Kuala Lumpur – Come 29 January the Malaysian Indian community will have another specific scheme dedicated to them to give them an opportunity to increase their equity ownership in the national economy.
SEDIC (Social-economic Development of Indian Community) Department’s Director General Prof Datuk N.S.Rajendran provided details of the 1.5 billion additional units of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia which was officially announced on the 23rd of January 2018 by Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam, chairman of the Executive committee of Malaysian Indian Blue Print.
Following the 2018 Budget announcement by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, an investment initiative will be introduced for the benefit of the Malaysian Indian community with the launch of an additional 1.5 billion units Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS 1Malaysia) by Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad ASNB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).
It will be exclusively offered for subscription to the Malaysian Indian community. The purpose of this initiative is to encourage Malaysian Indians to invest in this unit trust fund, up to a maximum limit of 30,000 units per investor (inclusive of the units subscribed prior to this). The initiative under Budget 2018 demonstrates the Government’s commitment to resolving issues pertaining to the Indian community on a long-term basis.
AS1Malaysia was launched in 2009, where the fund seeks to provide regular and consistent income stream whilst preserving the unitholders’ capital over a long-term horizon through a diversified portfolio of investments. With these additional 1.5 billion units for the Indian community, it would further increase the opportunity for equity participation by the Indians.
The additional AS 1Malaysia units will be made available for subscription beginning 29th January 2018 until all the additional 1.5 billion units are fully subscribed. Investors can subscribe the additional AS 1Malaysia units by visiting the nearest ASNB branches or its agents which include Maybank, CIMB, RHB, POS Malaysia, Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, Am Bank and Bank Muamalat. For existing account holder of AS 1Malaysia that has already registered with the myASNB portal, they can top up their investment through this online platform at www.myasnb.com.my. For further information on the ASNB branches, please visit www.asnb.com.my or www.sedic.my.
B40 Indian families to be provided with loans to subscribe to AS1M shares
Moreover, to ensure equitable representation in this investment, especially for the benefit of B40 families, the Government has also allocated a special funding of RM500 million over a period of 5 years in the form of interest-free loan scheme.
Qualified B40 Indians will be provided with an interest-free loan of RM5,000 per household, which will then be invested in AS 1Malaysia. The investment scheme would eventually supplement the savings of 100,000 participants from the B40 Indian households, particularly those below the poverty line. This scheme will be launched by the Prime Minister in February 2018. As with any new scheme, there would be systems and processes in place for a smooth implementation process, which will be explained later in detail.
As pf to date, the Government has supported Malaysian Indians through various initiatives. Over 800 NGOs and 28 ILKS (Institut Latihan Kemahiran Swasta- Private initiatives for Skills training) have been funded to impact 550,000 participants primarily from the B40 community. Besides that, over 30,000 entrepreneurs have been supported through the facilitation of RM1.4 billion worth of business loans. Over RM900 million has been allocated for the development of Tamil Schools in Malaysia. With the launching of the Malaysian Indian Blueprint on 23rd April 2017 by the Prime Minister, SEDIC, a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department has been designated as the implementation unit.
SEDIC will be providing timely updates on AS 1Malaysia and its application procedures. Do keep yourself updated by visiting their website at www.sedic.my or follow our Facebook page @mysedic for further information.
