PETALING JAYA: Property investment company Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB) is confident in achieving its goal of collecting RM20bil worth in Amanah Hartanah Bumiputra (AHB) funds as well as RM25bil in overall assets by 2030.
In line with its seven-year business plan, PHB planned to increase the fund size by four times from RM5bil to RM20bil by 2030.
This target is expected to be achieved via expanding access for its unitholders as well as introducing a digital distribution strategy for underserved bumiputra communities.
PHB announced in October 2023 that it planned to increase its overall assets to RM25bil by 2030 from RM11bil as part of its portfolio diversification plan.
PHB group managing director and chief executive officer Mohamad Damshal Awang Damit said what makes the RM20bil aim achievable is in terms of unit trusts as PHB is able to attract institutional investors as well as bumiputra participation.
“If you look into our unit trust, we have about 75,000 units and this is less than 1% of what Tabung Haji has, which has more than nine million.
“But what makes us different is that we have institutional investors. We have a few institutional investors that qualify as bumiputras,” he told a press conference.
Aside from unit trusts, he said PHB also has the option to raise funds via sukuk and financing.
However, he pointed out that one of the challenges is to match the growth in unit trust with suitable assets that will ensure steady returns.
PHB will ensure it receives quality assets and will be very careful in the selection process, according to Damshal.
On the overall asset goal by 2030, general manager and head of corporate strategy Muhammad Zikri Kamardin acknowledged that it would be a tough target to achieve in a short time.
“However, with the initiatives that we are currently undertaking, it will ensure that we are able to always sustain asset growth,” he said.
Providing an example on PHB’s success in surviving the Covid-19 pandemic due to its assets, Muhammad Zikri emphasised that the group is confident that the target could be achieved.
“At the end of the day we only want to inject only good assets into AHB and ensure unitholders’ interests are protected at all times,” he said.
PHB will be independently managing its funds through its newly established wholly-owned subsidiary, PHB Asset Management Bhd (PHBAM).
This was a strategic move by PHB towards increasing bumiputra-participation and ownership in commercial properties.
The establishment of PHBAM also marks PHB parting ways with Maybank Asset Management Sdn Bhd which it had worked with since 2010.
