focus on expanding its corporate fund portfolio with the launch of its new real estate investment trust fund (REIT) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) next year.
“Currently, 80% are retail fund and 20% corporate. We are now in discussions with local partners to launch our new REIT, likely by the second quarter of next year.
“For ETF, we are also in talks to tie up with foreign parties. I think we'll launch it by the third quarter of next year,” he said after the launch of its new Syariah Dividend Fund (SDF) yesterday.
He said ASM Investment would launch a new structure fund by year-end to further expand its fund size.
Nik Mohamed said the SDF would adopt an active investment management strategy to achieve long-term total returns and stable income stream by investing in syariah-compliant equities, Islamic money market instruments and liquid assets.
It has an approved fund size of 500 million units and would cost 25 sen per unit during the initial promotional period ending Aug 10.
Nik Mohamed said the new fund was expected to be fully subscribed within six months.
On whether it was the right time to launch the fund due to the uncertainties in the current market, he said: “The shares the SDF invests in do not fluctuate when the stock market falls and their performance is better than the bonds when the market goes up.”
He said the value of the SDF had the potential to increase by generating income for the investors even though the value of the component shares fell. – Bernama
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: ASM Investment Services Bhd targets to double its current total assets to RM1bil in two years.
Chief executive officer Nik Mohamed Zaki Nik Yusoff said the company, which currently manages 17 funds, would focus on expanding its corporate fund portfolio with the launch of its new real estate investment trust fund (REIT) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) next year.
“Currently, 80% are retail fund and 20% corporate. We are now in discussions with local partners to launch our new REIT, likely by the second quarter of next year.
“For ETF, we are also in talks to tie up with foreign parties. I think we'll launch it by the third quarter of next year,” he said after the launch of its new Syariah Dividend Fund (SDF) yesterday.
He said ASM Investment would launch a new structure fund by year-end to further expand its fund size.
Nik Mohamed said the SDF would adopt an active investment management strategy to achieve long-term total returns and stable income stream by investing in syariah-compliant equities, Islamic money market instruments and liquid assets.
It has an approved fund size of 500 million units and would cost 25 sen per unit during the initial promotional period ending Aug 10.
Nik Mohamed said the new fund was expected to be fully subscribed within six months.
On whether it was the right time to launch the fund due to the uncertainties in the current market, he said: “The shares the SDF invests in do not fluctuate when the stock market falls and their performance is better than the bonds when the market goes up.”
He said the value of the SDF had the potential to increase by generating income for the investors even though the value of the component shares fell. – Bernama
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.
ING unveils fund with focus on developing countries
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: ING Funds Bhd has launched the ING Global Emerging Markets Debt, a global fund that provides investors with regular income stream.
The fund invests in a diversified selection of fixed-income securities, money market instruments, derivatives and deposits mainly denominated in local currencies of developing countries in Latin America, Asia, central and eastern Europe and Africa.
The fund would feed into a target fund, ING (L) Renta Fund Emerging Markets Debt Local Currency.
The target fund had total assets under management of more than US$2bil and was domiciled in Luxembourg, the company said in a statement yesterday.
“Emerging markets represent an important growth opportunity,” said retail distribution head Ismitz Mattew De Alwis.
“Strong domestic demand, high exports to developed markets and large population with rising wages are just some of the factors which have been creating value and delivering higher returns for investors.”
It would give investors the chance to diversify their portfolio with an investment class that was lowly correlated with developed markets, he added.
The fund has an approved size of 300 million units. The minimum initial investment is RM5,000. – Bernama
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: ING Funds Bhd has launched the ING Global Emerging Markets Debt, a global fund that provides investors with regular income stream.
The fund invests in a diversified selection of fixed-income securities, money market instruments, derivatives and deposits mainly denominated in local currencies of developing countries in Latin America, Asia, central and eastern Europe and Africa.
The fund would feed into a target fund, ING (L) Renta Fund Emerging Markets Debt Local Currency.
The target fund had total assets under management of more than US$2bil and was domiciled in Luxembourg, the company said in a statement yesterday.
“Emerging markets represent an important growth opportunity,” said retail distribution head Ismitz Mattew De Alwis.
“Strong domestic demand, high exports to developed markets and large population with rising wages are just some of the factors which have been creating value and delivering higher returns for investors.”
It would give investors the chance to diversify their portfolio with an investment class that was lowly correlated with developed markets, he added.
The fund has an approved size of 300 million units. The minimum initial investment is RM5,000. – Bernama
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.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
CIMB’s new fund relies on legendary names for investment
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Investment Bank Bhd has launched Dynamic Best of Gurus floating rate negotiable instrument of deposit fund (FRNID) that enables investors to benefit from the expertise of famous investment gurus, namely Warren Buffett, William Gross, Mark Mobius and Jim Rogers.
The FRNID enables investors to invest in equities, bonds, emerging market equities and commodities, with a minimum investment of RM100,000. The returns are based on the best performer out of the four selected portfolios.
“Investors the world over recognise these legendary names but may not be able to benefit from their expertise due to the high entry costs into their companies or funds.
“By combining our expertise in treasury products and risk management with our distribution network, we are able to provide this investment exposure to the mass affluent in Malaysia,” said CIMB’s group treasurer Lee K Kwan.
The fund has a choice of three-year without guaranteed coupon, five-year without guaranteed coupon and five-year with guaranteed coupon. The five-year guaranteed coupon gives out guaranteed return only for the first three years, which is 5% in year one, 3% in year two and 2% in year three.
According to CIMB’s market investigation from early 2001 to April 2008, the average annual return for the three-year without guaranteed coupon plan, five-year without guaranteed coupon plan and five-year with guaranteed coupon plan are 17.65%, 23.78% and 9.13%, respectively.
The return for the three-year without guaranteed fund is an unlimited payout at maturity. Meanwhile, for both of the five-year plans, 50% of the annual return would be paid to investors and the remainder would be reinvested in the fund.
The FRNID, which would be managed by CIMB Group, comes with the assurance of daily prices and liquidity that allow investors to cash out their capital gains prior to the maturity of the investment, without any charge or penalty. Meanwhile, the capital is guaranteed by the bank at maturity.
The Dynamic Best of Gurus FRNID is available at all CIMB Bank branches and CIMB Private Banking from July 15 to 31.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Investment Bank Bhd has launched Dynamic Best of Gurus floating rate negotiable instrument of deposit fund (FRNID) that enables investors to benefit from the expertise of famous investment gurus, namely Warren Buffett, William Gross, Mark Mobius and Jim Rogers.
The FRNID enables investors to invest in equities, bonds, emerging market equities and commodities, with a minimum investment of RM100,000. The returns are based on the best performer out of the four selected portfolios.
“Investors the world over recognise these legendary names but may not be able to benefit from their expertise due to the high entry costs into their companies or funds.
“By combining our expertise in treasury products and risk management with our distribution network, we are able to provide this investment exposure to the mass affluent in Malaysia,” said CIMB’s group treasurer Lee K Kwan.
The fund has a choice of three-year without guaranteed coupon, five-year without guaranteed coupon and five-year with guaranteed coupon. The five-year guaranteed coupon gives out guaranteed return only for the first three years, which is 5% in year one, 3% in year two and 2% in year three.
According to CIMB’s market investigation from early 2001 to April 2008, the average annual return for the three-year without guaranteed coupon plan, five-year without guaranteed coupon plan and five-year with guaranteed coupon plan are 17.65%, 23.78% and 9.13%, respectively.
The return for the three-year without guaranteed fund is an unlimited payout at maturity. Meanwhile, for both of the five-year plans, 50% of the annual return would be paid to investors and the remainder would be reinvested in the fund.
The FRNID, which would be managed by CIMB Group, comes with the assurance of daily prices and liquidity that allow investors to cash out their capital gains prior to the maturity of the investment, without any charge or penalty. Meanwhile, the capital is guaranteed by the bank at maturity.
The Dynamic Best of Gurus FRNID is available at all CIMB Bank branches and CIMB Private Banking from July 15 to 31.
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.
AmInvestment to distribute income
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: AmInvestment Bank group has declared interim income distributions of 10 sen and 1.55 sen respectively for its two exchange traded funds (ETFs), the FBM30etf and ABF Malaysia Bond Index Fund, for the year ending Dec 31, 2008.
AmInvestment Bank said in a statement the FBM30etf's semi-annual income distribution represented a yield of 1.1% investment return based on the net asset value (NAV) per unit of RM9.3416 as at Dec 31, 2007.
For the ABF Malaysia Bond Index Fund, the semi-annual income distribution represented a yield of 1.5% investment return based on the NAV per unit of RM1.0487 as at Dec 31, 2007. - Bernama
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: AmInvestment Bank group has declared interim income distributions of 10 sen and 1.55 sen respectively for its two exchange traded funds (ETFs), the FBM30etf and ABF Malaysia Bond Index Fund, for the year ending Dec 31, 2008.
AmInvestment Bank said in a statement the FBM30etf's semi-annual income distribution represented a yield of 1.1% investment return based on the net asset value (NAV) per unit of RM9.3416 as at Dec 31, 2007.
For the ABF Malaysia Bond Index Fund, the semi-annual income distribution represented a yield of 1.5% investment return based on the NAV per unit of RM1.0487 as at Dec 31, 2007. - Bernama
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.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Remain Calm Through Market Turbulence
PublicMutual
In the wake of the turbulence of stock markets in recent months, unit trust investors may be tempted to either sell or buy. However, investors are advised to remain calm and practise dollar cost averaging with their long-term goals in view.
When regional and global markets succumbed to panic selling in August 2007 and more recently in January 2008, the severity and sharpness of the correction was large enough to make unit trust investors ask themselves whether they should redeem now to stem further losses or buy more units at currently low prices. In fact, if they practise dollar cost averaging, they need not concern themselves with these timing issues. Dollar cost averaging enables investors to automatically buy more units when prices fall and fewer units when prices rise.
It is especially during times of market volatility that individual investors should remain focused on their long-term investment goals and keep their emotions from influencing their investment decisions. A disciplined and methodical approach to investing is the key to long-term investment success.
Unit trust investors are advised to buy and hold their investments for the medium to long term. The buy-and-hold principle is based on the notion that a good investment will generate reasonably attractive returns over the medium to long term. This also means that investors are able to distinguish between daily movements in the market and the underlying long-term value of their investments. Professional fund managers buy and hold for the medium to long term as they are prepared to wait patiently over several years for their investments to reach their intrinsic or fair values. For the unit trust investor, the 'buy-and-hold' strategy can also be applied by holding on to a well-selected unit trust fund over a period of at least three years.
