PNB to focus on global equity funds in 2018
KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will continue to focus on the investments in global public equity and private equity funds in 2018, said president/group chief executive officer, Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad.
He said public equity would be PNB’s main focus as that has been the company’s ‘bread and butter’ for years.
“Historically, we already had a small portfolio in global public equity,” he told a media briefing on PNB 2017 fourthquarter update yesterday.
Abdul Rahman said global private equity funds would continue to stay on the company’s radar next year as over the past 15 years, statistics had shown that the funds had generated better yield than other asset classes.
“Our strategy is to remain careful while increasing our international assets position, as it works well for 2017.
“We will maintain that conservatism,” he said.
As of Nov 30, 2017, PNB’s assets improved 4.6 per cent to RM276.5 billion from RM264.3 billion in the same period a year ago.
For January to November 2017, public equity accounted for 70.8 per cent of the company’s assets, up from 69.9 per cent in the same period last year, while private investment declined to two per cent as of November 2017 from 2.6 per cent previously.
Cash holdings fell to 17.9 per cent as of November this year from 19.8 per cent in the same period last year, while fixed income went up to 5.6 per cent in the same period from 3.9 per cent previously.
“We have rebalanced our asset allocation, shifting our cash position into private investments and fixed income in 2017,” said Abdul Rahman.
On property investment, he said, the company would continue to look for investment opportunities next year, but would take into account of the industry’s prospects.
“For instance, we view that the appreciation of our property investments in Australia had breached the optimal level, so we decided to divest it,” he said, adding that similar views were seen in London after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
Meanwhile, Group Chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, said he expected the country’s economic growth in 2018 would continue its upward momentum
Historically, we already had a small portfolio in global public equity. Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad, PNB president/ group chief executive officer
registered in 2017, albeit at the moderate pace between five and 5.5 per cent in 2018.
“We forecast the ringgit would strengthen towards RM4 versus US$1 by end-2018, supported by the recovery of crude oil prices,” he said. — Bernama