PNB announces income distribution for ASB, ASN

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KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd has announced an income distribution of 6.75 sen per unit and bonus of 0.50 sen per unit for Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) for financial year ended Dec 31, 2016.

The Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) subsidiary also declared an income distribution of 5.00 sen per unit for Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN).

PNB group chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said the performance of ASB exceeded that of the equity market, which recorded a total return of minus 1.7%.

"This year marked the third consecutive stock market decline. The FBM KLCI declined by 73 points from 1,692.5 points on Dec 31, 2015 to 1,619.1 points as of Nov 30, 2016," he told a the media briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

"Overall market performance was affected by various factors including capital outflows into developed economies, low commodity prices, foreign exchange volatility and geopolitical developments," he added.

Despite these challenges, Wahid said, ASB managed to achieve a gross income of RM9.59 billion as at Nov 30, 2016.