There are some investors who believe they can achieve superior returns by timing the purchase and redemption of equity funds to profit from the stockmarket's short-term movements. These investors are tempted to engage in timing the market especially in an environment where equity markets are volatile. Such investors who wish to make quick gains in the stock market by switching from one fund into another fund will often be disappointed. Market timing strategies that are often recommended by 'investment experts' have seldom been successful. This is because stock markets are inherently volatile and are impossible to predict with numerous factors, both domestic and foreign, affecting daily and weekly fluctuations in stock prices.
Investors who wish to take a more active approach with their investments by timing the market will expose themselves to many risks. In order to profit from the market's short-term trends, the investor has to correctly predict the market's trend and its turning points.
Without the appropriate skills to discern signals and time the entries and exits, the market timer may not only miss opportunities, but also potentially suffer the blow of rapid losses. Also with a higher frequency of fund switching, investors will have to incur increased transaction costs.
Investors who are concerned about market volatility are advised to practise dollar cost averaging as this strategy enables investors to focus on the long-term investment goal and not worry about the prevailing level of the market. Dollar cost averaging is simply investing a fixed amount of money in a financial asset (such as a unit trust fund) on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, biannual) regardless of the market cycle. By investing a fixed amount on a regular basis, investors will buy more units when the market is lower and fewer units when the market is higher. This strategy will produce a lower average cost of investment than the average market price over any given period.
In addition, investors are also advised to rebalance their portfolios regularly at least once a year to ensure that their portfolio allocation reflects their investment objectives and risk profile. Thus if, as a result of an uptrend in stock prices, an investor's equity exposure has exceeded a level consistent with his risk tolerance, he can trim a portion of the equity funds and switch into bond or money market funds to rebalance the asset allocation accordingly. Maintaining a target asset allocation reduces the risk that the portfolio becomes too concentrated in a single asset class.
In conclusion, unit trust investors should always focus on achieving their medium to long-term investment goals. The practice of dollar cost averaging and regular portfolio rebalancing are effective tools that help investors remain focused on the long term horizon and prevent them from over-reacting to short-term movements of the stockmarket.
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.
In the wake of the turbulence of stock markets in recent months, unit trust investors may be tempted to either sell or buy. However, investors are advised to remain calm and practise dollar cost averaging with their long-term goals in view.
When regional and global markets succumbed to panic selling in August 2007 and more recently in January 2008, the severity and sharpness of the correction was large enough to make unit trust investors ask themselves whether they should redeem now to stem further losses or buy more units at currently low prices. In fact, if they practise dollar cost averaging, they need not concern themselves with these timing issues. Dollar cost averaging enables investors to automatically buy more units when prices fall and fewer units when prices rise.
It is especially during times of market volatility that individual investors should remain focused on their long-term investment goals and keep their emotions from influencing their investment decisions. A disciplined and methodical approach to investing is the key to long-term investment success.
Unit trust investors are advised to buy and hold their investments for the medium to long term. The buy-and-hold principle is based on the notion that a good investment will generate reasonably attractive returns over the medium to long term. This also means that investors are able to distinguish between daily movements in the market and the underlying long-term value of their investments. Professional fund managers buy and hold for the medium to long term as they are prepared to wait patiently over several years for their investments to reach their intrinsic or fair values. For the unit trust investor, the 'buy-and-hold' strategy can also be applied by holding on to a well-selected unit trust fund over a period of at least three years.
There are some investors who believe they can achieve superior returns by timing the purchase and redemption of equity funds to profit from the stockmarket's short-term movements. These investors are tempted to engage in timing the market especially in an environment where equity markets are volatile. Such investors who wish to make quick gains in the stock market by switching from one fund into another fund will often be disappointed. Market timing strategies that are often recommended by 'investment experts' have seldom been successful. This is because stock markets are inherently volatile and are impossible to predict with numerous factors, both domestic and foreign, affecting daily and weekly fluctuations in stock prices.
Investors who wish to take a more active approach with their investments by timing the market will expose themselves to many risks. In order to profit from the market's short-term trends, the investor has to correctly predict the market's trend and its turning points.
Without the appropriate skills to discern signals and time the entries and exits, the market timer may not only miss opportunities, but also potentially suffer the blow of rapid losses. Also with a higher frequency of fund switching, investors will have to incur increased transaction costs.
Investors who are concerned about market volatility are advised to practise dollar cost averaging as this strategy enables investors to focus on the long-term investment goal and not worry about the prevailing level of the market. Dollar cost averaging is simply investing a fixed amount of money in a financial asset (such as a unit trust fund) on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, biannual) regardless of the market cycle. By investing a fixed amount on a regular basis, investors will buy more units when the market is lower and fewer units when the market is higher. This strategy will produce a lower average cost of investment than the average market price over any given period.
In addition, investors are also advised to rebalance their portfolios regularly at least once a year to ensure that their portfolio allocation reflects their investment objectives and risk profile. Thus if, as a result of an uptrend in stock prices, an investor's equity exposure has exceeded a level consistent with his risk tolerance, he can trim a portion of the equity funds and switch into bond or money market funds to rebalance the asset allocation accordingly. Maintaining a target asset allocation reduces the risk that the portfolio becomes too concentrated in a single asset class.
In conclusion, unit trust investors should always focus on achieving their medium to long-term investment goals. The practice of dollar cost averaging and regular portfolio rebalancing are effective tools that help investors remain focused on the long term horizon and prevent them from over-reacting to short-term movements of the stockmarket.
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.
Inflation rather than rate hike worries bond market
TheStar
PETALING JAYA: Bond market analysts do not expect Bank Negara to raise interest rates at its July 25 monetary policy meeting and see the lacklustre bond market as affected more by the topical issues of inflation and windfall tax.
At the same time, there is no doubt that falling bond prices and rising yields are spooking bond issuers and fund investors alike.
According to Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd vice-president and head of fixed income research Tan Chee Wee, the bond market continues to be lacklustre since the March 8 general election.
The high yields at present were not attractive to issuers and investors were demanding higher returns, he said.
“We are not expecting a rise in overnight policy rate (OPR, now at 3.5%) on July 25, but consumer price index numbers (an indicator of inflation) from June to December are expected to average at 7% to 8%,” he said.
Higher interest rates would result in higher yields and cheaper bonds but higher inflation would also have the same effect, he said.
The strategy likely being adopted by fixed income funds at present was “going short on duration and to buy when yields go up to a point where they are attractive to the fund,” said Tan.
Going short on duration meant buying bonds with maturities of three years and below, because in the current uncertain environment they would have a lower market risk, he said.
Shorter duration bonds would also see lower losses should interest rates rise, he added.
Meanwhile, a chief economist told StarBiz he was also not expecting a rate rise come July 25.
“Basically, we do not expect Bank Negara to rush into a decision on interest rates,” he said.
The economist said he agreed with Bank Negara that a rise in interest rates had implications of dampening consumption.
“We are looking at the risk of stagflation (in Malaysia). So a rise in interest rates would just be making it worse,” he said.
A hike in interest rates was useful to control inflation in an overheating economy, which was not the case in the present environment, he said.
“I don’t see any possibility of Bank Negara making a rate hike this round,” he said.
On the current lacklustre bond market, he said the bond market was being affected by any number of factors and not solely the windfall tax issue or inflation.
“There is the outflow of funds back to home markets to meet subprime commitments, political news that is increasing the risk premium and the windfall tax on IPPs that is also not favourable,” he said.
Meanwhile, there was market talk that infrastructure bonds had fallen drastically in the past few weeks on concerns of windfall tax on independent power producers (IPPs) that were large bonds issuers.
While the windfall tax issue was indeed causing IPP bonds to fall, Tan believed the bulk of the fall was due to inflation concerns.
An economist at RHB Research Institute agreed that Bank Negara had sent signals that it was unlikely to raise the OPR but rising inflation and pressure on the ringgit from higher rates in the region would likely cause the central bank to raise rates later in the year.
This was necessary not to manage inflation per se but to be “ahead of the curve” so as not have sudden jumps in the interest rate later on, he said.
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.
PETALING JAYA: Bond market analysts do not expect Bank Negara to raise interest rates at its July 25 monetary policy meeting and see the lacklustre bond market as affected more by the topical issues of inflation and windfall tax.
At the same time, there is no doubt that falling bond prices and rising yields are spooking bond issuers and fund investors alike.
According to Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd vice-president and head of fixed income research Tan Chee Wee, the bond market continues to be lacklustre since the March 8 general election.
The high yields at present were not attractive to issuers and investors were demanding higher returns, he said.
“We are not expecting a rise in overnight policy rate (OPR, now at 3.5%) on July 25, but consumer price index numbers (an indicator of inflation) from June to December are expected to average at 7% to 8%,” he said.
Higher interest rates would result in higher yields and cheaper bonds but higher inflation would also have the same effect, he said.
The strategy likely being adopted by fixed income funds at present was “going short on duration and to buy when yields go up to a point where they are attractive to the fund,” said Tan.
Going short on duration meant buying bonds with maturities of three years and below, because in the current uncertain environment they would have a lower market risk, he said.
Shorter duration bonds would also see lower losses should interest rates rise, he added.
Meanwhile, a chief economist told StarBiz he was also not expecting a rate rise come July 25.
“Basically, we do not expect Bank Negara to rush into a decision on interest rates,” he said.
The economist said he agreed with Bank Negara that a rise in interest rates had implications of dampening consumption.
“We are looking at the risk of stagflation (in Malaysia). So a rise in interest rates would just be making it worse,” he said.
A hike in interest rates was useful to control inflation in an overheating economy, which was not the case in the present environment, he said.
“I don’t see any possibility of Bank Negara making a rate hike this round,” he said.
On the current lacklustre bond market, he said the bond market was being affected by any number of factors and not solely the windfall tax issue or inflation.
“There is the outflow of funds back to home markets to meet subprime commitments, political news that is increasing the risk premium and the windfall tax on IPPs that is also not favourable,” he said.
Meanwhile, there was market talk that infrastructure bonds had fallen drastically in the past few weeks on concerns of windfall tax on independent power producers (IPPs) that were large bonds issuers.
While the windfall tax issue was indeed causing IPP bonds to fall, Tan believed the bulk of the fall was due to inflation concerns.
