PNB to engage with core companies on improving shareholder returns

KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will start engaging with its core companies, in which it has an at least 10 per cent shareholding, with a view to improving total shareholder returns.

Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, who yesterday marked his first complete year as the fund management’s Group Chairman, said PNB was also planning to work closely with other institutional investors for greater shareholder activism aimed at enhancing corporate governance and performance of public listed companies.

“After one year at PNB and with the management team led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad fully in place, we plan to also allocate some time to support some of the strategic companies in their transformation or performance improvement.

“Four days ago on July 28, 2017, the Board of Sime Darby Bhd announced, among others, my appointment as Chairman of Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP),” he said in a statement yesterday.

He said SDP will be a separately listed entity upon completion of the Sime Darby demerger exercise.

With a total landbank of 7284.34 hectares in prime locations such as City of Elmina, Bandar Bukit Raja, Serenia City, Alya KL & Malaysian Vision Valley, SDP can be regarded as having the “dream land bank” of many property developers.

Abdul Wahid pledged to do his best for SD Property, its shareholders, PNB and its 13 million unit holders.

“Market reaction has been positive with total market capitalisation of the six PNB strategic companies increasing by RM40 billion yearon-year (YOY) since Aug 1, 2016 or RM29 billion year-to-date (YTD) in the first seven months of 2017.

“This represents an increase of 28.2 per cent YOY or 18.9 per cent YTD, higher than the increase in the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI of 6.5 per cent and 7.2 per cent respectively,” he said.

He also said another positive development is that Maybank’s market capitalisation had breached the RM100 billion mark in June 2017, a major milestone in Malaysia’s capital market history.

Abdul Wahid expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the government for entrusting him to lead PNB.

“Abdul Rahman Ahmad and I have been fortunate to have received the baton from Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid and Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah for a very solid national institution of integrity in PNB.

“We are grateful for the support from those in PNB from day one which enabled us to ‘get cracking’ immediately,” he said. — Bernama