PUBLIC Bank Bhd launched the PB Templeton BRIC, a structured investment product, offering investors the opportunity to capitalise on the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) economies.

Managing Director Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek said the PB Templeton BRIC provides an annual variable coupon of up to three per cent for the first three years of the investment.

“At maturity, the potential is unlimited enhanced return based on the average performance of the underlying asset performing above 110 per cent,” he said.

The investment provides customers with immediate access to invest in equities in the fast-growing developing economies of BRIC in order to capitalise on the growth potential of their economies.

The BRIC countries accounted collectively for about 30 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook January 2008.

The outlook for the BRIC economies remains positive due to their relatively strong fundamental characteristics and faster growth compared to their developed counterparts.

The accumulation of foreign exchange reserves also puts the BRIC countries in a much stronger position to weather external shocks.

Despite the global economic slowdown, the Chinese and Indian markets continued to record exceptionally robust growth rates. Brazil and Russia are likely to benefit from increasing global demand for commodities.

The key reason for investing in the BRIC markets is their long-term growth potential especially since these countries are now at a relatively early stage in their development, Public Bank said.

“The investment is suitable for investors who are seeking potentially higher returns compared to the current fixed-deposit rates without taking undue risk on their wealth if the investment is held to maturity and for those seeking to diversify their investment portfolio into emerging markets,” Tay said.

The Templeton BRIC fund is managed by world renowned investment manager, Franklin Templeton Investments, which is one of the largest investment management companies in the world.

The investment is for a three-year nine-month period via Floating Rate Negotiable Instruments of Deposit and is 100 per cent capital-protected in Malaysian ringgit if held to maturity.

The product is available from today till Oct 2, with a minimum investment of RM65,000, with multiples of RM5,000 thereafter. – BERNAMA

(1) HLG Star Select-Capital Protected (View daily fund price)
(2) HLG GEM Resources Strategic Fund (View daily fund price)
(3) HLG Shariah Inflation Select Fund (View daily fund price)
(4) HLG GEMS Cash Plus Fund (View daily fund price)

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said PISEF is an aggressive Islamic equity fund that seeks to achieve capital growth through investment in the largest 50 companies in term of market capitalisation (at the point of purchase) listed on Bursa Securities which comply with Shariah requirements. “These bellweather companies are usually considered relatively resilient as they have established track records, resilient growth prospects due to their size and entrenched market shares, and financial resources to withstand challenging economic conditions,” he added.

Meanwhile, PI INCOME is an Islamic fixed income fund that seeks to provide annual income over the medium- to long-term period by investing in sukuk and Islamic money market instruments. “PI INCOME allows access to the growing sukuk market which is generally only accesible to insititutional investors. Sukuk and Islamic money market instruments offer a steady stream of income to investors with profit distributed annually,” Tan Sri Teh said.

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Teh explains that the PISEF is suitable for medium- to long-term investors with aggressive risk-reward temperament. The equity exposure of PISEF will generally range from 75% to 90% of its net asset value (NAV). On the other hand, PI INCOME is suitable for investors with conservative risk-reward temperament. The fund will invest up to a maximum of 60% of its NAV in sukuk in the domestic market. The balance of the fund’s NAV will be invested in Islamic money market instruments.

The Initial Offer Price of PISEF and PI INCOME is at RM0.25 per unit and RM1 respectively during the 21-day initial offer period of 14 August 2008 to 3 September 2008. The minimum initial investment for both funds is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100.

PISEF and PI INCOME are distributed by Public Mutual unit trust consultants. Interested investors can contact any Public Mutual unit trust consultant or call its Customer Service Hotline at 03-6207 5000 for more details of the funds.

Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia, and it manages 64 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 June 2008, the total NAV of the funds managed by the company was RM26.6 billion.

Source: www.publicmutual.com.my

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said investing in regional telecommunications and infrastructure stocks enables investors to benefit from the resilient prospects of these sectors. To ensure that infrastructure services are adequate to support their growth, Asian economies will continue to invest in the infrastructure sector over the medium to long term. Based on a CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report, “Ramping Up Asia’s Infrastructure Stimulus, March 2008”, Asian countries are expected to spend an estimated US$1.8 trillion on construction of roads, railways, power plants, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects over the 5-year period until 2012.

He added that infrastructure assets also offer positive long-term prospects as the underlying cash flows of concession companies are usually stable and linked to an inflation index through a negotiated pricing formula. Following the retracement in regional equity markets for the year to date, selected telecommunications and infrastructure stocks are currently trading at valuations that are below their long-term average.

PFETIF is an equity fund that seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium- to long-term period by investing in securities, mainly equities, in the telecommunications, infrastructure, and utilities sector in Far-East markets. Up to 98% of PFETIF’s net asset value (NAV) can be invested in selected foreign markets which include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and other approved markets. The equity exposure of PFETIF will generally range from 75% to 90% of its NAV.

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Teh added that PFETIF is suitable for aggressive investors who are looking forward to participating in the long-term growth potential of a portfolio of regional stocks in sectors which include telecommunications, construction, building materials, expressways, transportation, water works, infrastructure and utilities.

