Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. -filepic
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has claimed that state funds such as Amanah Saham (ASB), Employees Provident Funds (EPF), Armed Forces Fund (LTAT), and Tabung Haji will be paying out less dividends this year.
In a Facebook post Monday (Nov 19), the former premier and Pekan MP attributed this to the loss in investor confidence in Malaysia after GE14.
"I've observed that most of the unit trust prices managed by various private financial institutions and the government have dropped. Some at 5% and others as much as 25% compared with the start of this year."
He claimed that it is a sign that ASB, EPF, LTAT, and Tabung Haji would be paying less dividends.
Najib said he was certain that EPF dividends this year would be lower than the 6.9% rate given last year, which was the highest for the past 20 years.
In the same Facebook post, he posted a chart, which noted the net inflow of foreign capital into Bursa Malaysia between January and April.
However, he said the trend reversed beginning May.
"In total, RM14.2bil in foreign investment had been divested since May," Najib said, adding that the Bursa Malaysia Index fell as much as 200 points compared with pre-GE14.
Najib expressed concerns that government-linked companies (GLCs) like Khazanah, EPF, LTAT, PNB and Tabung Haji have suffered losses.
He said this was worrying because many of the largest shareholders of these GLCs are state investment funds.
He said the fall in Telekom Malaysia share prices caused Khazanah to lose RM3.9bil, EPF (RM2.5bil), and ASB (RM1.8bil) compared with pre-GE14 prices.
“The price of fuel and the cost of living have not gone down, but now share prices and the people’s savings are being reduced instead?” he asked.
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