Amid global uncertainty, EPF’s payout a ‘nice surprise’
Total payout amounted to RM47.3b, marginal decrease of 1.7pc from 2017
THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has declared a dividend of 6.15 per cent for conventional savings last year, with a payout amounting to RM43 billion, and 5.9 per cent for syariah savings, with a payout amounting to RM4.32 billion.
The payout for last year amounted to RM47.31 billion, a marginal decrease of 1.7 per cent from 2017.
“With a real dividend of 3.93 per cent for simpanan konvensional and 3.68 per cent for simpanan syariah on a rolling threeyear basis respectively, the EPF has exceeded its mandate of delivering a dividend of at least 2.5 per cent on a yearly basis and at least 2.0 per cent real dividend on a rolling three-year basis,” the EPF said yesterday.
“We are pleased that we have been able to consistently meet our two strategic investment targets. Beyond the anticipated nominal dividends, we consistently delivered above-inflation returns so we are able to preserve and enhance the value of our members’ savings over the long term and help them achieve a better retirement future,” said chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman.
This, he said, was despite last year being a difficult year, marked by volatility and a downward trend in global markets, due to the long-standing United States-China trade war and four rounds of US interest rate hikes in the year alone.
“We remained focused on our long-term strategy and our portfolio diversification has provided resilience, delivering commendable returns to members,” he said.
Gross investment income for last year was RM50.88 billion, out of which RM4.62 billion was attributed to syariah savings, proportionate to its share of total syariah assets, while RM46.26 billion was attributed to conventional savings.
The lower income for EPF’s syariah portfolio last year was due to the underperformance of the telecommunications, construction and oil and gas sectors in the domestic portfolio.
The dividend payout for each account was derived from total gross realised income for the year after deducting the net impairment on financial assets, unrealised gains or losses from intercompany transactions, investment expenses, operating expenditures, statutory charges, as well as dividend on withdrawals.
The payout amount required for each 1.0 per cent of the dividend last year was RM7.72 billion, which is higher compared with RM7.02 billion in 2017.