EPF says Q1 investment income up 74% to RM11.8b

EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said the EPF reported a 101.27% increase in the usage of i-Akaun to 3.33 million in Q2 2015 from 1.65 million a year ago.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) registered strong financial performance in the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 with investment income of nearly RM11.8bil, aided by an improvement in the equities markets and sharply lower impairments.

It said on Tuesday the income was up 73.9% from RM6.78bil a year ago.

The value of EPF investment assets reached RM747.17bil, up 2.2% or RM16.06bil from Dec 31, 2016. 

“Out of the total investment asset, RM352.73bil, or 47.2%, were in Shariah-compliant investment while the balance were invested in non-Shariah assets,” it said. 

Commenting on EPF’s Q1, 2017 investment performance, its chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said both the domestic and global markets improved significantly compared with the first quarter last year.

"The FBM KLCI grew by 6%, driven by the growth in the banking sector, while global indices improved by as much as 12%, a striking difference from the market environment last year. 

“The positive market condition was conducive for profit taking activities leading to higher gross investment income in Q1, 2017 and also lower net impairment.”