The initial offer price of PFETIF is at RM0.2500 per unit during the 21-day initial offer period of 8 July 2008 to 28 July 2008. During the offer period, a special promotional service charge of 5% of NAV per unit is extended to the purchase of units of PFETIF by investors. Investors who opt for Direct Debit Instruction with PFETIF during the offer period will enjoy a special promotional service charge of 5.25% of NAV per unit for as long as the Direct Debit is active. Terms and conditions apply. The minimum initial investment for the fund is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100.

PFETIF is distributed by Public Mutual’s unit trust consultants. Interested investors can contact any Public Mutual unit trust consultant or call our Customer Service Hotline at 03-6207 5000 for more details of the fund.

Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia and currently manages 62 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 May 2008, the total fund size managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.

Via www.publicmutual.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: TA Investment Management Bhd (TAIM) expects its new unit trust fund TA Dana Fokus to give investors a yearly return of 12%.

The product is a syariah-compliant fund that seeks to tap into the Malaysian stock market with a concentrated equities portfolio.

Chief investment officer Choo Swee Kee said he expected the equities market to recover in the fourth quarter, which would enable the company to meet the target for this fund after a year.

“Right now, the market sentiment is quite negative but the downturn of the market has more or less tapered off.

“We will see some signs of recovery in the fourth quarter and the market should pick up in the first half of 2009,” he said after the fund launch yesterday.

Choo said the US subprime crisis, which had been ongoing for more than a year, was expected to taper off soon.

While the US economy was likely to slow down and go into a “shallow recession”, he said it (the US economy) should rebound in the fourth quarter and lead to a recovery in the local market.

Choo said the new funds’s concentrated portfolio would provide customers with the opportunity to accumulate good value stocks and take advantage of today’s market conditions.

The immediate strategy for the fund, he said, would be to focus on blue-chip stocks with share prices that had fallen below their fair value but had strong fundamentals and good long-term prospects.

“We expect these stocks to lead in the market recovery.

“Moving on to the last quarter of 2008, we will be looking to split the fund’s exposure into the oil and gas sector as the industry has been under-invested in the past decade and its profits are expected to remain healthy, even if oil prices should weaken,” he said.

Choo said new fund’s portfolio was likely to consist of 28 local syariah-compliant stocks or less.

The new product has an approved size of 150 million units. The initial offer price is 50 sen per unit for 21 days from the launch date with a minimum investment of RM1,000.

Chief executive officer Wong Mien said TA Investment was targeting sales of RM30mil to RM40mil for this fund. At present, the company manages funds totalling RM750mil.

Via The Star Online

The second fund will primarily be a Malaysian-focused real estate fund with an option to invest regionally. Its first fund, CMREF 1, was established in December 2005 and has a committed capital of RM402 million with a total potential fund size of RM1.4 billion.

Speaking to reporters during the launch of Peter’s Holdings’ Papillon Desahill Condominium in Taman Desa here yesterday, CIMB-Mapletree chief investment officer Muhyiddin A Razack said CMREF 1 invested in a wide range of property types including office, retail, industrial and residential units.

CIMB-Mapletree is a 60-40 joint-venture between CIMB Real Estate Sdn Bhd (a wholly owned subsidiary of CIMB Group) and Mapletree Capital Management Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd.

CIMB-Mapletree is currently redeveloping the iconic Jaya Shopping Centre in Section 14, Petaling Jaya and is in the midst of acquiring Patimas Technology Centre in Technology Park Malaysia for a sale and leaseback exercise.

It also has investments in CP Tower in Section 16, Sri Tanjung Pinang in Penang as well as Ceriaan Kiara in Mont’Kiara.

The medium-high Papillon Desahill Condominium project, with a gross development value of RM180 million, is a collaboration between CIMB-Mapletree and Peter’s Holdings.

Papillon will be developed by Zeus-TNB Properties Sdn Bhd, a 60-40 joint venture company between Zeus Development Sdn Bhd and TNB Properties Sdn Bhd. Zeus Development is an affiliate company of Peter’s Holdings.

Papillon, butterfly in French, is a low-density freehold project and is targeted for completion by 2011. Sited on 4.5-acres, the property will house two blocks of condominiums, with a total of 225 units of between 1,312 sq ft and 2,059 sq ft, priced at RM480,000 to RM800,000 each.

There will be 16 duplex penthouses with built-up areas of 2,498 sq ft to 3,661 sq ft offered at a price range between RM1.1 million to RM1.6 million. The average price per sq ft is RM400.

“Since our soft launch early this month, we have seen a take-up rate of 35%,” Peter’s Holdings managing director Peter Loke said. He expects 80% of the property to be sold within one year.

CIMB-Mapletree CEO Raja Noorma Othman said: “We see value in this project within a maturing residential neighbourhood, and it offers opportunities for both parties to contribute towards developing a quality product for our stakeholders and customers of Papillon.”

