Launched yesterday, the fund would enable bumiputra investors to own real estate assets with a minimum investment of RM500.
The fund has an approved fund size of 1 billion units priced at RM1 each. It is open to bumiputras above three months of age, with investors below the age of 18 requiring a Malaysian legal guardian signatory.
It is a unit trust and not a real estate investment trust because the ownership is still with PHB. But the fund enjoys the beneficial ownership of the properties, Kamalul told reporters yesterday at the fund's launch.
The fund's underlying assets are CP Tower in Petaling Jaya, 26 Boulevard in Putrajaya, Wisma Consplant in Subang Jaya, Tesco Setia Alam and Industrial Complex in Shah Alam.
The fund's returns should be similar to that of Grade A buildings in the Golden Triangle, which would be not less than 6%.
The fund's income comes from the rental of these properties and we will pay the income distribution twice a year, Kamalul said.
The company's financial year ends on Sept 30, 2011, and PHB would look at an income payout every six months.
Kamalul said PHB remained positive on the property market in Malaysia considering the country's economic growth next year would create more business opportunities, therefore increasing office space demand.
PHB has seven completed assets in its portfolio. The two buildings not injected into the fund are Menara Bumiputra Commerce in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur and PHB's head office, Peremba Square, in Saujana Resort.
The unit trust scheme is aimed at boosting PHB's funding to allow it to invest in more properties. AHB would focus on investments in beneficial ownership of real estate which provide stable income and yield-accretive real estate.
Kamalul said PHB would enhance the existing fund and grow it to a certain level before considering launching another fund.
First announced during the tabling of Budget 2011, AHB aims to provide investors with a regular and consistent income stream and would be available throughout Maybank branches nationwide.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also chairman of Yayasan Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera, said PHB had been pursuing selective acquisitions of completed properties, undertaking construction and accumulating land banks for developments in the last three years. PHB is a subsidiary of Yayasan Amanah.
PHB has assembled a stock of tenanted and revenue generating properties and it is now ready to implement its goal of distributing ownership entitlements' to bumiputra investors, he said during his speech.
Najib said he hoped the fund would receive the right support from bumiputras, which would contribute to the overall balance of the country's economy.
Further, the syariah-compliant nature of the fund will indirectly widen the Islamic banking instruments in Malaysia, in line with the Government's ambition to turn Malaysia into a global Islamic financial hub, he said. (The Star Online)
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