An economist at RHB Research Institute agreed that Bank Negara had sent signals that it was unlikely to raise the OPR but rising inflation and pressure on the ringgit from higher rates in the region would likely cause the central bank to raise rates later in the year.
This was necessary not to manage inflation per se but to be “ahead of the curve” so as not have sudden jumps in the interest rate later on, he said.
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.
SC approves three Islamic fund licences
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission has approved three new licences, to Kuwait Finance House, DBS Asset Management and CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management for the establishment of Islamic fund management companies in Malaysia.
It was also currently evaluating proposals from other leading fund management companies to establish Islamic fund management operations in Malaysia, the commission said in a statement yesterday.
Chairman Datuk Zarinah Anwar said the approval of these three companies would play a catalytic role in the internationalisation of our Islamic capital market.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd managing director Datuk K. Salman Younis said the group's fund management activities in the region would be consolidated through this platform.
He said the group was excited by the growth prospects that the Malaysian capital market was offering.
DBS Asset Management Ltd CEO Deborah Ho said: “We are pleased to leverage on our existing partnership with Hwang-DBS (M) to set up a dedicated Islamic fund management company.”
The new entity would structure and distribute Islamic asset management products across Asia via synergies with DBS and DBS’ Islamic Bank of Asia, she said, adding that the group was now awaiting the necessary regulatory approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to set it up. – Bernama
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission has approved three new licences, to Kuwait Finance House, DBS Asset Management and CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management for the establishment of Islamic fund management companies in Malaysia.
It was also currently evaluating proposals from other leading fund management companies to establish Islamic fund management operations in Malaysia, the commission said in a statement yesterday.
Chairman Datuk Zarinah Anwar said the approval of these three companies would play a catalytic role in the internationalisation of our Islamic capital market.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd managing director Datuk K. Salman Younis said the group's fund management activities in the region would be consolidated through this platform.
He said the group was excited by the growth prospects that the Malaysian capital market was offering.
DBS Asset Management Ltd CEO Deborah Ho said: “We are pleased to leverage on our existing partnership with Hwang-DBS (M) to set up a dedicated Islamic fund management company.”
The new entity would structure and distribute Islamic asset management products across Asia via synergies with DBS and DBS’ Islamic Bank of Asia, she said, adding that the group was now awaiting the necessary regulatory approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to set it up. – Bernama
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.
Friday, July 11, 2008
HwangDBS launches two new funds
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: The process of selling and bottoming out in global financial stocks will last for some time but a window of opportunity of about six to nine months has opened for investors, said DBS Asset Management Ltd senior portfolio manager and chief equities strategist Peter Chiang.
However, people who were interested in investing in this sector should not only look at equities, he said.
“They should also look at credit instruments, issued by these financial institutions,” he told reporters yesterday at the launch of HwangDBS Global Financials Capital Protected Fund (GFCP) and the HwangDBS Global Financial Institutions Fund (GFI).
Chiang felt that the kind of loans, and bonds financial institutions, especially those in the US, are issuing were very “rich” and attractive.
KUALA LUMPUR: The process of selling and bottoming out in global financial stocks will last for some time but a window of opportunity of about six to nine months has opened for investors, said DBS Asset Management Ltd senior portfolio manager and chief equities strategist Peter Chiang.
However, people who were interested in investing in this sector should not only look at equities, he said.
“They should also look at credit instruments, issued by these financial institutions,” he told reporters yesterday at the launch of HwangDBS Global Financials Capital Protected Fund (GFCP) and the HwangDBS Global Financial Institutions Fund (GFI).
Chiang felt that the kind of loans, and bonds financial institutions, especially those in the US, are issuing were very “rich” and attractive.
From left: Peter Chiang, HwangDBS investment Bank MD and head of investment banking group Lee Jim Leng, Teh Cheah May and Teng Chee Wai
“Some of these major US banks are issuing bonds with 8% yields per annum, which over 10 years will double your money, you will probably get capital appreciation as well,” he added.
The closed-ended capital protected GFCP is targeted at the risk-averse investor, while the GFI being an open-ended mixed security growth fund is aimed at more risk-tolerant investors.
The minimum initial investment for the GFCP is RM2, 000 and minimum additional investment is RM1,000. It has an approved fund size of 500 million units retailing at RM1 per unit during the offer period, which ends Aug 23.
The fund is available exclusively at all Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) outlets nationwide.
Meanwhile, the minimum initial investment for the GFI is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100. It has an approved fund size of 400 million units retailing at 50 sen per unit during the initial offer period.
The fund's target net asset value strategy allows early maturity of the fund, should it hit 60%, 80% or 100% returns on its initial capital invested during the third, fourth and fifth year respectively.
HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd chief executive officer and executive director Teng Chee Wai agreed that it might not yet be the bottom of the cycle for global financial stocks.
“We are entering maybe not the end of the financial (sector) bottom, but it is time now to begin to slowly average into the market,” he said.
On HwangDBS' net asset value target for the year, Teng said considering the challenging economic conditions, the asset house had a conservative target of reaching RM7bil by year-end from RM6.9bil as at June 30.
Fund distributor, Maybank executive vice president and head of wealth management and consumer banking Teh Cheah May said that she expected demand to be skewed more towards the capital protected fund
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.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
AmInvestment starts RM300m bond fund
BusinessTimes
AMINVESTMENT Bank Goup has started a RM300 million bond fund to invest in government and corporate papers issued in local currencies that will benefit from the world's rising economies from Asia to Latin America.
Amid a slowing global economy, weaker corporate earnings growth and rising inflation, the AmEmerging Markets Bond will provide investors an alternative to the currently volatile stock market.
"Local bond markets appear to offer attractive yields and great additional returns. These can be achieved through further yield compression and also through currency appreciation," managing director T.C. Kok said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
At least 95 per cent of the fund will be fed into a bigger fund managed by Investec Asset Management, which manages US$66 billion (RM215.16 billion). The mother fund was started in October last year and has chalked up some US$15 million to US$20 million (RM48.9 million to RM65.2 million) in assets.
As at end-May, 60 per cent of the fund was invested in countries with Single A ratings. These include Russia, Colombia, Indonesia, Qatar, Malaysia and Mexico.
Most of the money was put into government bonds, which proves suitable in today's environment as they are shielded from the subprime crisis, AmInvestment's director of retail funds Ng Sze How said.
Investec's director for regional business development KK Cheung estimated an annual return of 8 to 10 per cent for the fund, which adopts an active strategy to pick the best countries and shorting the worst.
Cheung said the fund will gain from the structural improvement in the emerging economies, which may boost the country's rating and in turn push up prices of the papers.
The fund may benefit from the potentially stronger Asian currencies against the US dollar. A higher bond yield, which goes in tandem with the rising inflation, will also benefit the fund, Cheung said.
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.
AMINVESTMENT Bank Goup has started a RM300 million bond fund to invest in government and corporate papers issued in local currencies that will benefit from the world's rising economies from Asia to Latin America.
Amid a slowing global economy, weaker corporate earnings growth and rising inflation, the AmEmerging Markets Bond will provide investors an alternative to the currently volatile stock market.
"Local bond markets appear to offer attractive yields and great additional returns. These can be achieved through further yield compression and also through currency appreciation," managing director T.C. Kok said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
At least 95 per cent of the fund will be fed into a bigger fund managed by Investec Asset Management, which manages US$66 billion (RM215.16 billion). The mother fund was started in October last year and has chalked up some US$15 million to US$20 million (RM48.9 million to RM65.2 million) in assets.
As at end-May, 60 per cent of the fund was invested in countries with Single A ratings. These include Russia, Colombia, Indonesia, Qatar, Malaysia and Mexico.
Most of the money was put into government bonds, which proves suitable in today's environment as they are shielded from the subprime crisis, AmInvestment's director of retail funds Ng Sze How said.
Investec's director for regional business development KK Cheung estimated an annual return of 8 to 10 per cent for the fund, which adopts an active strategy to pick the best countries and shorting the worst.
Cheung said the fund will gain from the structural improvement in the emerging economies, which may boost the country's rating and in turn push up prices of the papers.
The fund may benefit from the potentially stronger Asian currencies against the US dollar. A higher bond yield, which goes in tandem with the rising inflation, will also benefit the fund, Cheung said.
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.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Riding on Resilient Growth Prospects in the Regional Telco & Infrastructure Sectors
PublicMutual
Amidst the uncertain global economic climate due to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and rise in energy prices, investing in regional telecommunications and infrastructure companies enables investors to participate in the roll-out of infrastructure services to meet the growing needs of the region. An estimated US$1.8 trillion1 is expected to be spent on infrastructure projects comprising roads, railways, power plants, water services and telecommunications networks throughout Asia over the next 5 years to 2012. As shown in Figure 1, about two-thirds of this amount is projected to be spent in China with 24% accounted by ASEAN and the balance taken up by Korea and Taiwan.
This will sustain investment spending in infrastructure resources in the region over the medium- to long-term.
The growth prospects of the telecommunications and infrastructure sectors in Asia are driven by the following factors:
1. Large Population Base
A large and growing population base in Asia underpins the need for huge infrastructure developments. Greater China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN have a combined population of almost 2 billion people, representing a third of the world population. In addition, the rising trend of urbanisation throughout the region means that a larger proportion of the population will live in urban areas, creating demand for electricity, transportation, water and sanitation.
Amidst the uncertain global economic climate due to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and rise in energy prices, investing in regional telecommunications and infrastructure companies enables investors to participate in the roll-out of infrastructure services to meet the growing needs of the region. An estimated US$1.8 trillion1 is expected to be spent on infrastructure projects comprising roads, railways, power plants, water services and telecommunications networks throughout Asia over the next 5 years to 2012. As shown in Figure 1, about two-thirds of this amount is projected to be spent in China with 24% accounted by ASEAN and the balance taken up by Korea and Taiwan.
This will sustain investment spending in infrastructure resources in the region over the medium- to long-term.The growth prospects of the telecommunications and infrastructure sectors in Asia are driven by the following factors:
1. Large Population Base
A large and growing population base in Asia underpins the need for huge infrastructure developments. Greater China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN have a combined population of almost 2 billion people, representing a third of the world population. In addition, the rising trend of urbanisation throughout the region means that a larger proportion of the population will live in urban areas, creating demand for electricity, transportation, water and sanitation.
2. Transportation Networks
The lion’s share of infrastructure spending in the region is generally focused on developing transport networks.
