KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) is giving out its highest dividend over the past five years for its largest unit trust fund Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), which according to an economist, reflects ongoing positive dynamics of the local stock market.
PNB, the country's largest fund manager, on Tuesday announced a combined dividend and bonus of 5.75 sen for ASB for 2024. It is made up of 5.5 sen dividend and 0.25 sen bonus dividend.
The dividends involve a total payout of about RM10.1 billion to 11.1 million ASB unitholders. This marks an almost 10 per cent hike in total income distribution from the 5.25 sen per unit announced for its flagship fund in 2023.
"ASB continues to deliver sustainable, above market returns, outperforming the benchmark of Maybank 12-month fixed deposit rate," PNB said.
IDEAS Malaysia economist and assistant research manager Doris Liew said the higher dividend is a reflection of the ongoing positive market dynamics and is consistent with the trends observed earlier this year.
This included the higher dividends declared by the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan).
"These developments highlight the overall strength of the domestic market, underscoring Malaysia's stable economic growth and the effective management of national investment funds. "Looking forward, the dividend outlook for ASB remains promising, driven by Malaysia's continued growth momentum," Liew told Business Times.
ASB continues to be recognised as one of the most stable and high-performing unit trust funds in Malaysia, with a consistent track record of delivering solid returns, she added.
Liew said the country's strategic investments and economic policies are expected to support the fund's performance, with key sectors such as infrastructure development, technology, manufacturing and green investment acting as vital growth engines.
"While Malaysia's economic outlook appears optimistic, there are certain external risks that could impact the market. These include geopolitical uncertainties tied to the ongoing Trump administration's policies, China's domestic economic slowdown, and challenges within the European Union's economic framework," she added.
Liew said ASB continues to be recognised as one of the most stable and high-performing unit trust funds in Malaysia, with a consistent track record of delivering solid returns.
Universiti Kuala Lumpur Business School economic analyst Associate Professor Aimi Zulhazmi Abdul Rashid said ASB's better investment returns reflect the improvement of the country's economic position compared to last year.
"This is in line with better national gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first three quarters of 2024, at an average of 5.2 per cent and certainly within the reach of the government's projection for 2024, which is between 4.8 per cent and 5.3 per cent."
He said ASB's investment is largely focused on companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, especially government-linked investment companies (GLIC) and government-linked companies that showed encouraging performance in 2024.
"On average, Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index increased from only 1,454 points a year ago to 1,609 points at present, giving a good indication of the capital market," he said.
Aimi added that the stronger ringgit augurs well for the growth of the country's economy.
He, however, said the openness of the country's economy, including the capital market, is easily influenced by global factors such as the geopolitical crisis and the actions of developed countries in managing their respective monetary policies.
"The Russia-Ukraine confilict and Israel war in Gaza are still raging and has the potential to grow into a large-scale impact on the world economy and Malaysia, while the direction of President Trump's leadership will be known in January, which will determine whether the political and economic policies of the US will experience drastic changes or not.
"Likewise doubt on with the economic performance of European countries and China, the world's second largest economic power, which is also Malaysia's largest trading partner; will these countries experience slower or better economic growth for 2025," Aimi said.
Meanwhile, PNB said the number of ASB accounts increased 2.4 per cent to 11.1 million accounts todate, indicating continued confidence in the unit trust as an essential savings and investment platform for Bumiputeras in their financial planning.
PNB said ASB's improved performance was driven by the positive impact of its asset diversification strategy and the strong Malaysian public equity market, which benefitted from robust Malaysian economic growth and the strengthening of the ringgit.
PNB chairman Raja Tan Sri Datuk Seri Arshad Raja Tun Uda said ASB has been able to deliver its strongest dividend distribution over the last five years.
"This continues the strong track record of outperformance of ASNB's fixed price funds over their reference portfolio in line with PNB's purpose to uplift the financial lives of Malaysians across generations," he added.