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ASB ANNOUNCED 7.00 SEN PER UNIT OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION AND BONUS OF 1.75 SEN PER UNIT


KUALA LUMPUR – Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad has announced an income distribution of 7.00 sen per unit and a bonus of 1.75 sen per unit for Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) for the financial year ended December 31 st, 2008 .

The income distribution portion will involve a total payout of RM4.22 billion, almost equal to the allocation made for ASB income distribution in 2007.

The bonus portion will involve a total payout of RM678.03 million by PNB .

PNB Chairman, Tun Dato' Seri Ahmad Sarji said, the payment will benefit 6.56 million unit holders which currently hold 62 billion units of ASB.

Tun Ahmad Sarji said 2008 is a challenging year for the ASB fund manager as evidenced by the equity market which saw a drop of 40.85 percent in the benchmark KLSE CI during the year following the credit and financial crisis in the developed nations.

Notwithstanding the above scenario, the discipline and prudence practiced by the ASB fund manager has helped to produce an encouraging performance of the fund.

Up to December 10 th, 2008 , ASB has recorded a gross income of RM5.14 billion. Dividend income from investee companies contributed RM3.12 billion or 60.71 percent of the gross income, and profit from the sale of shares contributed RM1.58 billion or 30.75 percent. The rest of the income at 8.54 percent or RM439 million is derived from investments in short term instruments and other investments.

The calculation of the income distribution is based on the average monthly minimum balance held throughout the financial year of ASB ending December 31 st, 2008 . The calculation of the bonus on the other hand is based on the average monthly minimum balance held by the unit holders in the past ten years, starting from 1999 up to 2008.

The income distribution and bonus will be automatically credited into the respective unit holders' accounts. Unit holders will be able to update their accounts beginning January 2 nd, 2009 .

All transactions for ASB at ASNB head office, ASNB branch offices and agents will be suspended on December 19 th, 2008 until January 1 st, 2009 , to facilitate the calculation of income distribution and bonus.

ASB is a fixed price equity income fund, opened for Bumiputera aged 12 years and above. This fund is aimed at generating long term, consistent and competitive returns to the unit holders whilst ensuring the preservation of capital at minimal risk tolerance level.