Construction of toll roads, expressways and railways, which accounts for more than half of infrastructure budgets in Asia, is expected to remain robust due to rapid urbanisation, rising incomes and rising car ownership. In China and Indonesia, car ownership rates are below 10%2 among urban households as compared to 75%-80%2 in developed countries such as Korea and Taiwan, indicating significant untapped growth potential for the transportation sector in these emerging economies. Rising car ownership and traffic congestion will lead to sustained spending on construction of roads and expressways in the next few years.
3. Power Generation
Power generation is another major driver of infrastructure spending in the region. Given the rapid growth in demand for power, countries in the region will have to step up their power generation capacities. Moreover, power generation per capita in countries such as Malaysia, China, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia is significantly lower than their more developed peers such as Singapore, Korea and Japan which produce more than 8,000kWh3 of power per capita. To keep up with their developed peers, these emerging economies may have to expand their power generation capacities significantly over the next 20 years.
4. Telecommunications
The Asian telecommunications sector has experienced rapid growth in the past decade due to strong demand for mobile phone services and internet usage. However, penetration rates (defined as subscriber base as a percentage of total population) in countries such as China and Indonesia remain relatively low at about 48%4 in 2008 as compared to 80%5 for OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. In addition, the introduction of broadband technology in recent years was well-received with some countries in the region achieving rapid subscriber growth rates.
Going forward, the telecommunications sector in the Far-East region is envisaged to enjoy sustained subscriber growth. The overall mobile penetration rate in the region is expected to increase from about 47.2%6 in 2008 to 63.3%6 in 2012, representing an annualised growth of 12.8% over the four years period.
5. Water Services
Globally 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. The United Nations has indicated that by 2025, water scarcity could affect almost 40% of the world’s population, a high proportion of whom will live in Asia7. As regional economies continue to grow, demand for treated water is expected to increase from the residential, industrial and agricultural sectors. Thus, there are significant opportunities for investment in water services and infrastructure in the region. In China, for instance, only 40% of the country’s surface water is drinkable and more than 300 million people do not have access to clean drinking water6. In view of these factors, China represents one of the largest potential markets for companies providing water technology and services in the next two decades.
Indonesia is another country which requires significant investments in improving its water services and infrastructure. According to Indonesia’s National Development Planning Board, only 30.8%8 of the country’s urban households and 9%8 of the rural population have access to piped water. The Indonesian government plans to encourage the private sector to meet the country’s requirements for piped water by 2015.
Tapping the Growth Potential of the Far East Region
Looking ahead, construction spending in Asia will continue to remain buoyant as the region will need to upgrade its infrastructure to support growth. In addition, several regional governments are embarking on fiscal policies to stimulate domestic demand and spending on infrastructure projects is expected to play a major role in their expansionary fiscal policies.
As demand for telecommunication services and energy generally grows at a faster pace than overall GDP growth, these sectors will continue to experience rapid growth in the years ahead. Demand for transportation and water services are also expected to gain pace with the increasing urbanisation and higher living standards of the regional emerging economies.
In view of the favourable demand and supply dynamics for the regional infrastructure sector, infrastructure companies and companies that supply services and products to the sector are well-positioned to generate attractive earnings growth and healthy cash flows. In addition, infrastructure assets offer a good hedge against rising inflation as the underlying cash flows of concession companies are usually stable and linked to an inflation index through a negotiated pricing formula.
Given the above factors, the Public Far-East Telco and Infrastructure Fund is expected to capitalise on the significant growth potential of the regional infrastructure, telecommunications & utilities sectors amidst the sustained economic growth and continued fiscal expansion in the Far-East region.
Performance Benchmark
The benchmark of the fund is a customised index based on selected sectors within the Dow Jones Asia Pacific IndexSM comprising Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. The stock universe also includes China ‘H’ shares from the Dow Jones China Offshore IndexSM. The selected sectors are customised to the following weights i.e. 40% Telecommunications, 30% Construction & Materials and 30% Utilities sectors. For the three-year period to June 13, 2008, this index has achieved an impressive total return of 57.2% in Ringgit terms (ie. annualised return of 16.3%).
1 Based on CLSA Asia Pacific Markets Report, “Ramping March 2008”
2 CLSA’s Mr & Mrs Asia Survey, Autumn 2007
3 CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, “Ramping Up Asia’s Infrastructure
4 CLSA Asia Pacific Markets
5 OECD ICT Key Indicators
6 CLSA Asia Pacific Markets
7 Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment Sector, February 2007
8 Indonesia Millennium Development Goals 2007
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.
EPF to adopt cautious stance
BusinessTimes
The retirement fund wants to invest properly in the next six months, says its CEO, adding that the market has gone south since the first quarter
THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will adopt a cautious stance in equity investment for the rest of the year, its chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol said.
The retirement fund, Malaysia's largest institutional investor, nevertheless hopes to give a reasonably good dividend this year. It paid out 5.6 per cent dividend to contributors last year.
"We are a bit cautious now as far as equities are concerned, and we want to invest properly in the next six months," Azlan said.
In the first quarter of the year, the EPF achieved investment income of about RM4.11 billion. It made the most (about RM1.06 billion) out of investing in equities.
Income from equities rose 51.2 per cent from the preceding quarter's.
Azlan said the market has gone south since then, adding that it has also been the trend worldwide.
"So when it comes to investing overseas, we are making some investments through our fund managers, but we have to ensure that the timing and markets are right."
Azlan said that up till last month, the EPF had only invested US$2.6 billion (RM8.5 billion) out of the US$8 billion (RM26.2 billion) approved for investment abroad.
Azlan was speaking to reporters after the opening of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) Southeast Asia liaison office in Kuala Lumpur by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadziah.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the EPF and ISSA. The liaison office is located at the EPF's headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.
It will carry out planned activities guided by the general direction and coordination of the Geneva, Switzerland-based ISSA.
EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said the liaison office will pave the way for it to work with other pension funds in the region on training, exchange of research and ideas for further social security development.
Also present yesterday were ISSA president Corazon S de la Paz and secretary-general Hans-Horst Konkolewsky.
De la Paz said ISSA decided to locate the office here because of Malaysia's strong social security development. It is also one of the most advanced countries in the region and has spearheaded several innovations.
"In the area of investments, at the end of 2006, the EPF was Asia's fourth largest state-run pension fund", after those in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
The EPF's investments rose to RM318 billion and it made investment income of RM17.3 billion last year, de la Paz noted.
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.
The retirement fund wants to invest properly in the next six months, says its CEO, adding that the market has gone south since the first quarter
THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will adopt a cautious stance in equity investment for the rest of the year, its chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol said.
The retirement fund, Malaysia's largest institutional investor, nevertheless hopes to give a reasonably good dividend this year. It paid out 5.6 per cent dividend to contributors last year.
"We are a bit cautious now as far as equities are concerned, and we want to invest properly in the next six months," Azlan said.
In the first quarter of the year, the EPF achieved investment income of about RM4.11 billion. It made the most (about RM1.06 billion) out of investing in equities.
Income from equities rose 51.2 per cent from the preceding quarter's.
Azlan said the market has gone south since then, adding that it has also been the trend worldwide.
"So when it comes to investing overseas, we are making some investments through our fund managers, but we have to ensure that the timing and markets are right."
Azlan said that up till last month, the EPF had only invested US$2.6 billion (RM8.5 billion) out of the US$8 billion (RM26.2 billion) approved for investment abroad.
Azlan was speaking to reporters after the opening of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) Southeast Asia liaison office in Kuala Lumpur by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadziah.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the EPF and ISSA. The liaison office is located at the EPF's headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.
It will carry out planned activities guided by the general direction and coordination of the Geneva, Switzerland-based ISSA.
EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said the liaison office will pave the way for it to work with other pension funds in the region on training, exchange of research and ideas for further social security development.
Also present yesterday were ISSA president Corazon S de la Paz and secretary-general Hans-Horst Konkolewsky.
De la Paz said ISSA decided to locate the office here because of Malaysia's strong social security development. It is also one of the most advanced countries in the region and has spearheaded several innovations.
"In the area of investments, at the end of 2006, the EPF was Asia's fourth largest state-run pension fund", after those in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
The EPF's investments rose to RM318 billion and it made investment income of RM17.3 billion last year, de la Paz noted.
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.
Rate rise may result in over-adjustment, says CIMB
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: An upward interest rate revision now will exert further inflationary pressure that may result in an over-adjustment of the domestic economy, said CIMB Research head of economics Lee Heng Guie.
He said the likelihood of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) raising the overnight policy rate (OPR) at its next meeting on July 25 was slim, as this might not do much to stem the inflationary pressure brought about by the rising cost of food and raw materials.
“Judging from the recent remarks, the central bank governor has downplayed the expectations of an imminent rate hike or aggressive rate hikes unless there is a generalised price increases.
“We expect BNM to remain on the sidelines, keeping the OPR unchanged at 3.50% on 25 July given the greater uncertainties surrounding growth and inflation outlook,” Lee told The Edge Financial Daily.
BNM’s dilemma in balancing inflation and downside risk to growth is one that is being played out all over Asia as the region’s economies are being pressured externally and from within to use interest rates as the monetary tool to stem the tide of rising prices, and not intervene in the foreign exchange sphere.
While the US dollar may be weakening against other global currencies, many of the major Asian currencies have been on the declining trend against the greenback given the apparent unsuccessful attempts by the region’s central banks to intervene in the forex market.
As a result, calls for central banks to raise interest rates have been gaining momentum on the argument that a tightening monetary policy could also help in strengthening the local currencies and thereby, help to a certain extent to ease import-driven inflation.
BNM has kept its OPR or rates financial institutions charge for overnight borrowing between banks unchanged at 3.5% since April 2006.
Nonetheless, economist Gundy Cahyadi of Ideagobal in Singapore last Thursday was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Malaysia was not under pressure to raise interest rates to support the ringgit.
“(Malaysia is) a net exporter of oil, and runs a current account surplus of about 15% of the country’s GDP (gross domestic products), and there isn’t a lot of room for Malaysia’s central bank to raise interest rates. So, there’s some need for a stronger currency,” he had said, on reports that Malaysia’s and Singapore’s currencies rose on speculation that their central banks would intervene in the forex market.
