KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said he believes the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) annual dividends for 2020 will be higher than Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s 4.25% in Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) dividends.
In a Facebook post ahead of EPF’s dividends announcement soon, Najib said this is because EPFs overseas investments will yield better returns than domestic investments.
“EPF has long invested funds in the United States over the past decade. Many are unaware that EPF’s asset size is larger than our local economy.
“The cumulative market capitalisation of all public listed companies (PLCs) on Bursa Malaysia as of October 2020 was at RM1.62 trillion, while EPF’s assets are valued at RM940 billion,” he said.
Najib said if EPF were to invest all its assets in equal parts into the bourse, it would be the largest shareholder, with a 58% stake in all PLCs in the country.
“Of course, this is impractical, impossible and will not give good returns to EPF. That is why EPF must look for opportunities to invest overseas as that will give better returns for their contributors,” he said.
Najib also cited the former Pakatan Harapan federal government as a factor in the local investment market’s decline.
“If it had not been for its foreign investment, EPF dividend rates for 2018 and 2019 would be much lower as the domestic market was for two years doomed due to Pakatan Harapan’s failure,” he said.
EPF declared its lowest dividend in more than a decade at 5.45% in 2019, amounting to RM41.68 billion being paid out under conventional savings.
The fund also declared a dividend rate of 5% for shariah savings in 2019, with a payout amounting to RM4.14 billion, bringing total dividends payout at RM45.82 billion for the year. – The Vibes, February 14, 2021