Public Bank managing director Datuk Seri Tay Ah Lek said it was in line with the recent rise in gold demand and to provide alternative investment products to customers who wanted to earn potentially higher returns.

“Gold investment is always regarded as the best possible hedge against inflation. The world demand for gold as a precious metal is ever growing as evident from the India and China markets which are among the world’s largest consumers of gold,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Tay said the account provided the bank’s customers with the convenience of investing in gold without the hassle of keeping physical gold as trading was carried out through a passbook, which would record every purchase and sale of gold.

He said the initial gold purchase quantity to open the account was at 20 grams and subsequent minimum trading quantity was five grams and in multiples of one gram.

Tay said the difference between the selling and buying prices was relatively small. He said in line with the global practice, the Gold Investment Account did not pay interest as this was not a deposit placement and furthermore, the bank kept the gold with an authorised custodian bank.

He said the bank could make available the physical gold in denominations of 100 grams, 500 grams and 1,000 grams should the customer required it. Tay said a minimum quantity of two grams of gold was to be maintained by the customer to ensure the account remained active.

Source: The Edge

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said PIOGF is an Islamic equity fund that seeks to provide income and capital growth by investing in Shariah-compliant stocks which offer attractive dividend yields and growth stocks in the domestic market. “PIOGF invests 50% of its equity investment in Shariah-compliant growth stocks in the domestic market while the remaining 50% of its equity investment is invested in Shariah-compliant stocks which offer attractive dividend yields,” he added.

Tan Sri Teh explains that PIOGF is a capital growth and income fund that is suitable for medium to long-term investors with aggressive risk-reward temperaments. The equity exposure of PIOGF will generally range from 75% to 95% of its net asset value (NAV). PIOGF distributes annual income to the investors on a best effort basis.

The Initial Offer Price of PIOGF is at RM0.2500 per unit during the 21-day initial offer period of 8 April 2008 to 28 April 2008. The minimum initial investment is RM1,000.

PIOGF is distributed by Public Mutual unit trust consultants. Interested investors can contact any Public Mutual unit trust consultant or call its Customer Service Hotline at 03-6207 5000 for more details of the fund.

Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia, and it manages 61 funds for more than 1,650,000 accountholders. As at 31 December 2007, the total NAV of the funds managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.

“Asia’s growth is expected to be resilient – China, India and other Asian nations will see about 150 million people added to their workforce by 2010, which is 15 times more people than that expected for the United States of America (“US”)1. This emerging group of professionals will form Asia’s rising middle class – aspirational, consumption-driven and with an increased capacity to spend. This will contribute to the rising consumption that we foresee will be a continuous trend for at least another three years to come,” said Teng Chee Wai, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of HwangDBS Investment Management Berhad (“HwangDBS IM”).

“As such, we are very pleased to launch our latest investment offering: the HwangDBS Asia Aspire Capital Protected Fund (“AACP” or the “Fund”), aimed at capitalising on the increasing affluence of Asia’s households and rising consumption driven by their aspirational demands and at the same time, provide capital protection upon maturity of the Fund,” he continued.

Teng elaborated, “AACP’s unique investment strategy offers investors the potential to benefit regardless of whether it is a bull or bear market. In a bull market, the investor can potentially benefit from over-the-counter option that is linked to the equity performance of the Asia Aspire Basket (“AAB”) of global brands that leverage on aspirational middle class spending. As a general reference, AAB comprises stocks from sectors such as finance, luxury fashion, consumer electronics, automobile and telecommunications. However, in bearish market conditions AACP’s momentum indicator will kick in by switching to defensive assets (the one-month Australian Treasury Bills), and when markets recover, auto-allocates back to the equity performance of the AAB.”

In the next 12 months, 12 per cent of the world’s population will comprise of young Asians who will command a purchasing power of about US$150 billion (RM495 billion)2. In China and developing Asian countries, consumer spending accounts for about 30 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)3 and in the last 10 years, consumption expenditure has ballooned by 136 per cent and 65 per cent in China and India respectively4. Simultaneously, there is huge potential growth for the businesses in Asia to provide goods and services to the aspiring Asian consumers given the relatively low penetration levels especially for higher-end consumer goods.

In short, the AACP provides Malaysian investors the opportunity to benefit from Asia’s rising affluence and their increasing scale of discretionary spending with an added benefit of capital protection upon maturity of the fund at 30 months. It is a closed-ended fund that seeks to provide capital appreciation through an over-the-counter option that is linked to the equity performance of the AAB. The Fund will be on sale from today till 10 May 2008 and has an approved size of 300 million units or RM 300 million. There is a minimum initial investment of RM2,000 and a minimum additional investment of RM1,000. AACP is suitable for risk-averse investors with a short term investment horizon.

The Fund is available from 27 March 2008 until 10 May 2008 at selected third party distributors – ABN AMRO Bank Berhad, Affin Bank Berhad, Alliance Bank (M) Berhad, Am Private Banking, CIMB Wealth Advisors Berhad, EON Bank Berhad, Hong Leong Bank Berhad, RHB Bank Berhad and Standard Chartered Bank (M) Berhad.