CIMB’s Lee said: “Cost-push inflation is harder to deal with than demand-pull inflation. Already, the combined impact of slower external environment and higher fuel and tariff hikes, along with rising costs would exert deflationary income impact on domestic demand and, hence, would moderate inflationary pressures.”
Lee added that inflation had surged to 3.8% in May, a 22 month high primarily due to the higher prices of food and expected inflation to hover around 5.9%-6.6% for the rest of the year.
BNM governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz recently said that the country’s inflation rate for the month of June may rise to between 6% and 7%.
DBS Research recently said it did not expect BNM to be over-aggressive, but would raise the OPR by 50 basis points point to 4% on July 25. “Risks to growth are rising and a sharp rise in policy rates would slow growth considerably, and more policy tightening should not be necessary,” it had said.
The ringgit slumped more than 2% in the second quarter, snapping a six-quarter winning streak. It closed at 3.268 to the US dollar on Friday.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: An upward interest rate revision now will exert further inflationary pressure that may result in an over-adjustment of the domestic economy, said CIMB Research head of economics Lee Heng Guie.
He said the likelihood of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) raising the overnight policy rate (OPR) at its next meeting on July 25 was slim, as this might not do much to stem the inflationary pressure brought about by the rising cost of food and raw materials.
“Judging from the recent remarks, the central bank governor has downplayed the expectations of an imminent rate hike or aggressive rate hikes unless there is a generalised price increases.
“We expect BNM to remain on the sidelines, keeping the OPR unchanged at 3.50% on 25 July given the greater uncertainties surrounding growth and inflation outlook,” Lee told The Edge Financial Daily.
BNM’s dilemma in balancing inflation and downside risk to growth is one that is being played out all over Asia as the region’s economies are being pressured externally and from within to use interest rates as the monetary tool to stem the tide of rising prices, and not intervene in the foreign exchange sphere.
While the US dollar may be weakening against other global currencies, many of the major Asian currencies have been on the declining trend against the greenback given the apparent unsuccessful attempts by the region’s central banks to intervene in the forex market.
As a result, calls for central banks to raise interest rates have been gaining momentum on the argument that a tightening monetary policy could also help in strengthening the local currencies and thereby, help to a certain extent to ease import-driven inflation.
BNM has kept its OPR or rates financial institutions charge for overnight borrowing between banks unchanged at 3.5% since April 2006.
Nonetheless, economist Gundy Cahyadi of Ideagobal in Singapore last Thursday was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Malaysia was not under pressure to raise interest rates to support the ringgit.
“(Malaysia is) a net exporter of oil, and runs a current account surplus of about 15% of the country’s GDP (gross domestic products), and there isn’t a lot of room for Malaysia’s central bank to raise interest rates. So, there’s some need for a stronger currency,” he had said, on reports that Malaysia’s and Singapore’s currencies rose on speculation that their central banks would intervene in the forex market.
CIMB’s Lee said: “Cost-push inflation is harder to deal with than demand-pull inflation. Already, the combined impact of slower external environment and higher fuel and tariff hikes, along with rising costs would exert deflationary income impact on domestic demand and, hence, would moderate inflationary pressures.”
Lee added that inflation had surged to 3.8% in May, a 22 month high primarily due to the higher prices of food and expected inflation to hover around 5.9%-6.6% for the rest of the year.
BNM governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz recently said that the country’s inflation rate for the month of June may rise to between 6% and 7%.
DBS Research recently said it did not expect BNM to be over-aggressive, but would raise the OPR by 50 basis points point to 4% on July 25. “Risks to growth are rising and a sharp rise in policy rates would slow growth considerably, and more policy tightening should not be necessary,” it had said.
The ringgit slumped more than 2% in the second quarter, snapping a six-quarter winning streak. It closed at 3.268 to the US dollar on Friday.
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.
Local bond market to remain volatile
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: The local bond market, which has been sluggish for the past one month, is likely to continue seeing volatility in the next few months, according to Bondweb Malaysia Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Meor Amri Meor Ayob.
From a long-term perspective, however, the bond market’s outlook remained bright as economic slowdown was merely “part of the cycle,” he noted.
“For the secondary market, there will still be a lot of uncertainties until the (equity) market settles down. Inflation is a global issue. Every bond market in the world is facing the same issue.
“With the possibility of interest rates being hiked, bond market will definitely turn into a bear market but it is not doom and gloom. It is a normal behaviour around the world,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.
Usually, when equity markets collapse, bond markets will rise. But with increasing global inflationary pressure, the move to curb inflation by raising interest rates will make bonds cheaper with higher yields.
Meor Amri said the volatility of bond prices for the past few weeks was largely due to bearish sentiment among the investors.
“Malaysian bond market is made up of professionals; retail participation is almost zero. If the professionals stay out, liquidity tends to disappear and thus, the yields and the prices fluctuate. By nature of the market, this kind of volatility is predictable and should not be unexpected,” he added.
Bondweb is the country’s first and only bond pricing agency regulated by the Securities Commission. It provides an extensive range of evaluated prices of Malaysia bonds on a daily basis.
Bondweb’s market development head Mohd Shaharul Zain said the last time Malaysian bond market saw a collapse was in 2002 where bond prices sank and yields skyrocketed.
It is not inflation but interest rates that would directly affect the bond prices. This means bond yields will be intact if interest rates do not jump. Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz reportedly said Malaysia’s inflation could have hit 6% to 7% in June. The country’s May inflation stood at a 22-month high of 3.8%.
Meanwhile, Meor Amri said global Islamic bond market continued to see “explosive” growth, as investors in the Middle East were eagerly looking for syariah-compliant bonds.
“With the current price of oil, about US$10 trillion (RM33 trillion) of oil money will flow into that region in the next three years. They need to put the money somewhere and syariah-compliant bonds are what they are looking for,” he said.
Malaysian bond market is among the largest in the world as a proportion of gross domestic product. Ringgit-denominated Islamic bonds account for two-thirds of the global Islamic bonds outstanding in 2007.
In view of the robust demand for Islamic bonds, Bondweb and Thomson Reuters — the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business — had last Friday signed a global data distribution agreement, whereby Bondweb’s daily evaluated prices of about 2,000 unlisted Malaysian bonds will be available across Thomson Reuters’ products.
Meor Amri said Bondweb was leveraging on Thomson Reuters’ global network to have its data delivered to all major financial markets as fast as possible.
Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters Malaysia managing director Simon Soo Hu said Bondweb’s data would complement its existing bond pricing services that was benefiting more than 200,000 financial professionals worldwide.
In particular, he said the partnership would help promote Malaysian Islamic bonds to investors in the Middle East, who previously might not have the access to Malaysian bond prices.
“At Thomson Reuters, we are very focused on Islamic contents. Globally, we are trying to have as much sukuk contents as possible,” he said.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: The local bond market, which has been sluggish for the past one month, is likely to continue seeing volatility in the next few months, according to Bondweb Malaysia Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Meor Amri Meor Ayob.
From a long-term perspective, however, the bond market’s outlook remained bright as economic slowdown was merely “part of the cycle,” he noted.
“For the secondary market, there will still be a lot of uncertainties until the (equity) market settles down. Inflation is a global issue. Every bond market in the world is facing the same issue.
“With the possibility of interest rates being hiked, bond market will definitely turn into a bear market but it is not doom and gloom. It is a normal behaviour around the world,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.
Usually, when equity markets collapse, bond markets will rise. But with increasing global inflationary pressure, the move to curb inflation by raising interest rates will make bonds cheaper with higher yields.
Meor Amri said the volatility of bond prices for the past few weeks was largely due to bearish sentiment among the investors.
“Malaysian bond market is made up of professionals; retail participation is almost zero. If the professionals stay out, liquidity tends to disappear and thus, the yields and the prices fluctuate. By nature of the market, this kind of volatility is predictable and should not be unexpected,” he added.
Bondweb is the country’s first and only bond pricing agency regulated by the Securities Commission. It provides an extensive range of evaluated prices of Malaysia bonds on a daily basis.
Bondweb’s market development head Mohd Shaharul Zain said the last time Malaysian bond market saw a collapse was in 2002 where bond prices sank and yields skyrocketed.
It is not inflation but interest rates that would directly affect the bond prices. This means bond yields will be intact if interest rates do not jump. Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz reportedly said Malaysia’s inflation could have hit 6% to 7% in June. The country’s May inflation stood at a 22-month high of 3.8%.
Meanwhile, Meor Amri said global Islamic bond market continued to see “explosive” growth, as investors in the Middle East were eagerly looking for syariah-compliant bonds.
“With the current price of oil, about US$10 trillion (RM33 trillion) of oil money will flow into that region in the next three years. They need to put the money somewhere and syariah-compliant bonds are what they are looking for,” he said.
Malaysian bond market is among the largest in the world as a proportion of gross domestic product. Ringgit-denominated Islamic bonds account for two-thirds of the global Islamic bonds outstanding in 2007.
In view of the robust demand for Islamic bonds, Bondweb and Thomson Reuters — the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business — had last Friday signed a global data distribution agreement, whereby Bondweb’s daily evaluated prices of about 2,000 unlisted Malaysian bonds will be available across Thomson Reuters’ products.
Meor Amri said Bondweb was leveraging on Thomson Reuters’ global network to have its data delivered to all major financial markets as fast as possible.
Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters Malaysia managing director Simon Soo Hu said Bondweb’s data would complement its existing bond pricing services that was benefiting more than 200,000 financial professionals worldwide.
In particular, he said the partnership would help promote Malaysian Islamic bonds to investors in the Middle East, who previously might not have the access to Malaysian bond prices.
“At Thomson Reuters, we are very focused on Islamic contents. Globally, we are trying to have as much sukuk contents as possible,” he said.
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.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Public Mutual emerged as the biggest winner at
PublicMutual
Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual emerged as the biggest winner at the Morningstar Asia (Malaysia) 2007 Fund Awards by winning 4 of the 6 awards.
Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said he is very proud that Public Mutual won the most number of awards at Morningstar Asia (Malaysia) 2007 Fund Awards.
He attributed the company’s success to its effective investment strategies. He also thanked the unitholders and unit trust consultants for their confidence and support.
The objective of the Morningstar Fund Awards is to recognize funds and fund groups that have added the most value within the context of a relevant peer group for investors over the past one year period but funds must also have delivered strong three-year and five-year risk adjusted returns in order to obtain awards. The awards selection criteria also take into consideration qualitative factors which include assessing whether or not there are fundamental risks in a fund too high to merit an award and whether or not a fund is deemed to have deviated from its stated mandate.
