PELABURAN HARTANAH ESTABLISHES ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY, TO SCALE AHB FUND TO RM20 BLN BY 2030

SHAH ALAM, May 7 (Bernama) -- Property investment company Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB) has established PHB Asset Management Bhd (PHBAM), a new wholly-owned subsidiary that will provide expert management services on investment products as well as complementary and innovative financial solutions. 

PHB group managing director and chief executive officer Mohamad Damshal Awang Damit said the setting up of PHBAM is part of the group's strategic move towards increasing bumiputera participation and ownership in commercial properties. 

"PHBAM would be a vehicle to give access to bumiputera investors through effective management of the Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera Fund (AHB) and possibly new real estate funds in the future. 

"To support PHB's long-term goal, PHBAM is set to scale the AHB fund to RM20 billion in 2030 from RM5 billion at present by introducing a digital distribution strategy to provide greater access to underserved Bumiputera communities," he told a press conference here today. 

Currently, the AHB fund is managed by Maybank Asset Management Sdn Bhd. 

Elaborating on the reasons for establishing PHBAM, Mohamad Damshal said the move would enable the group to have better operational control, as the rapid increase in funding growth was critical to the group. 

"When we take over this role, we do not want to have only one solution, but multiple solutions that we can (use to) enable the uniqueness of AHB unit trust holders to ensure that they can benefit from other solutions such as takaful, wakaf, hibah and so on, in the future, besides receiving stable and competitive returns," he said. 

Mohamad Damshal also said that leveraging a robust portfolio of 25 real estate valued at about RM10 billion, PHB would bring extensive industry expertise to PHBAM, positioning it for growth and innovation in real estate-based funds. 

Regarding talents, Mohamad Damshal said PHBAM has chosen a founding team with extensive capital market experience, complemented by a key management team averaging around 27 years of experience. 

"I myself was a fund manager before. And coming from there, the team and I have carefully selected the founding team," he said. 

PHBAM received a Capital Markets Services License from the Securities Commission (SC) on April 22, 2024, for fund management and dealing in securities for unit trust. 

With its inception, PHBAM is now financially and operationally ready to manage various funds, including those from third-party sources. 

PHB was established in May 2006, mandated by the government to increase bumiputera participation in the ownership of prime commercial real estate assets in Malaysia.

A key component of its mission is the management of AHB, a shariah-compliant unit trust fund, serving as the delivery vehicle for this purpose.

PHB is a wholly-owned operating subsidiary of Yayasan Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera.

-- BERNAMA