Wednesday February 20, 2013

Sarawakians make worthy investors, says Taib

We’re there: Johari (centre), Hamad (left) and PNB board of directors member Tan Sri Bujang Nor at the opening of the Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad’s office in Kuching. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star

KUCHING: Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) will find Sarawakians a worthy group of investors, especially in the coming years given the state’s expected development rate.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said given the rich natural resources and the state’s policy on how to manage its wealth by deriving more through the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), it was confident that all this would be able to raise the income of Sarawakians.

“With peoples’ income on the rise, they can afford to invest more into the funds managed by Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB), a wholly owned subsidiary of PNB.

“What good would it be to have a high income if they do not have the know-how on managing their money the smart way for their future and that of their family,” he said at the opening of the new ASNB office at the Al-Idrus Commercial Centre in Jalan Kulas here yesterday. His text-of-speech was read by Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

Earlier on, Taib said three decades ago PNB and ASNB was established to provide an avenue and opportunity for Malaysians to invest their money directly in a unit trust, and indirectly in big corporations.

He recalled how PNB staff were facing challenging times trying to educate and promote Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) scheme to the people by travelling into the interior by boats and on land.

“Words like dividend, bonuses, investment capital were foreign to people back then but they managed to convince the people with the help of the Information Department that ASN was the smart way to save for better returns in the long run,” he said.

He said the end result was that the people, be they in the urban or rural Sarawak, became more receptive of PNB’s unit trust funds and the country’s profit was able to be enjoyed by the people.

Taib said Sarawakians were not limited to only one brand of unit trust but were free to choose from local unit trusts as well as other products launched by corporations and other fund managements.

Nonetheless, he believed the people were more attracted to investing in ASNB trust funds because they could begin with as low at RM10 or 10 units and that it was more stable and risk-averse.

Furthermore, he said PNB and ASNB had built a strong reputation for being competitive and had a good track record on its dividend pay-out.

ASNB now has 28 branch offices all over the country, including in Miri, Bintulu, Sri Aman, Sibu and here.

ASNB Kuching has been in operation since 1981. It was initially located at Wisma Bapa Malaysia.

The office offered services on investments as well as consultation and financial planning for free.

News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Sarawakians make worthy investors, says Taib