SHAH ALAM: There were two factors contributing to the lower dividend payments for this year, says Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn.
Among them is the slower growth of the Bursa Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) which grew at 2.3% last year compared to about 12.9% in 2024.
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Secondly, he said assets denominated in the US dollar were also impacted due to the strength of the local currency.
“And also the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar, which impacted the value in ringgit of our income from dollar assets,” he said.
"The ringgit does impact our international holdings and it was one of the best performing currencies in the world, gaining 10.2%,” he added.
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The EPF declared a dividend rate of 6.15% for conventional savings for 2025, with the total payout amounting to RM67.1bil.
Meanwhile, the dividend rate for syariah savings was 6.15% with the payout totaling to RM12.5bil.
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Both the conventional and syariah savings recorded lower dividends than the previous year.
For 2024, EPF declared a dividend rate of 6.3% for conventional savings with a total payout amounting to RM63.05bil, as well as a 6.3% dividend for syariah savings, with a payout amounting to RM10.19bil.
