ASNB Sees Highest Dividends In Five Years For 2024

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) has declared a higher income distribution to unit holders for the financial year ending 31 December 2024 (FY2024) compared to last year. This was mainly due to overall better performance in several local sectors and the global investment climate.

In fact, this is the highest income distribution in five years.

Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), a wholly-owned unit trust management company of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), has declared an income distribution of 5.75 sen a unit (5.50 sen a unit, 0.25 sen bonus) for its flagship fund for FY2024.

“The total payout amounts to RM10.1 billion and will benefit11.1 million ASB unitholders, ” the statement released by Permodalan Nasional Berhahd (PNB) highlighted.

“ASB continues to deliver sustainable and competitive returns, outperforming the benchmark of Maybank 12-month Fixed Deposit rate. ASB’s number of accounts increased by 2.4% to 11.1 million accounts, indicating continued confidence in ASB as an essential savings and investment tool for Bumiputeras in their financial planning,” the statement added.

ASB performed better due to stronger Malaysian economy

According to PNB president and group chief executive, Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said that the higher payout is due to stronger performance in the Malaysian equity market, which enabled ASNB to deliver improved returns. 

“We are pleased that 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 said.

He added that PNB is targeting ambitious growth, aiming to increase its assets under management (AUM) from RM347 billion in 2024 to RM400 billion by 2027.

PNB plans to promote better saving habits for Malaysians

Abdul Rahman also stated that PNB is working hard to inculcate better saving habits for Malaysians.

“PNB is committed to growing the savings of Malaysians by encouraging the public to save more and growing these savings by delivering sustainable, market leading returns. In this context, we will elevate our efforts on financial literacy by providing educational programmes and resources to empower Malaysians with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions,” he added.

He also highlighted Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) data that suggest voluntary savings (excluding EPF contribution) growth to be less than 5% over the last five years.

“We will also intensify our marketing initiatives to underscore the importance of cultivating a consistent savings habit for unitholders’ long-term financial security,” he said.

Read More: Everything You Need To Know About Amanah Saham Bumiputera