PNB has no plans for another REIT

The fund intends to expand its global footprint via investing in global property funds

by NUR HAZIQAH A MALEK / pic by pic by ISMAIL CHE RUS

PERMODALAN Nasional Bhd (PNB) has no plans to include another real estate investment trust (REIT) in its portfolio, despite its earlier announcement to embark on a diversification into different asset classes.

PNB president and group CEO Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said the state investment fund has only one REIT under its portfolio.

“Last week, we had our AGM and as of now, PNB has no plans to have another REIT. In fact, I’m not sure if we are allowed to add any more, since we already have one at the moment,” he said at the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) 2019 announcement yesterday.

A report by The Malaysian Reserve on Monday stated that the fund intends to expand its global footprint via investing in global property funds to access a potential source of recurring yields.

Its group chairman Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the environment will be highly unstable in both global and domestic markets, and that a more diversified portfolio will address some of the challenges.

Currently, the country’s largest unit trust manager has assets under management of RM298.5 billion.

Meanwhile, the state fund has targeted as many as 150,000 visitors to attend this year’s MSAM, an event that is targeted to raise financial literacy level among Malaysians. It will be held at Sungai Petani, Kedah, from April 19 to April 25.

Abdul Rahman said the programme will be focusing on the uncertainties and volatilities of the investment market.

“We may have touched on this topic previously, but this year, it will be part of the emphasis that the returns on investing heavily depends on the market, and that there are risks,” he said.

“We also hope that through this effort, unit holders and the society at large will gain enhanced awareness of the correlation between risks and returns,” he said.

He added that the programmes and activities chosen for the week-long event are in line with the fund’s objective to educate the younger market.

“In Malaysia, our financial literacy levels are still quite low, and therefore, in order to solve that, we hope to use more interactive programmes to appeal to the younger market and inculcate financial savviness from a young age,” he said.

To date, there are one million unit holders in Kedah, totalling to approximately RM13.5 billion under Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd.

The annual MSAM event was first held in 2000 by PNB which has attracted a total of 3.8 million visitors to date.

In conjunction with its 20th year being organised as part of PNB’s corporate social responsibility initiative, a new logo for MSAM was also unveiled.