The four awards won by Public Mutual are:
1 Equity - Islamic Syariah, Public Ittikal Fund
2 Equity - Malaysia Equity, Public Growth Fund
3 Fixed Income Malaysia Bond - Public Bond Fund
4 Balanced Malaysia - PB Balanced Fund
Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia and it currently manages 62 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 May 2008, the total fund size managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.
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.
Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual emerged as the biggest winner at the Morningstar Asia (Malaysia) 2007 Fund Awards by winning 4 of the 6 awards.
Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said he is very proud that Public Mutual won the most number of awards at Morningstar Asia (Malaysia) 2007 Fund Awards.
He attributed the company’s success to its effective investment strategies. He also thanked the unitholders and unit trust consultants for their confidence and support.
The objective of the Morningstar Fund Awards is to recognize funds and fund groups that have added the most value within the context of a relevant peer group for investors over the past one year period but funds must also have delivered strong three-year and five-year risk adjusted returns in order to obtain awards. The awards selection criteria also take into consideration qualitative factors which include assessing whether or not there are fundamental risks in a fund too high to merit an award and whether or not a fund is deemed to have deviated from its stated mandate.
The four awards won by Public Mutual are:
1 Equity - Islamic Syariah, Public Ittikal Fund
2 Equity - Malaysia Equity, Public Growth Fund
3 Fixed Income Malaysia Bond - Public Bond Fund
4 Balanced Malaysia - PB Balanced Fund
Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia and it currently manages 62 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 May 2008, the total fund size managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.
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.
Public Mutual to launch new regional equity fund
BusinessTimes
PUBLIC Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual will launch its first regional and telecommunications and infrastructure fund, Public Far-East Telco & Infrastructure Fund (PFETIF) on July 8.
The fund will enable investors to participate in the rollout of infrastructure services to meet the growing needs of the Far-East region.
Public Mutual’s chairman, Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said that investing in regional telecommunications and infrastructure stocks will enable investors to benefit from the resilient prospects of these sectors.
“Based on a CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report - Ramping Up Asia’s Infrastructure Stimulus - Asian countries are expected to spend an estimated US$1.8 trillion on construction of roads, railways, power plants, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects over the five-year period until 2012,” Teh said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
PFETIF is an equity fund that seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium-to-long-term period by investing in securities, mainly equities, in the telecommunications, infrastructure and utilities sector in Far-East markets.
Up to 98 per cent PFETIF’s net asset value (NAV) can be invested in selected foreign markets which include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and other approved markets.
The equity exposure of PFETIF will generally range from 75 percent to 90 per cent of its NAV.
The offer price of the fund is 25 sen per unit during the 21-day initial offer period from July 8 to July 28.
During the offer period, a special promotional service charge of five percent of NAV per unit is extended to the purchase of units of PFETIF by investors.
Investors who opt for direct debit instruction with the fund during the offer period will also enjoy a special promotional service charge of 5.35 per cent of NAV per unit for as long as the direct debit is active.
The minimum initial investment for the fund is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100. — Bernama
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.
PUBLIC Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual will launch its first regional and telecommunications and infrastructure fund, Public Far-East Telco & Infrastructure Fund (PFETIF) on July 8.
The fund will enable investors to participate in the rollout of infrastructure services to meet the growing needs of the Far-East region.
Public Mutual’s chairman, Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said that investing in regional telecommunications and infrastructure stocks will enable investors to benefit from the resilient prospects of these sectors.
“Based on a CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report - Ramping Up Asia’s Infrastructure Stimulus - Asian countries are expected to spend an estimated US$1.8 trillion on construction of roads, railways, power plants, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects over the five-year period until 2012,” Teh said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
PFETIF is an equity fund that seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium-to-long-term period by investing in securities, mainly equities, in the telecommunications, infrastructure and utilities sector in Far-East markets.
Up to 98 per cent PFETIF’s net asset value (NAV) can be invested in selected foreign markets which include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and other approved markets.
The equity exposure of PFETIF will generally range from 75 percent to 90 per cent of its NAV.
The offer price of the fund is 25 sen per unit during the 21-day initial offer period from July 8 to July 28.
During the offer period, a special promotional service charge of five percent of NAV per unit is extended to the purchase of units of PFETIF by investors.
Investors who opt for direct debit instruction with the fund during the offer period will also enjoy a special promotional service charge of 5.35 per cent of NAV per unit for as long as the direct debit is active.
The minimum initial investment for the fund is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100. — Bernama
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.
EPF income at RM4.1bil
TheStar
PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) investment income rose 7.7% to RM4.11bil for its first quarter ended March 31 from the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, boosted by its equities investments.
It said in a statement yesterday that income from equities rose 51.2% to RM1.06bil from RM698.21mil in the preceding quarter.
Other major income contributors were loans and bonds (RM1.59bil) and Malaysian Government Securities (MGS - RM1.24bil), it said. The EPF invested RM66.79bil in equities.
Chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol said: “The EPF continued to remain vigilant in its equities investment in light of the global economic uncertainties that have carried well into 2008. Through effective management of our substantial equity portfolio, we were able to reap the benefits from stocks that delivered high yields.”
On the EPF’s investment strategy, he said a new category of the fund’s equities investment portfolio was the exchange traded funds, which made up 0.2% of its total equities investment.
The EPF’s total fund size now stands at RM320.81bil, with 39.1% (RM125.34bil) invested in loans and bonds and 32.4% (RM104.03bil) in MGS.
For loans and bonds, 85.4% of the funds were invested in high-grade companies with AAA and AA rating, a slight increase of 0.5% from the previous quarter.
The remaining 14.6% was invested in companies of other rating categories, it said.
For its MGC investment, 60.9% would mature in one to five years, 31.1% between six and 10 years, and 8% between 11 and 20 years.
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.
PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) investment income rose 7.7% to RM4.11bil for its first quarter ended March 31 from the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, boosted by its equities investments.
It said in a statement yesterday that income from equities rose 51.2% to RM1.06bil from RM698.21mil in the preceding quarter.
Other major income contributors were loans and bonds (RM1.59bil) and Malaysian Government Securities (MGS - RM1.24bil), it said. The EPF invested RM66.79bil in equities.
Chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol said: “The EPF continued to remain vigilant in its equities investment in light of the global economic uncertainties that have carried well into 2008. Through effective management of our substantial equity portfolio, we were able to reap the benefits from stocks that delivered high yields.”
On the EPF’s investment strategy, he said a new category of the fund’s equities investment portfolio was the exchange traded funds, which made up 0.2% of its total equities investment.
The EPF’s total fund size now stands at RM320.81bil, with 39.1% (RM125.34bil) invested in loans and bonds and 32.4% (RM104.03bil) in MGS.
For loans and bonds, 85.4% of the funds were invested in high-grade companies with AAA and AA rating, a slight increase of 0.5% from the previous quarter.
The remaining 14.6% was invested in companies of other rating categories, it said.
For its MGC investment, 60.9% would mature in one to five years, 31.1% between six and 10 years, and 8% between 11 and 20 years.
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.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
HwangDBS IM declares distributions
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd has declared an interim income distribution of 0.5 sen for HwangDBS Select Income Fund (SIF) and annual income distribution of 0.75 sen for the HwangDBS Select Bond Fund (SBF).
In a statement yesterday, HwangDBS IM said the distributions were for the period ended June 30, 2008.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd has declared an interim income distribution of 0.5 sen for HwangDBS Select Income Fund (SIF) and annual income distribution of 0.75 sen for the HwangDBS Select Bond Fund (SBF).
In a statement yesterday, HwangDBS IM said the distributions were for the period ended June 30, 2008.
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.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
PNB confident of higher returns from new fund
BusinessTimes
PERMODALAN Nasional Bhd (PNB)'s recently launched Structured Investment Fund (SIF) could yield returns of between nine and 10 per cent a year, its chief executive said.
In May, president and group chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said the fund could provide annual returns of between six and seven per cent.
PNB is confident of a higher estimate as its existing funds have reported between seven to eight per cent returns annually, Hamad said.
A total of RM2.5 billion has been taken up since the SIF was launched in May. SIF is open to individual and institutional investors at a net asset value of RM1 during the offer period, which ended on June 25th.
It is also the first time that PNB opened the fund to institutional investors, companies and non-Malaysians to invest.
"The overwhelming response we received encourages PNB to launch more of such products in the future," he said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
He was speaking at an event announcing winners of PNB's investment quiz.
Up to 80 per cent of the fund will be invested in structured products issued by Deutsche Bank Malaysia, which may include bonds, stocks, equity-linked and hybrid products.
The fund will also put up to half of its money in PNB REIT (real estate investment trust), which owns seven properties in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru worth about RM1 billion in total.
Meanwhile, PNB announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), is offering 200 million new units of Amanah Saham Didik (ASD) beginning yesterday.
A total of 2.2 billion units have been snapped up since ASD was launched in 2001. This is the seventh time the fund has offered new units.
ASD is a fixed price unit trust fund open to Bumiputera investors as early as six months old.
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.
PERMODALAN Nasional Bhd (PNB)'s recently launched Structured Investment Fund (SIF) could yield returns of between nine and 10 per cent a year, its chief executive said.
In May, president and group chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said the fund could provide annual returns of between six and seven per cent.
PNB is confident of a higher estimate as its existing funds have reported between seven to eight per cent returns annually, Hamad said.
A total of RM2.5 billion has been taken up since the SIF was launched in May. SIF is open to individual and institutional investors at a net asset value of RM1 during the offer period, which ended on June 25th.
It is also the first time that PNB opened the fund to institutional investors, companies and non-Malaysians to invest.
"The overwhelming response we received encourages PNB to launch more of such products in the future," he said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
He was speaking at an event announcing winners of PNB's investment quiz.
Up to 80 per cent of the fund will be invested in structured products issued by Deutsche Bank Malaysia, which may include bonds, stocks, equity-linked and hybrid products.
The fund will also put up to half of its money in PNB REIT (real estate investment trust), which owns seven properties in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru worth about RM1 billion in total.
Meanwhile, PNB announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), is offering 200 million new units of Amanah Saham Didik (ASD) beginning yesterday.
A total of 2.2 billion units have been snapped up since ASD was launched in 2001. This is the seventh time the fund has offered new units.
ASD is a fixed price unit trust fund open to Bumiputera investors as early as six months old.
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.
RM15.4m for Pacific Mutual investors
TheEdge
PETALING JAYA: Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd has declared income distributions of between 0.4 sen and six sen per unit for five of its funds for their financial year and interim periods ended June 30, 2008.
For FY08, it has declared distribution of six sen per unit for Pacific Millennium Fund and Pacific Recovery Fund, 3.5 sen per unit for Pacific SELECT Balance Fund and 2.5 sen per unit for Pacific SELECT Income Fund, while for the interim period, it declared 0.4 sen per unit for Paciific Cash Fund.
The total distributions to be paid out amount to RM15.4 million.
In a statement yesterday, Pacific Mutual said these translated into yields of 9.8%, 10.7%, 6.4%, 4.8% and 0.8%, respectively, based on the net asset value per unit of the funds prior to the distribution.
“We are generally pleased to be able to offer consistent payouts to our investors, despite trying market conditions,” said Gary Gan, general manager, business development and marketing of Pacific Mutual, adding that the payouts were possible due to the respectable returns generated and prudent downside risk management achieved by the 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.
PETALING JAYA: Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd has declared income distributions of between 0.4 sen and six sen per unit for five of its funds for their financial year and interim periods ended June 30, 2008.
For FY08, it has declared distribution of six sen per unit for Pacific Millennium Fund and Pacific Recovery Fund, 3.5 sen per unit for Pacific SELECT Balance Fund and 2.5 sen per unit for Pacific SELECT Income Fund, while for the interim period, it declared 0.4 sen per unit for Paciific Cash Fund.
The total distributions to be paid out amount to RM15.4 million.
In a statement yesterday, Pacific Mutual said these translated into yields of 9.8%, 10.7%, 6.4%, 4.8% and 0.8%, respectively, based on the net asset value per unit of the funds prior to the distribution.
“We are generally pleased to be able to offer consistent payouts to our investors, despite trying market conditions,” said Gary Gan, general manager, business development and marketing of Pacific Mutual, adding that the payouts were possible due to the respectable returns generated and prudent downside risk management achieved by the 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.
Public Mutual declares distributions for nine funds
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Mutual Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Bank Bhd, has declared distributions for its nine funds for the year ended June 30, 2008 (FY08).
In a statement, the unit trust company said its final gross distributions for its nine funds ranges from two sen per unit to 5.75 sen per unit. PB Balanced Fund headed the list with a total gross distribution of 15 sen per unit after an interim distribution of 10 sen per unit and a final distribution of five sen each in the period under review.
Public Mutual said PB Growth Fund came in second with total gross distribution of 14 sen per unit, after an interim and final gross distribution per unit of nine sen and five sen respectively.
The interim gross distribution of PB Balanced Fund and PB Growth Fund was declared and paid in December 2007. The other funds that declared final gross distributions were PB Asia Equity Fund, PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund, PB Fixed Income Fund, PB Islamic Bond Fund, PB Cash Management Fund, PB Islamic Cash Management Fund and Public Islamic Money Market Fund.
Public Mutual added that PB Growth Fund, PB Balanced Fund and PB Fixed Income Fund were the winners of The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2008, and were ranked first for five-year returns in their respective categories for the period under June 6, 2008.
Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Mutual Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Public Bank Bhd, has declared distributions for its nine funds for the year ended June 30, 2008 (FY08).
In a statement, the unit trust company said its final gross distributions for its nine funds ranges from two sen per unit to 5.75 sen per unit. PB Balanced Fund headed the list with a total gross distribution of 15 sen per unit after an interim distribution of 10 sen per unit and a final distribution of five sen each in the period under review.
Public Mutual said PB Growth Fund came in second with total gross distribution of 14 sen per unit, after an interim and final gross distribution per unit of nine sen and five sen respectively.
The interim gross distribution of PB Balanced Fund and PB Growth Fund was declared and paid in December 2007. The other funds that declared final gross distributions were PB Asia Equity Fund, PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund, PB Fixed Income Fund, PB Islamic Bond Fund, PB Cash Management Fund, PB Islamic Cash Management Fund and Public Islamic Money Market Fund.
Public Mutual added that PB Growth Fund, PB Balanced Fund and PB Fixed Income Fund were the winners of The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2008, and were ranked first for five-year returns in their respective categories for the period under June 6, 2008.
Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia.
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.
CIMB-Principal manages CIMB Wealth Advisors funds
TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd started to manage, beginning yesterday, all of CIMB Wealth Advisors Bhd’s conventional unit trust funds except for the CIMB-Principal KLCI-Linked Fund, CIMB Group said in a statement.
It said, concurrently, the Islamic funds of both CIMB-Principal and CIMB Wealth Advisors would now be managed by CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd.
CIMB said these moves were in line with CIMB-Principal and CIMB Wealth Advisors’ efforts to streamline their business activities.
CIMB-Principal chief executive Datuk Noripah Kamso said with the rationalisation, it would focus on manufacturing and managing conventional unit trust funds while CIMB Wealth Advisors would concentrate on distributing and packaging investment products.
Meanwhile, CIMB Wealth Advisors CEO Tan Beng Wah said 16 conventional funds were transferred from CIMB Wealth Advisors to CIMB-Principal. “We will undertake the distribution of CIMB-Principal’s funds to retail investors while continuing to manage the CIMB-Principal KLCI-Linked Fund.”
He said CIMB Wealth Advisors would continue to be a multi-financial services and product platform, serving the growing needs of customers by offering unit trust funds, insurance and other investment products.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd started to manage, beginning yesterday, all of CIMB Wealth Advisors Bhd’s conventional unit trust funds except for the CIMB-Principal KLCI-Linked Fund, CIMB Group said in a statement.
It said, concurrently, the Islamic funds of both CIMB-Principal and CIMB Wealth Advisors would now be managed by CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd.
CIMB said these moves were in line with CIMB-Principal and CIMB Wealth Advisors’ efforts to streamline their business activities.
CIMB-Principal chief executive Datuk Noripah Kamso said with the rationalisation, it would focus on manufacturing and managing conventional unit trust funds while CIMB Wealth Advisors would concentrate on distributing and packaging investment products.
Meanwhile, CIMB Wealth Advisors CEO Tan Beng Wah said 16 conventional funds were transferred from CIMB Wealth Advisors to CIMB-Principal. “We will undertake the distribution of CIMB-Principal’s funds to retail investors while continuing to manage the CIMB-Principal KLCI-Linked Fund.”
He said CIMB Wealth Advisors would continue to be a multi-financial services and product platform, serving the growing needs of customers by offering unit trust funds, insurance and other investment products.
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.
Six winning investment habits
TheStar
THERE is a certain group of retailers that always seems to incur losses in the stock market. If we look into the reasons behind those losses, you will notice that instead of building up the right investment habits, they get caught up with a lot of bad investment habits.
In his book The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros, Mark Tier listed down 23 winning investment habits. Even though we disagree with the author on certain habits, we think there are six critical habits that can help investors make gains from the stock market.
Habit 1: Be risk-averse and preserve your capital
Some retailers have the misconception that being risk-averse in the stock market means making less money. Based on our observation, risk-averse investors are the ones that are able to make some gains despite the recent slump in the stock market.
In fact, risk-taking investors have been suffering huge losses lately. We believe investors need to be risk-averse and try your best to preserve your capital.
Even though investing in the stock market cannot guarantee returns, by being a risk-averse investor, you can still make good gains and have less risk of losing your capital.
According to Warren Buffett, buying good fundamental stocks can give high gains with lower risk. Risk-seeking investors normally get low returns while taking high risk. Hence, an investor that takes higher risk does not necessarily get compensated by higher returns.
Habit 2: Only invest in the business that you understand
A lot of investors do not understand the business of the companies that they invest in. They believe that they do not need to know that much detail as they can make fast money by listening to market rumours.
However, they do not realise that by the time they get the so-called first hand “insider information”, the market has already reacted to it and there is not much upside left to profit from.
Even worse, if after the purchase price goes down, the investors will be forced to either sell at a loss or hold for a longer term. If they understand the business, at least they would not end up buying poor fundamental stocks. The chances of good stocks appreciating in price are definitely higher than for the poorer ones.
Habit 3: Develop your own personal investing system
Some retailers are looking for a foolproof stock investing system that can consistently beat the stock market. They are willing to pay huge amounts of money to acquire that knowledge. We believe every investor should develop his own stock investing system that suits his individual needs and constraints.
All investing systems, whether based on fundamental or technical methods, require high levels of discipline and efforts. Unfortunately, most investors do not like to do homework. They believe there is someone somewhere who can beat the market all the time and all they need to do is to find him.
Hence, they will follow this so-called “guru” in buying stocks but are reluctant to follow his advice to cut losses. As a result, they will end up with a lot of poor fundamental stocks.
Habit 4: Always search for new investment opportunities
Investors need to develop the habit of always seeking new investment opportunities. In Malaysia, sometimes you may need to look at 10 stocks before you find one or two that are suitable for long-term investment.
The best available information on any company is always the annual reports and public announcements. Investors need to spend time analysing the information and then make their own calculation and check whether it is cheap to buy those stocks at the current price.
Habit 5: Have patience to wait for the right time and right stocks to invest
Sometimes, certain investors believe that they have to predict the market’s next move to make big returns. According to investment gurus like Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett, do not try to time the market, as you will always fail in predicting the next move.
Instead, what the investors really need to know is the value and the stock price of a company, rather than trying to predict market movement. Investors need to have the patience to wait for the right time and right stocks to invest.
As long as the stock price is selling far below the intrinsic value of the stock, you may consider buying those stocks even though the market may still be on the downtrend.
Habit 6: Able to hold on good fundamental stocks for long term
We believe all investors should own a portfolio of stocks that they will hold for the long term. As long as the businesses have the potential to grow and the companies are paying good dividends, investors need to develop the habit of holding the stocks for a longer term.
They should not be tempted to sell those stocks even if they may sometimes be trading at higher prices.
Ooi Kok Hwa is an investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting.
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.
THERE is a certain group of retailers that always seems to incur losses in the stock market. If we look into the reasons behind those losses, you will notice that instead of building up the right investment habits, they get caught up with a lot of bad investment habits.
In his book The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros, Mark Tier listed down 23 winning investment habits. Even though we disagree with the author on certain habits, we think there are six critical habits that can help investors make gains from the stock market.
Habit 1: Be risk-averse and preserve your capital
Some retailers have the misconception that being risk-averse in the stock market means making less money. Based on our observation, risk-averse investors are the ones that are able to make some gains despite the recent slump in the stock market.
In fact, risk-taking investors have been suffering huge losses lately. We believe investors need to be risk-averse and try your best to preserve your capital.
Even though investing in the stock market cannot guarantee returns, by being a risk-averse investor, you can still make good gains and have less risk of losing your capital.
According to Warren Buffett, buying good fundamental stocks can give high gains with lower risk. Risk-seeking investors normally get low returns while taking high risk. Hence, an investor that takes higher risk does not necessarily get compensated by higher returns.
Habit 2: Only invest in the business that you understand
A lot of investors do not understand the business of the companies that they invest in. They believe that they do not need to know that much detail as they can make fast money by listening to market rumours.
However, they do not realise that by the time they get the so-called first hand “insider information”, the market has already reacted to it and there is not much upside left to profit from.
Even worse, if after the purchase price goes down, the investors will be forced to either sell at a loss or hold for a longer term. If they understand the business, at least they would not end up buying poor fundamental stocks. The chances of good stocks appreciating in price are definitely higher than for the poorer ones.
Habit 3: Develop your own personal investing system
Some retailers are looking for a foolproof stock investing system that can consistently beat the stock market. They are willing to pay huge amounts of money to acquire that knowledge. We believe every investor should develop his own stock investing system that suits his individual needs and constraints.
All investing systems, whether based on fundamental or technical methods, require high levels of discipline and efforts. Unfortunately, most investors do not like to do homework. They believe there is someone somewhere who can beat the market all the time and all they need to do is to find him.
Hence, they will follow this so-called “guru” in buying stocks but are reluctant to follow his advice to cut losses. As a result, they will end up with a lot of poor fundamental stocks.
Habit 4: Always search for new investment opportunities
Investors need to develop the habit of always seeking new investment opportunities. In Malaysia, sometimes you may need to look at 10 stocks before you find one or two that are suitable for long-term investment.
The best available information on any company is always the annual reports and public announcements. Investors need to spend time analysing the information and then make their own calculation and check whether it is cheap to buy those stocks at the current price.
Habit 5: Have patience to wait for the right time and right stocks to invest
Sometimes, certain investors believe that they have to predict the market’s next move to make big returns. According to investment gurus like Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett, do not try to time the market, as you will always fail in predicting the next move.
Instead, what the investors really need to know is the value and the stock price of a company, rather than trying to predict market movement. Investors need to have the patience to wait for the right time and right stocks to invest.
As long as the stock price is selling far below the intrinsic value of the stock, you may consider buying those stocks even though the market may still be on the downtrend.
Habit 6: Able to hold on good fundamental stocks for long term
We believe all investors should own a portfolio of stocks that they will hold for the long term. As long as the businesses have the potential to grow and the companies are paying good dividends, investors need to develop the habit of holding the stocks for a longer term.
They should not be tempted to sell those stocks even if they may sometimes be trading at higher prices.
Ooi Kok Hwa is an investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting.
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.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Bank Negara: Vital to sustain domestic demand
BusinessTimes
BANK Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz says soaring food and energy prices may hurt household spending and damp economic growth, slowing expansion this year to below its March forecast.
"The important consideration in this scenario is to sustain domestic demand," Zeti said in an interview yesterday in Basel, Switzerland.
The economy may grow between 4.5 per cent and five per cent this year, she said, citing "preliminary" estimates. The central bank had forecast in March expansion of 5-6 per cent.
Slowing growth may make it harder for Malaysia to follow Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines in raising borrowing costs this year to tame inflation even as oil doubled to a record US$142.99 (RM468) a barrel last Friday and rice and wheat reached unprecedented levels.
"Bank Negara Malaysia does not want to be trigger-happy cowboys shooting straight from the hip at the very first sign of danger," said Suhaimi Ilias, an economist at Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd, who expects the central bank to hold rates steady until the year-end.
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.
BANK Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz says soaring food and energy prices may hurt household spending and damp economic growth, slowing expansion this year to below its March forecast.
"The important consideration in this scenario is to sustain domestic demand," Zeti said in an interview yesterday in Basel, Switzerland.
The economy may grow between 4.5 per cent and five per cent this year, she said, citing "preliminary" estimates. The central bank had forecast in March expansion of 5-6 per cent.
Slowing growth may make it harder for Malaysia to follow Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines in raising borrowing costs this year to tame inflation even as oil doubled to a record US$142.99 (RM468) a barrel last Friday and rice and wheat reached unprecedented levels.
"Bank Negara Malaysia does not want to be trigger-happy cowboys shooting straight from the hip at the very first sign of danger," said Suhaimi Ilias, an economist at Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd, who expects the central bank to hold rates steady until the year-end.
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.
Prudential unveils International Bank Target 8 Fund
BusinessTimes
PRUDENTIAL Fund Management Bhd (PFMB) has launched its latest product - International Bank Target 8 Fund, a two-year close-ended fund that aims to provide a steady stream of income accounted quarterly but paid only on the maturity date or earlier, if the early termination feature takes place.
Chief executive officer Mark Toh said International Bank represents the theme of the equity derivatives linked to a basket of international banking stocks, while Target 8 represents the eight quarters of possible early termination that the fund offers over its two-year tenure.
"In the wake of the subprime crisis, prices of financial stocks in Europe and US have dropped about 33 per cent from its 12-month peak of May 2007. We believe the markets could have factored in the expectations from most of the affected investment banks in US/Europe (which have announced and have written off losses).
"On this landscape, our investment specialists are optimistic over the revival of financial conglomerates thus offer investors an avenue of a potential upside with the debut of our latest product," he said.
A total of 200 million units of the fund are available for subscription until August 13 at a price of RM1 per unit for a minimum investment of RM5,000.
Interested investors can subscribe through authorised distributors of Prudential.
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.
PRUDENTIAL Fund Management Bhd (PFMB) has launched its latest product - International Bank Target 8 Fund, a two-year close-ended fund that aims to provide a steady stream of income accounted quarterly but paid only on the maturity date or earlier, if the early termination feature takes place.
Chief executive officer Mark Toh said International Bank represents the theme of the equity derivatives linked to a basket of international banking stocks, while Target 8 represents the eight quarters of possible early termination that the fund offers over its two-year tenure.
"In the wake of the subprime crisis, prices of financial stocks in Europe and US have dropped about 33 per cent from its 12-month peak of May 2007. We believe the markets could have factored in the expectations from most of the affected investment banks in US/Europe (which have announced and have written off losses).
"On this landscape, our investment specialists are optimistic over the revival of financial conglomerates thus offer investors an avenue of a potential upside with the debut of our latest product," he said.
A total of 200 million units of the fund are available for subscription until August 13 at a price of RM1 per unit for a minimum investment of RM5,000.
Interested investors can subscribe through authorised distributors of Prudential.
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.
Ethoas Capital fund surpasses target by 40%
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: The response to Ethos Capital Sdn Bhd’s maiden fund, Ethos Capital One, has been overwhelming, surpassing the original RM150mil target by over 40% to RM215mil.
Ethos Capital general partner and chairman Rohana Mahmood said it would be no surprise if a second fund, that could well be above RM500mil, could be in the offing.
However, she was quick to point out that “we have to focus on the maiden fund and make sure it performs.” The second fund could be introduced late next year when 75% of the maiden fund would have been invested in growth companies.
Yesterday, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop officially closed the maiden fund, which was first launched in March last year. Also present was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Rohana said Ethos Capital felt “good” that the fund exceeded its original size and that showed that the “Malaysia story was positive” and the economic fundamentals intact.
Foreign-based funds and corporations made up 40% of the investors for the fund while the remaining were locals. US funds made up a large portion of investors for the foreign block, with the others from Hong Kong, Indonesia and India. Of the local portion about 20% were individuals.
Ethos Capital is a private equity firm that launched the fund, which made its maiden investment of RM13mil in Masterskill Sdn Bhd, a nursing and allied health college in the country.
Ethos Capital was looking to make three or four more new investments to achieve the target of 75%. Rohana said the company was now actively assessing specific opportunities in a few industries, including education, plantation, consumer products and services as well as oil and gas.
In a statement, Ethos Capital said the fund would invest primarily in Malaysia and the Asean region.
The fund was industry agnostic and targeted operating companies with proven financial track record, sustainable and innovative business models and strong growth potential, it added.
“Notwithstanding the current market sentiments, as an active value investor, we believe this is an exciting period for private equity players in Malaysia and the region.
“(We at Ethos Capital) are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs maximise the potential of their companies,” Rohana said, adding that Ethos Capital expected double-digit returns on its investments.
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.
KUALA LUMPUR: The response to Ethos Capital Sdn Bhd’s maiden fund, Ethos Capital One, has been overwhelming, surpassing the original RM150mil target by over 40% to RM215mil.
Ethos Capital general partner and chairman Rohana Mahmood said it would be no surprise if a second fund, that could well be above RM500mil, could be in the offing.
However, she was quick to point out that “we have to focus on the maiden fund and make sure it performs.” The second fund could be introduced late next year when 75% of the maiden fund would have been invested in growth companies.
Yesterday, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop officially closed the maiden fund, which was first launched in March last year. Also present was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Rohana said Ethos Capital felt “good” that the fund exceeded its original size and that showed that the “Malaysia story was positive” and the economic fundamentals intact.
Foreign-based funds and corporations made up 40% of the investors for the fund while the remaining were locals. US funds made up a large portion of investors for the foreign block, with the others from Hong Kong, Indonesia and India. Of the local portion about 20% were individuals.
Ethos Capital is a private equity firm that launched the fund, which made its maiden investment of RM13mil in Masterskill Sdn Bhd, a nursing and allied health college in the country.
Ethos Capital was looking to make three or four more new investments to achieve the target of 75%. Rohana said the company was now actively assessing specific opportunities in a few industries, including education, plantation, consumer products and services as well as oil and gas.
In a statement, Ethos Capital said the fund would invest primarily in Malaysia and the Asean region.
The fund was industry agnostic and targeted operating companies with proven financial track record, sustainable and innovative business models and strong growth potential, it added.
“Notwithstanding the current market sentiments, as an active value investor, we believe this is an exciting period for private equity players in Malaysia and the region.
“(We at Ethos Capital) are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs maximise the potential of their companies,” Rohana said, adding that Ethos Capital expected double-digit returns on its investments.
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.
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